VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY -- The celebration continues on the Villanova University campus after the Wildcats brought home the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship to Pennsylvania.
Villanova fans gathered Tuesday at the football stadium on the campus in the Philadelphia area for a big welcome home celebration for the team and its trophy.
The bookstore on the Villanova University campus near Philadelphia was jammed with still glowing students and fans who just had to get their hands on National Championship T-shirts, including Villanova students from northeastern Pennsylvania.
"We haven't won since 1985 and a lot of people didn't expect us to get this far at all," said Kathleen Comerford of Scranton. "So to win it all was just surreal."
What was really surreal was the way Villanova won one of the most exciting national championships ever, with a three-pointer right at the buzzer to beat North Carolina.
The Pavilion at Villanova went wild with thousands of students stunned at the incredible ending, including Dominica Insalaco from Laflin.
"When he actually made that shot, the place exploded," said Insalaco. "I've never been somewhere with so much energy at once. It was crazy."
"I don't think I spoke for a half hour after the buzzer went off. I was just in utter shock and I went outside and there were just waves and waves of people," recalled Bobby Rinaldi of Old Forge.
Old Forge football standout Bobby Rinaldi, now a freshman at Villanova, quickly found himself a big basketball lover.
"If you told me I'd be moved to tears over a basketball game two years ago, I'd say you were insane, but last night was definitely an exception to that."
There is plenty of evidence on the Villanova campus of the first rounds of celebrating, but there's a lot more to come this week, and students from northeastern and central Pennsylvania can't wait to be part of it all.
"I just can't believe it happened while I'm here. I'm so grateful it happened. I hope we do it again!" said Mario Gulliorn of Old Forge.
"It really is awesome and to not have one since 1985, and now that I'm here during this time, it's just so incredible. We're part of history right now and it's awesome," Insalaco added.
There will be a victory parade and celebration Friday in center city Philadelphia. That starts at 20th and Market at 1 p.m. and, of course, those students from our area plan to be there.
Folks in the bookstore at Villanova dealing with the crush of students coming in got some assistance from northeastern Pennsylvania.
The bookstore at Keystone College is run by the same company, so it answered the call for help, including manager Debbie Higgins from Nicholson.
"It's fabulous," said Higgins. "This morning, it was quieter. Now that the kids are waking up and coming in, it's a little crazy!"
"We got up, got down here to get some T-shirts and celebrate and see what everyone else on campus was doing," said Kate Boland, an alumna from Scranton.
The Villanova University bookstore has many of the championship items online.
*The video clip incorrectly refers to the name of Villanova's home court as the DuPont Pavilion. The du Pont name was removed in 1997, and the facility is referred to simply as The Pavilion. Newswatch 16 regrets the error and apologizes for any confusion.
