Forty fanatic ticket-holders were selected from a drawing and won the opportunity to buy tickets to the first-round game in North Carolina.,”

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – While some students spent spring break on vacations with friends or at home with families, others spent it here watching the men's basketball team in the NCAA tournament.

Forty Fanatic ticket holders were selected from a drawing and won the opportunity to buy tickets to the first-round game in North Carolina. The tickets, which were on the ground floor were sold through Marquette for $58 a round for both the Marquette vs. Michigan State and North Carolina vs. Eastern Kentucky games.

Some students, like College of Business Administration junior Jane Derdzinski, gave up the opportunity to work over break to road trip with friends for a 13.5-hour car ride and stay in a "cheap" Days Inn motel in Winston-Salem, which made for a "positive trip" with "crazy memories."

However, the game itself was not a positive experience, according to College of Business Administration freshman Mike Rice, who called the first 10 minutes of the game an "embarrassment."

"It was very embarrassing when Marquette didn't score in the first nine minutes," Rice said. "All of the University of North Carolina fans were sarcastically cheering when they finally did score."

Others, like College of Health Sciences junior Kevin Konieczka, attended the game because of their "passion for Marquette basketball" but were more than disappointed by the team's performance.

"Disappointed doesn't even begin to describe the feelings I had inside the arena," Konieczka said. "I was thinking that the confetti in my hands was slowly condensing into one large ball, and I wanted to punch every Carolina fan there laughing at us in the face."

College of Health Sciences junior Gina Corrado was "disappointed to see Marquette lose" but also felt that "we beat ourselves" which made her question the trip at the time.

According to Derdzinski, only three thoughts were going through her head including: "Are you serious?!", "Put Jerel in!" and "I'll never get onto CBS with this awesome sign if Marquette doesn't start winning."

The sign Derdzinski made said, "Road Warriors: This is our house." But Derdzinski was wrong and Marquette lost 61-49.

An additional downside to the trip, according to students of legal drinking age, was that they were unable to drink the loss away because of a lack of nightlife in Winston-Salem.

"Winston-Salem did not have much to do, with a nightlife that compares to that of Memorial Library just after exam week," Konieczka said.

Derdzinski agreed: "I will never again complain about Milwaukee being boring after traveling to Winston-Salem.

"Overall, I was happy to experience my first NCAA tournament as a college student," Derdzinski said. "It would have been better with a win, or with a city that actually had some attractions or nightlife, but I still had a great time with my friends."

“