By Glenn Yoder
As Adam Vinatieri’s 41-yard field goal sailed through the uprights, giving the New England Patriots a 32-29 Super Bowl victory over the Carolina Panthers Sunday night, a sea of students flooded Hemenway Street.
The roar of the crowd was deafening, with cymbals, foghorns and cries of “Go Pats” and “Yankees suck” punctuating the atmosphere.
“This is craziness,” said sophomore John Briteau. “It’s a great fact that Vinatieri won it for us again. [The victory] means we’re so much better than anyone else.”
Students could be seen virtually everywhere – hanging from windows, signs and advertisements, on roofs and even in trees lining the street. Apartment renters pushed speakers up against their windows and blared music like Out-Kast’s “Hey Ya!” and Queen’s “We Are The Champions,” causing mass singing and dancing among students. As cars passed, they honked their horns and passengers leaned out the windows, high-fiving the crowd.
“At one point, a kid climbed a tree because there were shoes strung up in the tree and he threw them down, but these kids with flare guns were trying to shoot him,” said Jenni Stein, a freshman toxicology major. “He didn’t get hit, but it was kind of strange … I thought [the night] was fun. I don’t really drink so I wasn’t participating as much as observing, but I thought it was funny.”
The scene was reminiscent of the celebrations that ensued after the Boston Red Sox’s American League Division Series victory over the Oakland Athletics in October.
“It’s a good thing the Patriots won because it’s been a tough year with the Sox – it’s a revival for us,” said Jimmy Pembertom, a freshman performance major at the Berklee College of Music.
The “revival” brought an estimated 2,000 people to Hemenway Street, which had been removed of all remaining vehicles early Sunday morning, having been cited as one of the prime areas for party-goers by Boston Police. The clearing of cars resulted in more room for students.
“We went out right after the game and we heard a lot of screaming and sirens coming from [Hemenway],” said Taylor Mason, a freshman psychology major. “We didn’t go over there. The last thing I want is to get hit with tear gas.”
Fireworks, sparklers and Roman candles marked the epicenter of the nearly three-hour celebration. Beer poured from apartment windows onto the crowd, as students danced in the streets.
“You know that movie ’28 Days [Later]?’ They’re infested with the rage,” said Amanda Gormley, a sophomore vocal performance major at the Boston Conservatory.
Boston had similar festivities when the Patriots claimed the Super Bowl title over the St. Louis Rams in 2002.
“It was exciting being in a town where there was so much celebration when a team wins,” said Dan Nettle, a freshman criminal justice major. “In San Francisco, there isn’t as much camaraderie and joy surrounding the teams. I was happy to be around people that were happier than I was. I was happy to be in a city with this sort of ideology.”
Some students were even able to put aside their personal allegiances to other teams to support the hometown favorite.
“I feel that this is a great college experience,” said Mike Jones, a middler sociology major and a native New Yorker. “I’m glad my college town team won the Super Bowl. The [New York] Jets suck this year, so go Patriots.”
By 1:30 a.m., the police had ushered most of the crowd back into their residences, ending the first city-wide celebration of 2004.
“I was so excited they won,” said Laura Cenker, a freshman undecided major. “I was rocking on my chair and hitting things and screaming ‘they have to win’ [during the game]. I was getting nervous because Vinatieri missed the first two [field goals] – he’s not as good as he was two years ago, but he’s the best clutch kicker ever. I mean, how much pressure was he under?”
– News staff writers Sarah Metcalf, Lauren Rouleau and Stephanie Vosk and news correspondent Elyse Merlo contributed to this report.
