RIOT
Hockey Season! Habs beat Boston!
The only way to show our appreciation for the team is to DESTROY THE CITY AND EVERYTHING IN OUR PATH.
No one was injured, so I don't really consider it a riot. But there was still a bit of craziness and vandalism and some destruction of property.
So my final paper is terribly late by now (and even now I'm still working on it, lol) but I knew that the game was tonight and decided to go study at my Uni for a change of scenery, which is located in the heart of downtown. I could go to the library (which is open 24hours for exam-time), then go to the school pub to watch the game, then come back to continue schoolwork.
Because of the game, I decide not to bring my car. It was a wise decision since when I got there the streets were absolutely jam-packed, not even taking into account the events that were to come. I live downtown and it's less than a ten-minute walk anyway. The weather is beautiful for a change, and I almost feel like crying because I just want to say "fuck it" to my stupid paper and enjoy life, NOW. I left pretty late so I went straight to the pub to catch the game. Like the streets, it is PACKED when I get there with fans wearing jerseys (suddenly wish I had brought mine). I spot some classmates and go to sit with them. I have no more than two pints, which were going for a $4 special, seeing as it's generally not a good idea to drink before doing school work.
With the victory comes the expected euphoria, and I end up staying about half an hour after to partake in some celebrating before trudging to the library. I get there at 10:00pm and stay until a bit past 12:00am. I'm hungry and a bit tired and and want to leave so I gather my things in my backpack and get ready to walk home. I step outside the university and am met with CHAOS.
I could see it the minute I stepped outside: the shouting and police sirens and people everywhere. I start walking in the direction of my home, which incidently is where all the noise is coming from. I've only walked one street over, which happens to be the city's main business/shopping street, before I see it: windows of cars and stores smashed, garbage cans toppled over, glass everywhere and police cars burnt black and torn apart after evidently having been set on fire. Hundreds of people clog the streets.
Obviously right now I don't exactly feel like going home, and I start to kind of make my way among the crowd just to get a good look at everything. Mostly clothing stores like Sports Experts were targetted, as was the SAQ (where alcohol is sold) and as I walked along the street I counted at least 10 vandalized police cars, 8 of which had been completely torched. But I hadn't been out long before more riot police were already starting to move in so I thought best to get out of there. As I headed back in the direction of home I saw what can only be described as an army of police vehicles arriving and being parked a short distance away. There were maybe 50 in one parking lot alone, and more coming. Teams of Riot police with batons were also moving on foot.
There isn't much news out yet, but here's an article with a photo of one of the damaged cars. (That one actually got off pretty easy compared to some others I came across.) What I'm hearing is that it was mainly street punks that did the major damage, using the situation to their advantage and all.
And to think, this wasn't even a Stanley Cup win or anything.
The only way to show our appreciation for the team is to DESTROY THE CITY AND EVERYTHING IN OUR PATH.
No one was injured, so I don't really consider it a riot. But there was still a bit of craziness and vandalism and some destruction of property.
So my final paper is terribly late by now (and even now I'm still working on it, lol) but I knew that the game was tonight and decided to go study at my Uni for a change of scenery, which is located in the heart of downtown. I could go to the library (which is open 24hours for exam-time), then go to the school pub to watch the game, then come back to continue schoolwork.
Because of the game, I decide not to bring my car. It was a wise decision since when I got there the streets were absolutely jam-packed, not even taking into account the events that were to come. I live downtown and it's less than a ten-minute walk anyway. The weather is beautiful for a change, and I almost feel like crying because I just want to say "fuck it" to my stupid paper and enjoy life, NOW. I left pretty late so I went straight to the pub to catch the game. Like the streets, it is PACKED when I get there with fans wearing jerseys (suddenly wish I had brought mine). I spot some classmates and go to sit with them. I have no more than two pints, which were going for a $4 special, seeing as it's generally not a good idea to drink before doing school work.
With the victory comes the expected euphoria, and I end up staying about half an hour after to partake in some celebrating before trudging to the library. I get there at 10:00pm and stay until a bit past 12:00am. I'm hungry and a bit tired and and want to leave so I gather my things in my backpack and get ready to walk home. I step outside the university and am met with CHAOS.
I could see it the minute I stepped outside: the shouting and police sirens and people everywhere. I start walking in the direction of my home, which incidently is where all the noise is coming from. I've only walked one street over, which happens to be the city's main business/shopping street, before I see it: windows of cars and stores smashed, garbage cans toppled over, glass everywhere and police cars burnt black and torn apart after evidently having been set on fire. Hundreds of people clog the streets.
Obviously right now I don't exactly feel like going home, and I start to kind of make my way among the crowd just to get a good look at everything. Mostly clothing stores like Sports Experts were targetted, as was the SAQ (where alcohol is sold) and as I walked along the street I counted at least 10 vandalized police cars, 8 of which had been completely torched. But I hadn't been out long before more riot police were already starting to move in so I thought best to get out of there. As I headed back in the direction of home I saw what can only be described as an army of police vehicles arriving and being parked a short distance away. There were maybe 50 in one parking lot alone, and more coming. Teams of Riot police with batons were also moving on foot.
There isn't much news out yet, but here's an article with a photo of one of the damaged cars. (That one actually got off pretty easy compared to some others I came across.) What I'm hearing is that it was mainly street punks that did the major damage, using the situation to their advantage and all.
And to think, this wasn't even a Stanley Cup win or anything.