PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — For the 8th straight year, cousins Adam Deters and Spencer Kelly had great seats for the first-round NCAA tournament games, this year the games at Moda Center. But these fans aren’t just aligned with one team.
For each game they wore a different team’s jersey — a tradition they started and are now passing along.
The cousins — who live in Denver and in Portland — pick the closest first-round men’s site and become superfans of whichever team’s jersey they wear. Distance hasn’t stopped them from doing this, either.
“I lived in Germany for a few years,” Deters told KOIN 6 News. “I would fly back for four years just to watch the games together. That’s how much it means.”
“College basketball is the best sport,” Kelly said. “Everyone is so invested.”
For Deters and Kelly, it doesn’t matter who is playing. They become deeply invested.
“We get 4 shirts from the 4 games and we always try to pick a team for every game,” Kelly said, who wore an Akron Zips shirt on Thursday.
Watching them during the game would provide no clue they became fans of that school just hours before when they bought shirts on the concourse.
“We make up backstories (like) we both graduated from that school the same year we graduated from our alma mater,” Deters said. “Oh yeah it’s deep. It has to be deep to sell it.”
This year, the cousins are passing their tradition on to the next generation. They brought their sons with them for the first time. They not only pass on their love of the game, but their love for each other.
Tigg and Finn Deters said “it’s crazy fun” and “switching the shirts was pretty fun.”
Morgen Kelly said it was great “because we don’t get to see them that often so we get a chance to see them and just goof off.”
The cousins will keep this tradition going.
“We just both grew up playing basketball,” Spencer Kelly said. “We love basketball.”