Coventry feels the madness of March

Editor,

March Madness . . . nearly our entire country gets caught up in the year-ending NCAA Basketball Tournament. From office pools to the President's bracket, we Americans seem obsessed by this tournament. Locally, our neighborhood bars/restaurants that have "BIG TVs," really enjoy this time of year. This past weekend, people crowded into Panini's, McNulty's and The Winking Lizard to eat, drink and cheer on their favorite school(s). It was great to see the street packed with people from noon to late at night.

This was a special year for us Clevelanders as our city hosted the first round of the Men's Division 1 at Quicken Arena. The tournament and the people attending the games have had a huge financial impact on Cleveland, especially the Rock Hall, the Warehouse District and East 4th restaurants.

Well, us folks in Coventry Village also felt a bump in business from out-of-towners who elected to explore our city and the Coventry neighborhood. These adventurous people got online and read about how cool and special Coventry is. They were not disappointed!

These basketball fans were easy to spot. The folks from Syracuse wearing orange, Xavier supporters wore team jerseys and sweatshirts,etc. I made it a point to shmooze with these special tourists. Each and every one of them could not stop talking about what a wonderful neighborhood Coventry is. They loved the mix of stores and restaurants. They were surprised that we had an independent book shop, record and toy store. An indie coffee shop was a relief to those who saw Starbucks all over their home turfs. They raved about the variety and ethnicity of restaurants on the street. They were impressed by the number of cool clothing and jewelry stores, too. Most of all, they loved the way the street looked.

Best of all--they all want to come back and said that they are going to tell their family and friends about our beloved neighborhood.

Thank you, James Naismith.

Coventry Village . . . take a bow.