SPORTS+ ON THE ROAD
There were 17,493 spectators at the Spectrum Center on Friday night. They could be broken down into two groups: 1. The Virginia fans who watched in agony, their stomachs turning with every second-half 3-pointer made by the Retrievers. 2. Everyone else.
There were neutral fans among the crowd, those who had come to see North Carolina or Kansas State earlier in the day but lingered for the final game. They probably intended to leave by halftime. Instead, they became UMBC fans for an evening, roaring with every basket UMBC made in the second half as it stretched its lead beyond the imaginable.
Inside the UMBC locker room, there was a feeling of satisfaction and bravado. The players knew they could do it, they said, as all underdogs do. And they actually did it. They were on their phones, checking their text messages and Instagram, enjoying their recent fame.
One player picked up his phone, put it to his ear and said with excitement, “Hi, Mom.”
Saturday morning was a cloudy, dreary day in Charlotte, N.C. It was St. Patrick’s Day, and the air was filled with the music of bagpipes and snare drums. Life moved on, as it always does. The Virginia fans went home. The UMBC players went to practice, in hopes of stretching their magical run a little longer.
And everyone else took with them the memory of having seen something unforgettable.
