PLYMOUTH-New England’s beloved Red Sox reversed the 86 year- old curse in a four game sweep on Wednesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Sox went home to Boston with a World Series Championship. Meanwhile Plymouth State University students happily celebrated in the streets of Plymouth despite the huge police presence.
By 10:50 p.m., at the bottom of the seventh inning, Russell Street residents could peer out of their windows to find two full sized school buses unloading police officers. Reportedly there were officers from Manchester, Concord, Grafton, Nashua, as well as local and State Police. The police force on Russell Street was estimated to be about 160 officers. The police, loaded with large sticks resembling baseball bats, riot gear, and police K-9s, lined up in groups of 4-6 all the way down Russell Street, waiting for what was expected to be one of the largest riots Plymouth State has ever seen.
Students peered from windows and out their doors, snapping photos of the spectacle, but many did not leave their property. Some students told their roommates, who were visiting other friends and lived on Russell Street, not to come home, for fear of harassment from the police. Some even sought refuge at apartments they were only slightly familiar with.
As the Sox celebrated their win in St. Louis so did many Plymouth students. Students leaked out into the streets in small, wary groups, sometimes cheering, but mostly trying to get from point A to point B, with only a few who stopped to talk. In all, the crowds moved smoothly and kept to themselves.
Stragglers from outside of the HUB crossed paths with another small group moving north from Mary Lyon Hall. As the two groups passed they exchanged victory chants of ” Lets go Red Sox” and ” Yankees Suck,” and forming for a few minutes what was seemingly the largest group of ‘rioters’ on campus.
Another group of approximately fifteen students, men and women alike, congregated near the crosswalk outside of Lamson Library around 12:15 a.m. All of the students donned bandanas, goggles, and hoods over their faces to hide their identities. The students cheered in favor of their love for the Red Sox and exchanged hugs and high-fives. One student, who prefers to remain anonymous, said, “We did it because we don’t want to be identified by the press, or the police, but we still want to celebrate and support the Red Sox”. As the night progressed, more students sported face-covering apparel, and quickly avoided or chastised anything resembling authority.
Plymouth Police Chief Anthony Raymond was pleased with the overall success of the night. He reported no major disturbances from crowds and no arrests. “We really appreciate the cooperation of the students,” Chief Raymond stated. “When the students cooperate it makes things go a lot smoother.”