No amount of frigid wind gusts or icy pouring rain could stop Marquette fans from making their way to the Al McGuire Center lobby to cheer on their men’s basketball team.
An official send-off for the seventh-seeded Golden Eagles was held Wednesday at 2 p.m. as an opportunity for local fans to interact with the team one last time before they departed for their first NCAA tournament game. Marquette will face the 10th-seeded New Mexico Lobos (26-7) on Friday in Cleveland, Ohio.
Dozens of fans of all ages lined up in the Al McGuire Center, wearing celebratory attire and waiting with posters and streamers in hand. The Golden Eagles emerged from behind closed doors just before 2:20 p.m., making their way through the lobby and into the bus that would take them to the airport.
Marquette senior guard Kam Jones made sure to acknowledge even the tiniest of fans, leaning down to offer fist bumps to the little ones who were lined up to see their team.
Will DeCoster, a junior in the College of Communication, is one of the fans who braved the weather conditions to cheer on his men’s basketball team before they departed for March Madness. He previously attended last year’s team send-off and wanted to go again this year.
“It was a good turnout from the fans and Marquette alumni,” DeCoster said. “It was cool to see the players. I remember I talked to some of them before one of the clap-outs [last year].”
DeCoster, like some other Marquette fans, is anticipating a deep run for the Golden Eagles in the NCAA tournament. He predicts the team will earn either a Sweet Sixteen or Elite Eight appearance and possibly get revenge on the Michigan State team that sent them home two years earlier in the Big Dance.
While fans, family members and alumni cannot predict where March Madness will take Marquette in 2025, they can at least offer their team as much support as possible.
Tip-off between the Golden Eagles and the Lobos is scheduled for 6:25 p.m. CST on TBS.
This story was written by Mia Thurow. She can be reached at mia.thurow@marquette.edu.