By Anne Baker

When Superbowl XLII came to a close, the one thing that may have stood out to people walking around the neighborhood was the large police presence circling Northeastern’s campus in an attempt to prevent the same kind of student riots that plagued Boston after major sporting events of the past.

But this time there were few students to prevent from rioting.

Following the New England Patriots’ 17-14 loss to the New York Giants, there were significantly fewer students roaming the streets than at the conclusion of the World Series. However, the Boston Police Department (BPD) was out in full force, donning riot gear in preparation for upheaval that never came.

“Judging by the number of policemen here, I don’t think they’re going to have any problems with anybody, including myself,” said Tyler Penniston, a freshman computer science major.

Police Chief Peter McGowan said there were about 70 metro-regional officers in addition to Boston Police and Northeastern Police. In total, there were well more than 200 officers in the area, he said.

Although there were few incidents last night, a News reporter observed the arrest of a young man, without shoes, wearing a red Northeastern T-shirt. The man was accosted by officers for allegedly tipping over a mailbox, witnesses said.

“About 20 seconds after [the game], he was walking by and he overturned the mailbox,” said Jim Parker, a middler criminal justice major, who said he witnessed the event. “[The man] started to run toward the freshman quad and two policemen yelled at him, ‘Don’t move,'” he said. Damaging a government-owned mailbox is a federal offense, according to federal law. Although McGowan said he had not expected a riot, he said he had “prepared for the worst.”

McGowan had little to worry about, Parker said, adding, “Someone would be foolish to riot now.”