With UK, WKU, Morehead State and the Louisville women's team already eliminated, sports bars and restaurants may be expected to perform poorly this weekend. But Drake's St. Matthews managing partner Bryce Campion told WLKY News that he expects business to remain strong because Kentucky basketball fans are so passionate. Ta. “If I've learned anything about the people of Kentucky, it's that they love basketball. Whether you're playing at UofL or Kentucky, we've always had really good people here. , I just want to watch basketball all day long,” Campion said. It helps to have customers like Beth Harrison. For the past six years, Harrison and a group of 30 friends, some from as far away as Minnesota, have gathered at Drake's to live or die on the outcome of March Madness. “Whether we have a team in the tournament or not, we'll go through the first two days because we just love watching basketball,” Harrison said. In fact, Harrison loves watching basketball at sports bars so much that her face has literally become a fixture. A huge large head sticker featuring Harrison's likeness is affixed to one of her windows. Even if Kentucky's men's team and Louisville's women's team were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament early, Harrison said she would find new teams to root for and compete against. “Of course,” Mr. Harrison said. “We root for the underdogs. We like those guys (underdogs) and we root for certain teams.” When asked if she wanted to name names, Harrison laughed and replied: . “Duke, North Carolina,” said Campion, “Having such a passionate fan base means Drake's hasn't bothered to increase its food and beverage inventory for the upcoming weekend. “Even if the local team loses, it's good to have a college game on TV,” he said. “I still think there's going to be a really good crowd. Like I said, the tournament is great. “The first weekend is always a lot of fun, basketball is a lot of fun, and people still want to come see the games,” Campion said. The only local team still in the fray is the Indiana women's team. The Hoosiers will play their first game Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
With UK, WKU, Morehead State and the Louisville women's team already eliminated, sports bars and restaurants may be expected to perform poorly this weekend.
But Drake's St. Matthews managing partner Bryce Campion told WLKY News that he expects business to remain strong because Kentucky basketball fans are so passionate. Ta.
“If there's one thing I've learned about Kentuckians, it's that they love basketball. So whether you're playing at UofL or Kentucky, there's a lot of people here who want to watch basketball. “There's just really good people there all day long,” Campion said.
It helps to have customers like Beth Harrison.
For the past six years, Harrison and a group of 30 friends, some from as far away as Minnesota, have flocked to Drake's to live and die by the outcome of March Madness.
“We spend the first two days regardless of whether we have a team in the tournament or not, because we just love watching basketball,” Harrison said.
In fact, Harrison loves watching basketball at sports bars so much that her face has literally become a fixture.
One of the windows has a giant big head sticker with Harrison's likeness on it.
Even if Kentucky's men's team and Louisville's women's team were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament early, Harrison said he would find new teams to root for and against.
“Of course,” Harrison said. “We root for the underdogs. We like them (the underdogs) and we root for certain teams.”
Asked if he wanted to name names, Harrison laughed and said, “Duke, North Carolina, Auburn, and anyone we hate.”
Having such a passionate following means Drakes doesn't have to go out of their way to stock up on food and drink for upcoming weekends.
Campion said college TV shows are good for business even if local teams lose.
“I still think we're going to have a really good crowd. Like I said, the tournament is great. The first weekend is always a lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to the basketball. People still want to come see the games. “I think so,” Campion said.
The only local team still in the fray is the Indiana women's team.
The Hoosiers will play their first game Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
