It's standing room only in Moe & Johnny's as Butler does battle in the NCAA tourney.

2:30 p.m.

It's 15 minutes before Butler University tips off against the University of South Alabama in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, and Moe & Johnny's parking lot is full. Parking along College Avenue and surrounding side streets is filled a block or more in all directions. I find a spot 2 1/2 blocks from the bar and start walking. It's 60 degrees, sunny, not normal for a bar crawl, but I'm not complaining.

3:13 p.m.

South Alabama is playing the Bulldogs close, but there's more jostling in the bar than under the basket. A large portion of the crowd is standing to watch the game. Butler students Anne Larum and Scot Fleck, both 22, peer over a wall at a projection screen 20 feet away. Neither is unhappy, though, because there's nowhere else they'd rather watch the game than at this bar. Larum said other bars are a mix of fans and alumni of any number of schools, but "Here, you know it's Butler fans."

That's because Moe & Johnny's is the Butler bar and has been since before, well, since before it was Moe & Johnny's. For decades, the Bulldog Lounge occupied this building, hosting generations of Butler students and twentysomethings from the area. It was sold, renamed, and extensively remodeled, but the clientele is essentially the same.

3:30 p.m.

It's not really so bad to stand and watch the game. A breeze flows in through open doors, helping patrons of the normally smoky bar breathe easier. It's easy to carry on conversations except for when the crowd erupts in cheers or moans.

The crowd is an interesting mix, college-age kids in jeans and Butler gear and professionals in business casual. One cluster of people laughed when I asked if they'd called in sick. They said it was an excused absence because the boss is a Butler alum.

The boss, Steve Hartley, 44, is the director of sales for Entercom, which owns several radio stations. He's a veteran of the Bulldog Lounge and prefers not to compare them; he's just happy Butler fans have a home.

Tahlia Dunn, 28, is Entercom's national sales manager. She's a big basketball fan and has adopted Butler as her team for the day. "I went to Ball State, but our teams suck right now," she said.

3:47 p.m.

The Bulldogs lead by 13 points with a couple minutes left to go in the first half. The crowd is having a Good Friday, and it's time for me to duck out of darkness and enjoy some sunlight. There's no telling how deep this team will get in the tournament, but the school's students and alumni are still excited to make it into the field of 65. That excitement is what makes Moe & Johnny's a madhouse each March.

Note: On March 23, the Butler Bulldogs lost to the Tennessee Volunteers in second-round action in Birmingham. Ala.