COLUMBUS, Ohio — Marquette basketball fans from across the country traveled to Columbus, Ohio to watch the Golden Eagles play in the first round of the NCAA tournament. But who traveled the farthest?
Patrick Naumann, flew all the way from Seattle, Washington to watch his alma mater play. Seattle is 2,386 miles away according to Google Maps driving directions. Many of the fans TMJ4 News talked to flew to Columbus. For the purposes of keeping measurements equal, all distances will be determined by Google Maps driving directions.
"There was no chance I wouldn’t make this, no. Not when they’re this good of a team. They're playing so well. They’re so much fun to watch," the Marquette 2022 grad said.
There were also people who came from Denver which is 1,259 miles and Memphis which is 589 miles.
The majority of fans were from Wisconsin which is expected. That drive is 453 miles.
For some fans, this is their first time watching the Golden Eagles play in the NCAA tournament. For others, traveling to March Madness games has become a tradition.
“Traveled with Marquette over the last 20 years almost every NCAA game they’ve played," Daryl Pilgreen said.
He graduated in 1972. Ever since then, he has been going to these tournament games. He came all the way from Phoenix, Arizona which is a 1,874-mile drive.
Not everyone had a long trek, though. Marquette fans living in Columbus residents had it easy.
"About a 30-second walk to the front door, yes," 2012 graduate Kyle Stanley said.
He lives in an apartment across the street from Nationwide Arena. It wouldn't make sense to measure his distance in miles. He walked just a few feet to get to the game.
Another Columbus resident and Marquette grad, Lynn Carter, just had a short drive.
“10 minutes to the parking lot. Traffic wasn’t bad," the 1981 graduate said.
The people who traveled the farthest, were a Marquette player's parents. Ben Gold's mom and dad flew all the way from New Zealand. That's a more than 8,300 mile journey.
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