Catcher Carlos Ruiz had barely leaped into Lidge's arms when thousands of people poured into the unseasonably cold and raw streets of the city - flooding Broad Street in Center City and intersections throughout the city with a sea of throbbing humanity, people hugging total strangers, flooding Modell's outlets for Phillies regalia, jumping up and down, and howling into the long night.
Thousands of jubilant fans crowded Broad Street near Spruce moments after their team clinched the World Series. They chanted "Let's Go, Phillies" and screamed their heads off, drunk with pure joy.
As the wild night wore on, however, fans grew rowdy and violent as fires were set in the middle of Broad Street near City Hall and in trash bins, and newspaper boxes were lit ablaze; some cars - even police cars - were flipped over or vandalized around the city, and a Center City luggage store was looted.
Police presence initially was heaviest outside Citizens Bank Park, which was lined with a solid wall of bike police as thousands of fans milled around, while mounted police took up a position near the McFadden's sports bar.
Around 10:40, seven or eight of the celebrating fans rocked and knocked over a light pole near the stadium on Pattison Avenue, causing cops to cordon off the area. Aboout 20 police cars arrived an hour later to disperse the crowd.
About 11 p.m., paramedics treated a woman for intoxication just outside the entrance to Lincoln Financial Field. At the time, it was the only emergency incident around the stadium. One cop shrugged, "It's nothing the stomach pump wouldn't take care of."
At roughly the same time, just southeast of the ballpark on Darien Street, a rowdy crowd flipped over a Ford Explorer SUV that had a Tampa Bay Rays bumper sticker. A couch was set afire next to the SUV. Another man jumped on top of a police car, and there was glass all over the parking lot.
