Butler fans rally in downtown Indianapolis ahead of NCAA championship game against Duke

Fans rally for Butler ahead of NCAA championship

INDIANAPOLIS — Hoping for an upset, thousands of Butler fans gathered at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on Monday night to watch their beloved Bulldogs face Duke in the NCAA men’s basketball championship game a few short miles away.

There were about 4,000 fans in place an hour before the game. The doors were supposed to be opened at 8 p.m., but they were opened at 7:20 because of severe weather in the area. Doors were also opened early at Lucas Oil Stadium downtown, where some 71,000 fans were expected to watch.

Some fans waved pompoms and others waited in line as four women painted faces. Many sang along as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” played over the speakers.

Dennis Ogle, 68, is a Purdue graduate who was cheering for Butler at Hinkle.

“This is the best,” he said. “You may never get a chance to see something like this again — as old as I am, I probably won’t — for the rest of my life. I wasn’t going to miss seeing the crowd here.

“It could be 20 years before you see something like this again at a small school in Indiana, or any other place for that matter.”

His daughter, Jenny Ogle, said she won her pool because she picked Butler to reach the Final Four.

“I was the only one still standing,” she said.

David Clegg of Indianapolis said when his dish stopped working because of the rain, he told the wife “goodbye,” and headed to Hinkle Fieldhouse.

“I’m here for the atmosphere,” Clegg said. “I’m just glad I didn’t have to work.”

Classes were canceled on campus for Tuesday, win or lose.

Several thousand people also showed up at a midday pep rally held at Monument Circle, the same downtown location where fans converged after the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl in 2007. Fans in T-shirts, some blue, some white, some gray, stood next to men in suits who came out during their lunch breaks to soak in the experience.

“Did I think they’d make a good run? Yes,” said Dave Inman, a 2007 Butler graduate. “Sweet 16 for sure, Elite Eight maybe. National championship? No way.”

The normally quiet campus was swamped by fans enchanted by the team’s surprising run to the title game.

“We’re not really used to it,” sophomore Melissa Florit said while standing among the masses at the campus bookstore. “The 4,500 of us aren’t used to having 4,500 more of us here. Some don’t like the publicity, with us being a small family oriented campus. Everyone’s here, cameras are everywhere. But it’s good that people don’t have to ask me, ‘What’s Butler?’”

Not anymore.

The Bulldogs got to the championship by putting together a 25-game winning streak that captured the nation’s attention. With two-thirds of the roster coming from Indiana, many likened them to the high school team from tiny Milan that won the Indiana state basketball championship in 1954 against a much bigger school.

That game, won by Milan on Bobby Plump’s buzzer-beating shot, happened at Hinkle, Butler’s home court. The fieldhouse’s Spirit Shop had a steady stream of patrons Monday and visitors continued to tour the historic building that opened in 1928.

“In the story of David and Goliath, David can take down Goliath,” said Bob Rodgers, 56, of Shelbyville, Ind. “It takes a stone well-cast, though.”

A mile away, Plump, perhaps the most famous Butler alum, talked Bulldog basketball with fans at the family restaurant, Plump’s Last Shot.

“When you step on that floor, all that matters is what you do for 40 minutes between those lines,” he said. Plump, who planned to attend the game with Gov. Mitch Daniels, as he did Saturday night during the semifinals, said the Bulldogs already have made themselves Hoosier legends.

“It’s historic,” he said. “To go from Christmas to Easter and not lose is historic in itself. They’ll talk about this forever, win or lose. They’ll talk about it a lot more if they win.”

Florit, who planned to attend the game, had perspective on what is happening to the first team since 1972 to play for a championship in its hometown city (UCLA).

“In their hometown, while I’m still in school?” she asked. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Associated Press Writer Carly Everson contributed to this report.