For North Carolina and Illinois fans celebration was easy as their teams advanced to the national title game with victories in the semifinals on Saturday. While disappointment set in for Michigan St. and Louisville fans, they soon shed the sadness of seeing their teams eliminated by joining Tar Heel and Illini fans downtown at Laclede’s Landing.
The popular bar district in St. Louis was packed with fans of all four teams who partied well into the early hours of Sunday morning. The crowd was mostly decked in Illinois orange, as IU is the closest to St. Louis of the teams playing in the Final Four.
The bars had the longest lines, but those who were waiting to use the portable toilets outside formed the second-longest line. People waited upwards of 15 minutes to seek relief.
