Pandemonium in Chapel Hill after UNC’s NCAA men's basketball championship
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Some 9,000 fans watched from the University of North Carolina’s Dean Dome as their Tar Heels won the NCAA basketball championship game in Glendale, Arizona Monday night.
Then, reports CBS Raleigh affiliate WNCN-TV, thousands more came out to celebrate the win on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.
Just seconds after the Tar Heels defeated Gonzaga 71-65, thousands of fans swarmed Franklin Street, blocking an intersection.
Chapel Hill officials had warned fans not to light bonfires on the street after the game, but by midnight, fans already had three bonfires burning brightly in the intersection.
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And by 12:05 a.m. Tuesday, young men had climbed street poles on at least three corners of the intersection and were standing on top of the walk/don’t walk signs.
The Franklin Street scene also included a plastic construction barrel, a beach ball and someone with a large umbrella.
After midnight, a large beige couch could be seen lifted over the heads of fans — it was destined for one of the bonfires..
Eventually, closer to 1 a.m. Tuesday, there was one large bonfire and fans were jumping over the dangerous flames.
By 1:15 a.m., the bonfires were out, the crowd had dwindled considerably and only about half the intersection was filled.
Chapel Hill officials said Sunday two people were injured as about 12,000 people rushed Franklin Street following UNC-Chapel Hill’s victory late Saturday in one of two men’s Final Four games.The party continued into Sunday morning, when regular traffic resumed through downtown Chapel Hill.
