Hysterical Boston Red Sox fans spilled out of bars, restaurants and Boston University dorms and descended on Kenmore Square Monday night after the Sox clinched the American League Division Series with a nail-biting 4-3 win over the Oakland Athletics.
Thousands flooded the streets near Fenway Park chanting ‘Yankees suck’ and ‘Let’s go Red Sox.’
As people crowded around TV cameras, dozens of fans climbed up the sides of buildings and billboards and stood on rooftops screaming, and some even flashed the crowd. A few people even managed to get into Fenway Park and chant from the stairways of the stadium.
‘It was the best game ever the most exciting and nail-biting event of my entire life,’ said College of General Studies freshman Griffin Moodie.
Boston Police and Boston University Police were on hand to control the crowd, which began to jump on and flip cars and light Yankees paraphernalia on fire. But despite the police presence, the crowd showed no signs of slowing down.
One fan rode a mattress down Lansdowne Street through a throng of chanting rioters, while others scrambled to get away from a flipped car’s leaking gas.
‘If that [expletive deleted] car blows up, there’s going to be a lot of hurt people here,’ said one police officer who helped cordon off the car.
Other cars were vandalized as well, but many people said they were not concerned for their safety even Yankees fans.
‘I feel completely confident you can’t resist the celebration,’ said Laura Chardier, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore. ‘I’ll wear my uniform next time I’m a pretty hardcore Yankees fan.’
Chris Dellaca, a CAS freshman originally from Brooklyn, was wearing his Yankees jersey, and taking plenty of flak from Red Sox fans.
He also said he wasn’t worried about any danger.
‘I’ve got mad friends back home who will come down here [for the Championship Series],’ he said.
‘I can’t really get too hyped up about this, though,’ he continued. ‘We already have so many trophies and rings.’
Most celebrants, however, reveled in the Red Sox’s victory.
‘It’s absolutely out of control down here,’ said College of Arts and Sciences freshman Crystal Curcio. ‘It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The energy down here is indescribable.’
Some fans even began their own parade, complete with drums and foghorns, and taxis drove by in masses honking with people cheering out the windows.
The rioters were forcibly dispersed at about 12:45 a.m. by several dozen riot police with truncheons.
The night began with hopeful fans crowding into nearby Fenway bars and restaurants such as the Cask ‘n’ Flagon Saloon, Boston Beerworks, Uno’s Pizzeria and Bertucci’s.
‘I think this resembles the 1999 series with the Cleveland Indians, where they came from behind and won,’ said College of Arts and Sciences freshman Adam Bassett. ‘That’s what is going to happen again tonight.’
Since the beginning of the series, bars and restaurants in the area have been filled with fans who have been getting crazier by the night.
‘It’s not just the customers going crazy, but the staff and the cooks were coming out of the kitchen as well,’ said Uno’s waiter Matt Murphy. ‘Near the end of games, it was almost an unwritten rule not to order anything.’
By the time Manny Ramirez hit his home run in the sixth inning, fans were out of their seats hugging and chanting his name, along with the new Red Sox motto, ‘Cowboy up,’ coined by first baseman Kevin Millar after the Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles to advance to the division series.
Staff writer Dan Atkinson contributed to this report.
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