The utter mayhem that many expected in the wake of a Warriors victory in the NBA Finals failed to materialize Tuesday night, despite thousands of fans drunk and partying in the streets on both sides of the Bay. A big street party in downtown Oakland forced the shutdown of the 12th Street BART station and the rerouting of AC Transit buses, but apart from illegal fireworks and gunshots heard fired into the air around town, the celebrations remained positive and remarkably non-destructive by all accounts, though there may have been a few street brawls.
The beacon atop the TransAmerica Pyramid was lit blue, and the Associated Press quoted SF Mayor Ed Lee saying, "The San Francisco Bay Area is awash in Blue and Gold as we congratulate our hometown heroes on their spectacular victory!"
The only real tensions seemed to erupt when police tried to disperse crowds.
KRON 4 had some helicopters shots of the street party, which centered between 14th Street and 18th Street at Broadway and Telegraph in Oakland. Below you can see footage from the ground shot by the SF Business Times, featuring a fight breaking out among revelers, and the arrival of Oakland police, who managed to disperse most of the crowd by 1 a.m.
Some of the crowd wasn't happy to have the party end, however, and threw some bottles at police, which also happened in SF's Mission district, as you can see via the video below.
People throwing bottles at police. Police still telling people to get on the sidewalk #Warriors #Mission pic.twitter.com/8ZxbhArixx
— Vivian Ho (@VivianHo) June 17, 2015
Someone threw a bottle at police close enough to my head to swish my hair. Mood definitely darkening here #Warriors #Mission
— Vivian Ho (@VivianHo) June 17, 2015
At least one person was arrested in Oakland for vandalism, as he was spray painting "WARRIORS" onto the street, and the Chronicle's Vivian Ho reported on seeing a couple of arrests in the Mission. Police declared an unlawful assembly there around midnight.
Also, there was this...
Crowd gathering around shirtless man putting cigarettes out on his body. Crowd is encouraging him to do this #Warriors #Mission
— Vivian Ho (@VivianHo) June 17, 2015
And perhaps the quote of the night...
During the fight that spurred the police crackdown, a woman shouted, "This isn't about you! This is about the #Warriors!" #Mission
— Vivian Ho (@VivianHo) June 17, 2015
Oakland Tribune reporter Thomas Peele also did some of his own on-the-ground commentary via Twitter, sounding notably grumpy about the whole thing. (And I think he meant to say "M80s"?) And he reported on "lots of fireworks" still going off as of 1 a.m. at 19th and Telegraph.
If people in #oaland block streets, drink, set off 880s for #BlackLivesMatter, cops make arrests. But for basketball all is forgiven
— Thomas Peele (@thomas_peele) June 17, 2015
It has to be asked #Oakland #DubNation if this was not for Mayor @LibbySchaaf 's favorite team opd calls illegal assembly hours ago, right?
— Thomas Peele (@thomas_peele) June 17, 2015
Lot of fireworks still @ 19 & Telegraph as people cheer. Wonder what people trying to sleep nearby think? #Oakland
— Thomas Peele (@thomas_peele) June 17, 2015
Meanwhile, along International Boulevard in Oakland, there was also plenty of celebrating. The Chronicle paints a good picture:
Up and down International Boulevard, from First Avenue by the lake to 101st Avenue in deep East Oakland, horns blared, fireworks boomed and the smell of burned rubber hung in the air as ecstatic fans spun their tires in celebratory donuts. Overexcited fans crashed two cars on International around 50th Avenue and left them smoking alongside the road.
So that's basically it! A couple of arrests. Some dudes doing trust falls off of lampposts into crowds, some broken bottles, and THE WARRIORS WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 40 YEARS!!!
Good work not setting the place on fire, everybody.
