Jovenitti: Riots following sports games bring out best, worst in students

When the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the New York Jets 24-19 on Sunday to win the AFC… When the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the New York Jets 24-19 on Sunday to win the AFC Championship, hundreds of people took to the streets of Oakland to celebrate the win.

It marks the eighth time the Steelers have made it to the Super Bowl — but, perhaps more importantly, it also marked the 10th “riot” in my four years at Pitt.

For my top 10 this week, I give you a roundup of the most memorable riots at Pitt in the past four years — and the pros and cons of many of them.

10. 2011 AFC Championship. This might have been the most recent, but let’s face it — it was pretty sad compared to the rest. There were only a couple hundred people outside, and most of them were simply trying to get on TV at the corner of Forbes and Bouquet. But let’s give Pitt students a break. After all, AFC Championships aren’t that unique anymore.

9. G-20 Summit. This was by far the most insane riot, and it is one of only three non-sports-related riots on this list.

The police presence in Oakland was unprecedented, and the legal system is still working out some of the arrests. But I’m placing it near the bottom of my list simply because this was an angry riot. The best ones are celebratory.

8. Pitt vs. No. 10 South Florida in 2008. I’m still not sure why Pitt students decided to take to the streets to celebrate this win. Pitt was 3-1 heading into Tampa for the matchup with the top-10 Bulls. The Panthers lost to Bowling Green in the first game. But for some reason, beating USF on the road was a big enough deal to celebrate at the Cathedral.

7. 2009 AFC Championship. This AFC Championship celebration easily trumped Sunday’s events. The 2009 edition actually shut down the streets. Perhaps it was more exciting because the Philadelphia Eagles — who have a solid fan presence on Pitt’s campus — had lost the NFC Championship a few hours earlier and Steelers fans felt the need to rub it in Eagles fans’ faces.

6. Phillies 2008 World Series Championship. Since eastern Pennsylvanians make up such a large portion of Pitt students, when the Phillies won the 2008 World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays, the celebrations reached Steelers-AFC-Championship-like proportions. In fact, Phillies fans even stormed the Hillman Library to let the world know how happy they were.

5. 2008 SempleFest. Before the police decided to crack down on the annual end-of-spring-semester tradition, the 2008 version of the giant party known as SempleFest simply got out of control. The party went from a few hundred people early in the afternoon to a few thousand people by the evening. Fires were lit and a Pitt tradition was ruined. Nonetheless, it was crazy and exciting.

4. 2009 Stanley Cup Championship. The Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings in a thrilling seven-game series in June of 2009. Oakland quickly erupted into revelry, but since it was summertime, it just wasn’t the same as regular, academic-year riots. Still, it established Pittsburgh as the “City of Champions” thanks to the Steelers’ Super Bowl win earlier in the year.

3. 2008 Presidential Election. Regardless of your political views, the celebrations surrounding Barack Obama’s campaign victory in 2008 were purely joyous. That’s the reason it is so high on this list — because it was the most peaceful “riot” of them all. Nothing was lit on fire and the only disruption was the temporary closing of Forbes Avenue. Perhaps students should take notes on this one in case the Steelers win on Feb. 6.

2. 13-9. When 4-7 Pitt defeated No. 2-ranked West Virginia — with a score of 13-9 — on Dec. 1, 2007, I witnessed the first riot of my collegiate career. Having Forbes Avenue shut down in the freezing rain over a football game definitely made for one of the most exciting events of my freshman year.

1. 2009 Super Bowl Championship. This was certainly not the most peaceful of the riots, and it wasn’t very surprising. But it was simply the biggest riot to hit Pitt since 2007. Just seconds after the Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals, the streets of Oakland were jam-packed with thousands of people celebrating the win.

Unfortunately, a few bad apples lit things on fire and destroyed bus stops — hopefully that won’t happen in two weeks — but it was still the most exciting riot of the past four years.

Editor’s Note: The Pitt News does not condone unruly behavior due to sporting victories. Students who celebrate violently, destroy property or otherwise violate the Student Code of Conduct could be subject to punishment by the University or, in some cases, the legal system.