SPORTS: Manhattan March Madness 2009 – Where to Watch the Sweet Sixteen in NYC

from glogster.com

Birmingham Arts Journal

March Madness - Southern Style, by Jeff and Ashley Fryer

Are you itching to watch your favorite Southern teams in the Sweet Sixteen this year with fellow ex-pats and Southern supporters? Here’s a list of official viewing parties, alumni club hangouts, and Southern college basketball enthusiast gatherings in Manhattan for the remaining Southern teams. Southern teams make up nearly a third of the teams left in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this year, so there are plenty of opportunities to cheer for those South of the Mason-Dixon!For game times and opponent information, check .

Also below are some little tidbits about each school, to help stump that annoying know-it-all alumna/alumnus over a few beers, courtesy of U.S. News.

Duke Blue Devils (Durham, NC):

Confirmed viewing party for NYC alumni: Village Pourhouse (64 3^rd Ave. at E. 11^th St.).

The Duke University “Blue Devils” team nickname finds its origins in French soldiers in World War I.

Louisville Cardinals (Louisville, KY):

Their alumni club’s official NYC game watch site: The Hill (416 3^rd Ave. between E. 29^th and 30^th sts.)

19% of students at the Univ. of Louisville major in business, management, and marketing, making it the school’s most popular program.

Memphis Tigers (Memphis, TN):

Confirmed NYC alumni viewing party: Rogue Bar (757 6^th ave. between 25^th/26^th sts.).

The University of Memphis got a live tiger cub, dubbed TOM III, to take over its mascot crown in November 2008.

North Carolina Tar Heels (Raleigh, NC):

Confirmed viewing party for NYC alumni: Firefly (54 Spring St. near Mulberry St.)

The University of North Carolina was the country’s 1^st state university and the only public university to award degrees in the 18^th century.

Oklahoma Sooners (Norman, OK):

Their NYC viewing home is at The Pressbox (932 2^nd Ave. between E. 49^th & 50^th sts.)

So what exactly is a “sooner,” the team nickname of the University of Oklahoma? An “energetic individual who travels ahead of the human procession,” the school says.

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To see an interactive Google map we did of where the 21 original (pre-elimination) Southern schools are located, goHERE . To see where all of these parties are at in NYC, go to another Google map HERE .