With the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl and emotions running high, the Northeastern administration is bracing for the worst while hoping for the best.

While no one can root against the hometown team, no one can forget the mayhem that followed the 2002 Patriots’ win in Super Bowl XXXVI. Two years later, the Patriots are back, and one can only hope the rioters don’t repeat.

There are very simple ways to celebrate a championship win: high-fives, jumping up and down and even hitting a local bar for a post-game party. Most people don’t plan on something more destructive. The administration is hoping Student A doesn’t say to Student B, “Man, I am so excited the Pats won, let’s go flip over a car!”

As implausible and unrealistic as this might sound, somewhere in the back of your mind you know it is a possibility, and it’s an embarrassing part of NU’s past.

And the stakes are only getting higher. The residents of the Symphony neighborhood are more than fed up with student conduct in their area. Don’t be surprised if they are poised by their phones waiting for the first slip-up — or the first beer bottle to fly — to call the police.

NU knows the atmosphere is tense as well, sending out a preemptive message to all students, “If you get out of control, you will pay.” There is no reason to think it won’t happen either. As this administration has proven time and time again, it’s all about the image. And nothing puts a black mark on a school quite like unruly drunk students.

One can only hope the mood stays light. Time has shown that a win seems to entice a crowd as much as a loss, as the Red Sox riots showed. Thank goodness it’s not such a heated and historic battle.

We all know these messages won’t ring true to those who will eventually commit the destruction. Students who have the mindset that nothing phases them, arrest or otherwise, will tear down and throw things at will, and there is nothing that will stop them.

All anyone can really ask — and hope for — is that there aren’t enough students around to coax them on to bigger and better things.

Use common sense people. Take it easy. Don’t throw things, don’t be belligerent and, bottom line, don’t ruin other people’s fun by being obnoxious. There is nothing worse than being labeled as a “dumb college student.” As much as the administration cares about image, we should all care, too.

So, be respectful. And go Pats!