Philadelphia Eagles fans celebrate the team’s victory in NFL Super Bowl 52 between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018, in downtown Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl victory set off a celebration that has been 58 years in the making.
Just as Nick Foles and the Eagles clinched a surprising 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots in Minneapolis for the team’s first Super Bowl title Sunday night, the scene more than 1,000 miles away in Philly was jubilation and pandemonium.
As time expired, crowds across the city spilled out of sports bars, apartments and houses.
There were fireworks amid car horns blaring, and Philadelphians — young and old — descended on Broad Street, the iconic thoroughfare that will soon host a parade to commemorate the city’s first major pro sports championship since the Phillies won the 2008 World Series. It was the Eagles’ first NFL championship since 1960.
Dustin Seidman, 42, and his wife Staci, 41, decided to bring their 10-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter to the festivities on Broad Street, even as drunken fans sprayed beer and climbed trash trucks, street poles and awnings. Social media video showed the awning outside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel collapsing with more than a dozen people on it, but it was unclear if there were any injuries.
The Ritz canopy has collapsed pic.twitter.com/9LBolLtIPY
— Busted Coverage (@bustedcoverage) February 5, 2018
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“We wouldn’t miss this,” Dustin Seidman said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Philadelphia was left to deal with the cleanup on Monday, after some overzealous fans smashed windows, climbed traffic lights and trashed some convenience stores.
UMass-Amherst campus police said fights broke out, the crowd threw objects and set off smoke bombs and firecrackers. Police used pepper balls to disperse the crowd.
Officials said those transported to hospitals suffered head injuries, lacerations and alcohol intoxication. Police say those arrested face criminal charges, and if they are students they face punishment under the student code of conduct.
And despite officials using oil to grease up lamp posts in hopes of preventing folks from climbing them, people still did so. According to UK’s Express, multiple reports of injuries and falls came through.
“We know you have waited years, some for decades, for the chance to crown your Birds as champs,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement. “I urge everyone to celebrate in a way that is safe and respectful to everyone from neighbors to strangers. Go forth and celebrate, but do so in a way that will make Philadelphia shine.”
Associated Press contributed to this story.
