DAYTON — Many of the Dayton fans who could not make it to Salt Lake City for the NCAA game are packing watch parties here in the Miami Valley.
For the first time since 2017, the Dayton Flyers are in the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s really exciting obviously. It hasn’t happened when I’ve been here, so it’s been really fun. And it just has, like, a big, exciting energy on campus,” University of Dayton Junior Reilly Walsh said.
Walsh and her roommate Maggie Worthington, also a Junior at UD, got to Milano’s on Brown Street four hours before tip-off for Dayton’s Tournament game against Nevada, just to get a seat.
“So we’re we’re prepared to camp out. Especially since we can’t be at the game, it’s nice just to be around the Dayton community. And, you know, it’s just fun,” Worthington said.
In Washington Township, the ownership at Geez Grill and Pub bleeds Flyers Red and Blue.
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“All Dayton fans. My brother went to UD. Dad’s a season ticket holder. So we we grew up going to the games,” Geez Manager, Mario Giallombardo said.
Customers walking into Geez saw signs on the doors as they walked into a full house for the lunch rush Thursday hours before tipoff.
“Yeah. Very tough because it’s games all day. So people are wanting to stay all the way through. So we have to tell them, you know, that we have reservations at 4:00 and we need to be up by then,” Giallombardo said.
News Center 7′s John Bedell went to multiple bars checking in with Flyers fans, and it didn’t matter if it was the hosts or the guests.
“Hopefully Dayton can pull it off. Should be tough, but I think we got it,” Giallombardo said.
The consensus was the same across the board.
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“I have them in my bracket going on, so I hope they do,” Walsh said.
Flyers fans are hoping that Dayton keeps dancing.
“I really hope that we win, and we win the next game, and the next game, and the next game,” Worthington said.
Along with all the fans rooting from the Flyers’ home base, there are fans in Salt Lake City cheering them on.
WHIO Radio’s Larry Hansgen spoke with fans who headed out to Salt Lake City to cheer on the Flyers.
“It’s so fun, traveling just seeing people in airports yelling go flyers it’s a great community to be a part of and I’m so glad I am because look around, there’s friends everywhere here,” one Flyers fan said.
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