Editor’s Note: Erin Zimmer, DCist Staff writer, is a senior at Georgetown. Last night, she took part in the festivities following Georgetown’s Elite Eight victory over UNC. The following is an account of the proceedings.
For all of last night’s game, Georgetown townhouses kept their doors open. Crowds of kids huddled around their televisions, jumping up and down at every play. But once the magical three-pointer tied up the game (81-81) with 24 seconds left on the clock, Hoyas went from crazy to absolute berserk mode. The final score had people out in the streets, texting and calling family. But the mood was still tense. Five minutes of overtime is still a long time.
When the first basket was made — symbolizing our first lead of the game since the first half (83-81) — the Georgetown community experienced a mini-earthquake. Cheers echoed off every brick wall. And so began the five minutes of Tar Heels sucking. After watching them butcher every shot, everyone realized we were actually going to beat UNC. Berserk mode transitioned to high-definition berserk mode, and Hoyas came out of the woodwork, ripping off their shirts, running into the streets and screaming. A near-riot formed on the library steps, and packed a block of N Street between 36th and 37th St. Police lined street corners, some on horses. Moshing and crowd surfing lasted about an hour. Non-stop chanting of “Hoya Saxa.” “Fuck Ohio State.” “Roy Roy Roy Roy…” “Jeff Green’s Mom.” (I’m unclear about the significance of that last one). Fireworks went off; sparklers lighted. Hoyas hung out of townhouse windows. Then somebody yelled “run down M Street,” and a massive stampede was born.
Students charged both sides of the streets like mad. Cars stopped on M Street and drivers high-fived runners weaving in between them. A few passengers in flashier cars were yelling at cops when Hoyas joyously slapped their windows and almost climbed onto their hoods. The herd lingered at the Wisconsin Ave and M St. intersection, until someone yelled “the White House.” Nobody questioned. We all adapted the mob mentality and ran.
