Alabama beat Ohio State 54-24 on Monday night in the national championship game, which sparked a huge celebration in Tuscaloosa.
Students and fans of Crimson Tide in Alabama flooded the streets after the program’s 18th title, ignoring the authorities’ calls to stay home amid the COVID-19 pandemic – which is spreading across the country.
At the end of the night, 14 people were arrested in what the mayor of Tuscaloosa, Walt Maddox, said was “greater than any celebration we have seen in recent memory”.
“I don’t need to say that we are disappointed,” said Maddox, via USA Today.
Fans flood ‘The Strip’ while ignoring COVID-19
Alabama fans filled the bars in downtown Tuscaloosa hours before the game started on Monday, and they didn’t seem to care about the risk of getting the coronavirus.
LARGE CROWDS MEET IN TUSCALOOSA AT THE BARS: Large crowds of fans are waiting in long lines at the bars of the Strip trying to get seats to watch the national college championship game tonight pic.twitter.com/x9f1Dawp8c
– Tim Reid (@reidreporterguy) January 11, 2021
It only got worse after the victory.
Much, much worse.
When it was over, 14 people had been arrested on 18 charges, including public intoxication, disorderly conduct and resistance to arrest, according to the report. Two people also needed medical attention on the spot, after being hit on the head by bottles or cans of beer.
The crowd, police said, was released shortly after midnight – almost 90 minutes after it formed.
“Last night, we had some bad actors. And certainly many young people did not celebrate responsibly,” said Maddox, via USA Today. “That said, I hope we will all put ourselves in that place and remember the time when we were in college too. I hope that we will resist the temptation to demonize anyone.”
While Maddox may not blame fans who were celebrating, his actions are certainly a cause for concern.
There were almost 223,000 new confirmed cases of coronavirus on Monday, according to The New York Times, and the country now averages more than 250,000 cases, more than 3,200 deaths per day – a historic record. More than 379,000 people have died in the pandemic since its inception.
The mass meeting on Monday night is certain to lead to an increase in cases in the Tuscaloosa area in the coming days and weeks – similar to an earlier outbreak last fall that occurred on campus.
“Our concern was that we could see the spread of the community from that,” said Maddox, via USA Today. “I think that’s probably true here.”
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