‘We’re going to the dance’: Gonzaga fans pick up free gear as March Madness games near

Dozens of cars inched in and out of the McCarthey Athletic Center parking lot on Gonzaga University’s campus Thursday for free team gear as March Madness excitement grows.

Anne Aslin, a retired elementary librarian, would normally be preparing for a trip to Las Vegas to watch the women’s basketball team play, as she has for the past five seasons. This year, due to COVID-19, the season ticket holder plans to circle the TV with some family and friends for Monday’s match against the Belmont University Bruins.

“I just think they’re awesome,” she said. “Go get ‘em, girls.”

Shelby Ryan, alumni operations and budget specialist for Gonzaga, said normally she and members of her team would be hosting pregame social events.

“We’re going to the dance, we’re No. 1, and we’ve got to do something,” she said of the socially distant drive-thru “Zag Swag” event they held instead.

Drew Rieder, who also works in alumni relations, said he’d happily stand in a parking lot for three days straight to show players his support.

Mike Rorholm, a business and operations manager at the university, is in the process of getting his second degree there, a doctorate in leadership studies, as his wife has already earned.

The Iowa native has worked at Gonzaga since 2006 and considers himself a “Bulldog through and through.” He said this year’s men’s basketball team, ranked No. 1 in the country, is unique.

“All the teams are special, but there’s something about this team,” Rorholm said.

As Rorholm collected his bag of Gonzaga goodies, including a poster, pom poms and a car magnet, Jessica Weidel inched forward with her 7-year-old daughter, Violet, and 4-year-old son, Jonas, in the backseat.

Weidel, whose husband teaches philosophy at Gonzaga, said she and her friends have made “terrible” brackets every year for the past five that her husband has worked at the university. This year’s no different.

“We just feel like it’s a really good community to be a part of,” she said. “We feel welcomed.”