COLUMBIA, MO. -- It’s a big sports weekend here in Mid-Missouri.
The Missouri Tiger basketball team takes on Kansas in what could be their final game in Columbia on Saturday night.
The Superbowl gets underway on Sunday night as millions of fans prepare for their game day parties.
Some Mizzou fans have been camping out in front of Mizzou Arena to make sure they get a seat at their school’s historic contest.
Sophomore Scott Pohle and freshmen Matt Cassidy have been camped out since midnight on Thursday to make sure they got front row seats to ESPN’s College Gameday coverage and a lanyard to get into the game without waiting in line for a ticket.
Pohle said, “The weather’s been rough. We just got this tarp inside. The inside has been pretty wet. It’s been worth it, definitely.”
Cassidy said, “This is the biggest game, probably, for a long time. It’s our biggest rival. It’s probably the last time we will play them. I really want to be a part of it.”
Camped out Tiger fans are doing everything they can to stay dry and warm.
MU sophomore Kara Kostal said, “We’re surviving. It’s kind of chilly. I got some holes in the tent. It’s all good.”
The Mizzou game and the Superbowl have workers at restaurants like Shakespeare’s Pizza working overtime.
Shakespeare’s Pizza manager Matt Unverferth said, “It affects every aspect of our business. We’re staffing extra employees. When I did my food orders for the week, I increased all those quite a bit.”
The same thing is happening at area supermarkets like the Rock Bridge Hy-Vee.
Hy-Vee manager Luke Long said, “I want to make sure that our customers come in, find what they need and they are out the door quickly and efficiently. We have snack items throughout the store.”
It appears Columbia business owners are prepared for this weekend’s huge demand from Superbowl and MU Tiger fans.
This is the first time ESPN’s College Gameday has come to Columbia for basketball.
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