Downtown Nashville sees plenty of events, concerts and celebrations but none were more colorful than Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Block Party where Gators’ blue and orange and Rebels’ blue and red mixed into a sea of green.

Just about everyone was a little Irish at Saturday but few pulled it off as well as Earl Rice who sported his Pride of Ireland kilt on a beautiful day downtown.

"The weather's warm and it’s really nice,” Rice said.  “I’ve been looking forward to it for two weeks."

He was just one of thousands that showed up to the bash on Lower Broadway where the colors of all the SEC teams took on a shade of green.

By Saturday afternoon, the 14 teams had dwindled down to just two, leaving the Ole Miss Rebels and the Florida Gators in, and the ‘Dores, the Vols and the Wildcats out.

”Even though we lost yesterday, my heritage is Irish and I'm still a Kentucky fan,” Molly Trenkamp said.  “I bleed blue til I die."

Plenty of Kentucky fans like Trenkamp stuck around after Friday’s loss to Vanderbilt but many more went home, which hurt local businesses like downtown newcomers Pub 5.

”Kentucky lost to our ‘Dores yesterday and so with that went a lot of tourists,” said Alex Torres, Pub 5 co-owner.

Torres says he waited to open the new pub and restaurant the weekend of the tournament to cash in on the SEC action.

“As soon as this game lets out we're going to see a sea of humanity stumble out here,” Torres said of Saturday’s second semifinal.  “It's quite something to see.”

Torres says events like the tournament and the lively St. Patrick's block party energize downtown businesses, making Nashville one of the most popular cities in the country right now.

"Nashville is becoming a nationally-recognized city, a metropolitan area and this is evidence of it,” Torres said.SEC Fans, St. Patrick's Revelers Join Forces for Lower Broadway Party - Eric Alvarez