March Madness lands in Minnesota, fans take in celebrations

March Madness lands in Minnesota, fans take in celebrations

March Madness has landed in Minneapolis and fans are taking in all of the celebrations.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - In the City Of Lakes, there's a sea of garnet and black, as March Madness has landed in Minnesota.

Lakeisha Reid and her friend Treka McMillian were two of the hundreds of fans who turned out at the Marquette hotel on Friday afternoon to send off the South Carolina team to the arena.

"To root them on. To be part of the experience. I'm a fan and this is the best place to be today," Reid told FOX 9.

"This is fun. It's fun to see other gamecocks. There were gamecocks on the plane with us coming out. There are gamecocks downtown, so you get your spurs up. It's fun," McMillian said.

A few blocks away, First Avenue in front of the Target Center turned into the Party On The Plaza to welcome fans of all four teams before the games.

"It's an amazing turnout. Just seeing the support for the teams is a fun atmosphere I think," said UConn fan Becky Gengler.

Some came to cheer one team or player like Minnesota native and UConn star Paige Bueckers.

"We're just here to see good basketball in general, the storylines. But we're both excited to see Paige. We've followed her since she was at Hopkins and it's kind of been an inspiration for my daughter," said Brady Grundmeier of Chaska, who was with his 9-year-old daughter June. 

"She's really good. Last year she was the best player and I got a picture with her," June said.

Other fans are excited to see all the teams.

"I grew up UConn. I got a degree from Louisville and I used to work at South Carolina," said Milwaukee resident Frances Bridger.

But every one of them hopes the Final Four experience is nothing but net.

"I'm super impressed and super excited for the rest of the weekend," said Brady Grundmeier