Chicago-area college basketball fans celebrate first day of March Madness

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The first day of the NCAA men's basketball tournament is not a holiday, but many believe it should be.

College basketball fan Tim Coffey is making sure it is for his employees. He gave them the day off Thursday.

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Coffey and his friends made sure to get a table early for a long day of watching basketball. The Franklin Tap in the Loop was doing brisk business Thursday even before the traditional lunch time. That's because the first men's college basketball games of the tournament started at 11 a.m.

March Madness is a tradition for Coffey and his dad going back a quarter of a century. They often travelled to tournament games to watch in person.

"Since I was a kid he just never made us go to school," Coffey said. "He always called it Christmas morning for me and my brother and sister."

Coffey's father Phil died in August, and he says memories of watching the games with his dad prompted him to make sure his employees have the same opportunity whether it's basketball or something else they enjoy.

"No one is getting any work done on these days anyway," Coffey said. "So let's just give the whole company, all 100 workers the day off."

March Madness is often a big distraction for employees at work leading to lots them paying more attention to the games than their jobs. According to outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, college basketball fans cost companies around the country more than $12 billion dollars in lost productivity.

But many of the folks watching games at the Franklin Tap in the Loop took the day off, or they were at least enjoying a long lunch.

"This is a tradition for us," college basketball fan Ryan Nebuda said. "We usually take off one of the days, and this year's special because my team is in it with a lot on the line."

Many fans who don't have a tie to one of the schools in the tournament still pay attention because of the excitement of the games and the brackets they filled out.

"I don't even really follow college basketball, so the brackets make it more interesting," March Madness fan Joel Davisson said.

Coffey is also making it more interesting and memorable for kids and their fathers involved in the Horizons for Youth organization.

"This was always a special day for my family and I want to make it special for their families," Coffey said.

This is the first year Coffey is giving his employees the day off and treating Horizons for Youth with tickets. But it won't be the last, because he plans to make this an annual event.