The Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl champions, and the city is still here.
Philly’s celebrations on Sunday night were actually kind of tame compared to the raucous crowd after the Phillies’ 2008 World Series win. Two cars were flipped over. The police commissioner got hit in the head with a bottle. (Imagine throwing a bottle at the Eagles’ celebrations and hitting the top cop.) Some storefronts were smashed—including those at the Wanamaker building, but Jonathan Switcher will fix them right up—and some light poles were tipped over.
Meanwhile, six were arrested in Amherst after rioting after the Patriots loss. Any looting or rioting over a football championship is dumb, but the widely reported total of three arrests in Philadelphia shows Sunday night was not so bad at all.
Of course, the cops now want to make some more arrests. Yesterday Philadelphia Police released surveillance footage of the wildest part of the post-Super Bowl celebration: A complete looting of the Sunoco gas station at Broad and Catharine streets in South Philadelphia. (Hey, sometimes Eagles players live in the building across the street!)
There’s a lot going on in here, so I’d like to point out some important moments. Here are my favorite people in this video.
First, check out this guy: He’s Facetiming as people rush into the gas station to steal Slim Jims. He’s making the best of a chaotic situation.
Despite the massive looting of the place, it’s actually pretty calm. Then this guy comes in just to completely knock over an endcap display of chips, candy and gift cards.
Things have gotten wilder, but does that stop this guy from Facetiming? No it doesn’t. He’s absolutely jubilant to film himself in the chaos. His friend throws some snacks around for added effect.
But now, the highlight of the video: Green Man! He actually appears to be pushed into the store, then just wanders around for a bit celebrating before exiting calmly.
The real heroes of the night, however? The people who continued to line up and pay for their purchases as the store was being looted. These people deserve a medal.