Thousands flock to downtown Indianapolis for St. Patrick's Day, NCAA tournament

INDIANAPOLIS — The weather made it a perfect day for the people to attend the first Saint Patrick's day parade in two years.

Maurice Sumter was the first-ever Division I men's basketball recruit in Longwood University's history. He drove to Indianapolis from North Carolina to watch his former team play.

"It means everything, especially for a day like this. I knew I couldn’t go to the tournament I did what I did for this day right here," Sumter said. “The foundation was built and built and now we finally came to the point of ascension."

Sumter is not the only former Longwood University alumnus to make the trip. Class of 2004 grad Adam Sunukjian made the trip from South Carolina to the Circle City.

“It means everything. We are a small community. We get together and have a good time,” Sunukjian said.

And it wasn’t just former grads who came out. Charles Bush and his son live in Indianapolis and were there cheering on the University of Tennessee.

“It means a lot to have Tennessee come up to Indianapolis and play, so I’m looking forward to it,” Bush said.

But the start of the NCAA tournament wasn’t the only reason why downtown was packed.

“We made the right decision as youngsters to follow our dream and become firefighters,” Scottie DeArmond said.

The St. Patrick's Day Parade was back in Indianapolis for the first time in two years after being canceled because of COVID-19. Scottie DeArmond is with the retired firefighters club. He and his club took part in the parade.

“It’s the most amazing we had in 10 years,” DeArmond said.