On Sunday night, thousands took to the streets of Philadelphia to celebrate as the Philadelphia Eagles claimed their first-ever Super Bowl victory.
Unfortunately, an awning outside the Ritz Carlton hotel couldn’t carry the weight of partying Eagles fans.
On Sunday night, the Eagles defeated Tom Brady and the New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LII, one of the highest-scoring Super Bowl games ever played.
Joyous Eagles fans took their party into the streets both during and after the game, setting off fireworks, lighting cars on fire, and loudly singing the team’s famous “Fly Eagles Fly” fight song.
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In one case, the awning outside the Ritz Carlton Hotel on South Broad Street became the scene for a party-turned-accident-turned-party once again, as several videos posted to social media show.
At first, Eagles fans scaled the awning – a height of roughly 12 feet or just over 3.5 metres – and began doing “trust falls” onto the waiting crowd of fans below.
Soon, a curious trickle of fans became a flood, as dozens of people celebrated atop the flimsy awning, eventually straining its rather limited load bearing capability.
NBC 10 in Philadelphia reports that there were injuries as a result of the collapse, however those details could neither be confirmed nor denied by Philadelphia Police and Fire officials.
Yet incredibly the drama involving the awning had one last chapter, as people were seen carrying pieces of awning debris through the streets of Philadelphia after the collapse.
Some went further and ignited a fire in the middle of a street that firefighters soon extinguished. Other images showed a light pole tipping over and the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News website Philly.com reported smashed windows and toppled awnings.
Police in riot gear and on bicycles formed lines to control crowds and push people back, social media images showed.
Some people broke a display window at a department store near City Hall, and looters broke into a convenience store, grabbing merchandise and screaming, “Everything is free,” Philly.com reported.
Nearly all the light poles on one side of City Hall were toppled, and a car outside a hotel was tipped on its side, Philly.com said.
Philadelphia police and fire officials did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for information.
-With files from Reuters
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