Hundreds of people packed Civic Park for Tip-Off Tailgate festivities, which included games, food and a massive screen showing both games on Saturday.
SAN ANTONIO — Tens of thousands of college basketball fans flooded San Antonio this weekend with the hopes of witnessing their favored teams move on to Monday’s championship game.
The NCAA Men’s Final Four wrapped up Saturday featuring Florida defeating Auburn and Houston taking down Duke in a nailbiter match.
Hundreds of people packed Civic Park for Tip-Off Tailgate festivities, which included games, food and a massive screen showing both games on Saturday.
Brittany Smith and her young son joined the crowd after having fun at Fan Fest next door at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.
“It means a lot, especially for my son to see who just started getting into basketball so I wanted him to see that it’s not just NBA that you can do, you can play in college as well and then the fact that like I said my sister graduated from the University of Houston,” Smith said.
Edgar Hinojosa also soaked in the electric vibes, although a bit conflicted on which teams to root for.
“I’m hoping Duke wins today. It sucks because I’m also a Texas fan and I like Texas teams,” Hinojosa said.
Dylon Douglas and his son are a family divided.
“He’s going for Duke, I’m going for Florida,” Douglas said.
Beyond the game of basketball, it’s all about the Alamo City experience for the Douglas family.
“We love San Antonio. Every time we come here, we love the energy, we love the weather. Just being here with all the people, the River Walk, it’s a great place to be,” Douglas.
As for Jessica Mireles, she’s never giving up on her University of Houston Cougars.
“We can feel the energy. We need more Coogs out here,” Mireles said. “Fingers crossed, wearing all the lucky laces and our Coog earrings.”