It's probably too late now, but since the Red Sox have won three championships over the past 10 seasons, perhaps this advice will come in handy again in the near future: On the night of a possible World Series clincher, don't park anywhere near Fenway.
By and large the celebrations in Boston were peaceful and jubilant, but some members of Red Sox Nation acted like a championship was a new thing, flipping cars, dodging rubber bullets, and generally taking advantage of the party to cause a little damage. It was the perfect storm for trouble—the Red Sox took a large and early lead, giving residents time to congregate, anticipate, and most importantly, intoxicate.
Cars were flipped, because that's what you apparently do when your team wins a World Series. Here's a frightening one, just outside of Fenway, with the poor driver still inside:
And here's another, location undetermined (though reports indicate that most of the property damage took place around Fenway and Kenmore Square, then moving up Boylston toward Copley):
Some photos of the Boston shenanigans, via Globe online producer Andrew Ba Tran:
Fans outside stormed Gate B and ran into the ballpark after the Red Sox won (Jessica Rinaldi for The Boston Globe) pic.twitter.com/dSVhcW2bDV
— Andrew Ba Tran (@abtran) October 31, 2013
Fans celebrate by jumping on a moving cab on Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street (via @AramPhoto) pic.twitter.com/Z3xr31XgvW
— Andrew Ba Tran (@abtran) October 31, 2013
People climb up and dangle off a traffic light outside Fenway Park (Jessica Rinaldi For The Boston Globe) pic.twitter.com/dDGlJjfYTN
— Andrew Ba Tran (@abtran) October 31, 2013
Boston Police reported only nine arrests on the night, but as more images pop up, don't be surprised if that number increases. (Hi, ridiculously photogenic car-flipping guy up top! I hope we're not writing something like this about you in 30 years!) Still, a few scuffles with cops is nothing compared to what went down at some New England colleges.
At the University of New Hampshire, it's fair to call it a riot. Police estimated 3,000 unruly students clogging the streets, climbing light poles, and lighting fireworks, until the crowds were broken up with pepper spray and rubber bullets. Five arrests were reported. At Plymouth State, fires were set and students climbed and hung from lampposts until they collapsed. At Keene State College, a car was flipped and students threw rocks and glass bottles at police.
The biggest trouble of the night went down at UMass Amherst, where state police in riot gear waged running battles with rioters, the cops firing tear gas and deploying mounted units, the students throwing anything not nailed down at police. "At least 10" arrests were reportedly made. Here's an edited video showing the night's devolution from euphoric to dangerous:
There'll obviously be more photo and video coming out over the course of the day, so if you see anything good, pass it along.
Boston Fails To Celebrate Like It's Been There Before