The unexpected finally happened. The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl. Behind incredible play calling by coach Doug Pederson and a stellar performance by quarterback Nick Foles and the rest of the team, the Birds took the Vince Lombardi Trophy, taking down the New England Patriots 41-33.
And then the expected happened: Thousands of fans stormed the streets after the historic win to celebrate — in an apocalyptic style.
But unlike the doomsayer predictions spread by national media, Philly did not burn to the ground.
People danced. They shouted. They climbed poles. (So much for the Bio-Bottle Jack hydraulic fluid the cops greased them with earlier in the day.)
They clambered on top of everything they could find, including SEPTA bus stops.
Yes, there was some property damage. Per PMN, a display window at Macy’s was smashed, and a gas station at Broad and Catherine experienced looting. A car was flipped, and a few others sustained minor damage.
At least one of the lamp posts were pulled right out of the ground, and several around City Hall were reportedly bent.
An awning at the Ritz-Carlton next to City Hall collapsed with a crowd of people atop it. (This was after a successful backflip up there.)
Police and city spokespeople have not said if anyone was injured in the awning incident.
There were a few arrests. Per a CNN report, three Philadelphians were taken into custody in connection with the celebrations. The same report, however, describes six arrests at UMass Amherst, where Patriots fan students appear to have gotten into fights and started a melee that required pepper spray to break it up.
And generally, Philly fans did their city proud. Here’s 17 more photos from the fun along Broad.
