Fans crack open free Bud Light to celebrate historic NCAA Tournament win for Nebraska basketball

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A historic win for the Nebraska men’s basketball team on Thursday as they topped the Troy Trojans in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

A result of that win? Free Bud Light beers for fans to celebrate with, thanks to a special promotion from Anheuser-Busch.

The deal was that if the Huskers won their first-ever NCAA tournament game, then-chained fridges across Lincoln and Omaha would be unlocked at the sound of the final buzzer.

At that time, those doors opened to let fans dive into special-edition cans of beer at no charge.

Many watched the game at The N Zone bar, saying they’ve been waiting decades for this win.

“We’ve been waiting a lifetime for this,” said James Davis, pointing to his friend and adding, “He’s been waiting even longer.”

“I’ve been waiting since the eighties!” said Mike Morgan.

One fan predicted the win relatively early in the game.

“When Sanford hit his final three, I was like, okay, there’s a pretty good possibility they’ll win,” said Rueben Beltran.

After his guess turned out to be true, the shelves of the Bud Light fridge were emptied in less than 10 minutes, but it didn’t stop the celebrations.

“Well, the free beer fridge is empty now, so I guess I’ll just keep paying for beer for the rest of the night,” said Miguel Alarcon.

“Just keep drinking to celebrate,” said fellow fan Devin Jepson.

“Just going to hit the bars in Lincoln and keep going all day!” said Lauryn Zessin about her plans.

A lot of partying, after a lot of waiting for Husker fans.

Many gave Channel 8 their take on what made the difference for the team this year.

“Talent and Coaching,” said Davis.

“I have to say, Jared Garcia made the difference,” said Morgan.

“How about almost ten rebounds from Sam, that man’s in the paint!” said Skyler Peterson.

As for final observations from the fans at the N Zone?

“You know who hasn’t won a tournament game this year? Duke, North Carolina, Kansas. You know who has? Nebraska!” said Brian Deighton.

The team still has five more games to go, but the faithful Husker fans have no doubts that they will go all the way.