Philadelphia’s Super Bowl celebrations were lively, fun, sometimes life-endangering, and had poop-eating — but when it comes to actual, legitimate violence it was New England that had the City of Brotherly Love beat.
There were more post-Super Bowl arrests in New England than Philadelphia
Well lookie here ...
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
In the aftermath of Super Bowl 52 there were four recorded arrests in Philadelphia following celebrations, all of which for vandalism. That number is expected to grow, but considering the size of crowds in Philadelphia it’s largely to be expected.
Philadelphia natives, trying to prove their city wasn’t just drunk people jumping off awnings, are sharing photos and videos of fans just having a good time in the streets. One of the highlights is this clip of two fans playing rock-paper-scissors for ownership of a Broad Street sign, ripped down in celebration.
New England, on the other hand, had some real violence. The biggest flash point was on the UMass-Amherst campus, where a riot ensued following the Super Bowl. Six people were arrested, and 12 injured after fights broke out and projectiles were thrown. Ultimately riot police needed to be dispatched to disperse the crowd.
Boston itself was largely quiet, but the UMass-Amherst riot had more violence than Philadelphia experienced during its night of celebration, based on arrests made. In addition a student from the University of New Hampshire was arrested, and more are expected to be made following a party-turned-violent and people began setting off fireworks in the crowd and throwing bottles.
This kind of violence happens after major events, and no city is safe from people acting like idiots, but maybe remember this story the next time you assume Philadelphia is the most violent sports town in America.
