Students celebrating the Red Sox World Series victory on the WSU campus green (Photo by Peter Currier)
WESTFIELD- For the better part of the 21st century so far, communities, universities, and entire cities throughout New England have had to grapple with what to do when large groups of fans are celebrating a sports championship together. There have been 12 instances of a Boston team coming away with a trophy since 2000. 10 of those instances took place while Westfield State University had most of its students on campus.
Over the last 18 years, WSU has had a lot of practice with handling crowd control. Typically, when the Red Sox or Patriots have won the World Series or Superbowl respectively, the students rush the campus green and form a mob around the centerpiece globe on campus. This ‘mob’ has taken on varying degrees of severity each time.
In a 2017 interview, Tricia Oliver, Director of Campus Communication, said that some public safety officers had told her the Red Sox victory in 2004 caused one of the more rambunctious gatherings during that time period. The second the baserunner was forced out in the bottom of the 9th in St. Louis, students left their dorms and rushed the campus green.
Carlton Pickron (front) looks on at the crowd celebrating the Red Sox World Series victory (Photo by Peter Currier)
“Folks don’t usually come outside until the timer hits zero,” said Oliver, although she added that some students can sometimes be seen waiting by the globe when the outcome of the game becomes clear.
However, despite the historic victory of the Red Sox in 2004, the most infamous campus celebration occurred following the Patriots last minute victory against the Seahawks in 2015. After the Jermaine Kearse bobble-catch and the Malcolm Butler interception two plays later, Pats fans at WSU ran to the globe after experiencing a range of emotions watching the game.
However, this time was somehow different. Chants could be heard of students saying ‘tip the globe’ as they got closer to the sculpture. Students climbed the fence surrounding the globe and began to pull it in every direction. The metal strips that made up the globe ripped away from each other, causing the structure to be basically ripped in half.
The African continent represented on a landmark globe sculpture on the Westfield State University campus is semi-detached after a Super Bowl celebration. (Photo ©2015 Carl E. Hartdegen)
Vice President of Student Affairs, Carlton Pickron, later said the globe was damaged because of, “too much enthusiasm” from students. The destruction of the campus centerpiece launched a campaign to fund a replacement, which eventually cost $26,387 and came from Giant Globs, Inc. in Chicago.
It was just two years later, in 2017, that WSU public safety would have to figure out how to better control the crowd. The Patriots had completed an improbable comeback against Atlanta in Superbowl 51. The crowd had formed around the globe, as usual, and the situation was looking tense, as the new globe had barely been up for a year. Finally, the chants started, and bottles started being thrown. Seemingly out of nowhere, police dressed in riot gear arrived and began circling the globe and pushing students away from the fence.
The $26,000 sculpture would survive the night, despite some students’ best efforts. However, because Boston often fields championship teams, WSU security had to be ready again in 2018. This time, they sought outside help to make riot police unnecessary. When Chris Sale struck out Manny Machado in game 5, students, once again, ran out of their dorms. This time, however, they hesitated, as the first thing they saw were dozens of state police and WSU security officers scattered around the green. There was extra fencing around the globe and high-powered lighting making everyone visible in the cold night.
The celebration was allowed to continue, but students opted to gather off to the side and not surround the sculpture.
“I think the extra police presence has something to do with it,” said Pickron, “the students are respectful. This is good. This is why we are here.” Pickron was among the administrators standing with state police before the game ended.
A similar scene played out this past Sunday as the Patriots beat the Rams in Superbowl 53. Oliver indicated that they seemed to have figured out how to handle the mob of students over the years.
“We’ve consistently used the same tactics,” she said the following day, “we’ve increased the number of security personnel for that night.”
The globe on the lawn at Westfield State University is seen through the celebrating crowd after the Patriots won SuperBowl LI Sunday Feb. 5, 2017 (photo by Peter Currier)
Oliver added that the school administration was pleased that students celebrated responsibly. Although she noted that there were two arrests for disorderly conduct.
Even with the added security, it’s hard to pin down why exactly the championship mobs have become more subdued. The sight of state troopers staring them down certainly contributed, but some argue championship fatigue may be a factor.
“This generation of students only knows winning New England teams,” says Pickron, adding that the frequency of championships may contribute to this year’s celebration being relatively calm.
With Boston sports fans being who they are, the expectation is likely that Westfield State will be in this situation again in October. Given their recent success in keeping the celebrations orderly, it is unlikely that WSU will change their security formula going forward.
