As Red Sox fans ran to the Boston Common to celebrate the team’s World Series 4-1 win Sunday night, Boston University students did the same — kind of.
Students were blocked from entering Kenmore Square, and Fenway, by Boston Police barriers. Instead, they gathered on the stretch of Commonwealth Avenue between Silber Way and 580 Commonwealth Ave. where the barriers were set up.
Students filled the street while chanting, “Let’s go, Red Sox” and, “Yankees suck,” while a handful blew bright red vuvuzelas. One held up a portable speaker playing Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” prompting the crowd to sing along to the unofficial Red Sox anthem.
Nora Stolzman, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she loves New England and is “so pumped” about the Red Sox’s victory.
“Boston is such a good sports town,” Stolzman, a Rhode Island native, said. “People get so into it, and it’s like when the [New England] Patriots won the Super Bowl two years ago, it was one of the best days ever because everyone’s celebrating over a common thing. And in the world today that’s so divisive, this is such a fun thing, you know?”
Stolzman said she thinks the Red Sox’s win will have a positive impact on the BU community.
“I think either a huge majority of the people here are Red Sox fans or jumping right on the bandwagon today,” Stolzman said, “so I feel like it’s going to do good stuff for the community.”
Similarly, Nathan Simani, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he was happy the Red Sox won, and anticipated an enthusiastic response at BU the following days.
“It’s going to be absolute madness forever,” Simani said, adding that “now we gotta get the Patriots to win.”
Brandon Miller, a sophomore in the College of Engineering, said he and his friends ventured onto Commonwealth Avenue to watch how people reacted after the World Series win.
“We’re mostly here just to see what would happen though, studentwise,” Miller said.
While some students ran to catch the nearest Green Line train, others stayed on Commonwealth Avenue, behind the police barriers.
Boston University Police Department Chief Kelly Nee said BPD blocks off Kenmore Square every year to keep the community safe — riots after the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series resulted in a woman’s death, she said.
“Not letting the mob get into Kenmore Square makes everybody safer,” Nee said, referring to the barriers.
Letting students onto Commonwealth Avenue, she said, while blocking off Kenmore Square allows students to celebrate safely.
Laura Joy Erb, a junior in the College of Engineering, said she thinks the celebration is a good break for students busy with schoolwork.
“Everybody gets bogged down with studying and stuff like that and doing homework,” Erb said. “It’s like a nice little break from it, a bit of excitement getting out into the city. It’s good. Reminds there’s stuff going on outside of school.”
Leah Minasian and Ashley Abbuhl, both sophomores in the College of General Studies, said they found the Boston spirit exciting and that they hoped for celebratory events on campus to follow.
“We’re going to have some parades maybe, I hope,” Minasian said.
“Maybe a class cancelled,” Abbuhl added. “That’d be good.”
Jennifer Small is a junior in the Boston University College of Communication, majoring in journalism and minoring in media science. She is one of the Co-Campus News Editors for Spring 2023.
