Sweaty bodies, loud screaming, and lights shining in your face. This could be any concert or assembly, but no, its the NCAA National Championship of Villanova vs the University of Michigan. Jerseys were being worn with extreme pride as our compacted bodies cheered on our boys. The team put up a strong fight against the University of Michigan, and with 3 minutes left the celebration already began.
Extreme happiness was felt as all of us were being pushed away from the Oreo and towards Lancaster Avenue. People were falling down left and right and champagne bottles were flying everywhere. Many people went screaming through their dorms as they grabbed anything that could be set on fire. (This year that happened to include a mini fridge).
I finally made it towards Lancaster Avenue where the Villanova sign had people overflowing off of it. I spotted multiple people attempting to climb the street lights. Many failed, but some succeeded, and definitely hyped the crowd up even more. After watching fire crackers go off and champagne being sprayed everywhere, a sophomore offered to send me crowd surfing. (Honestly, it would have been a wild experience looking back. I totally should have done it).
The insanity continued to rain down, but it had to eventually be shut down. Cops came in with horses and motorcades (Did you know its illegal to touch a horse that has a cop on it in Pennsylvania? I didn't.)
Although the rioting and dancing was over my happiness could not be suppressed. All I heard about during first semester was the 2016 National Championship and how incredible it was. Don't even ask me how many times I saw the photo of Chris Jenkins as he made the perfect shot right at the buzzer beater. But this was different, because I actually experienced it. To experience and to be told are two different things and I couldn't have been more happy to finally live through the insanity.
The next couple days I saw videos of the rioting in the Quad as well as on Lancaster and I had an extreme amount of pride. I couldn't sit there and watch it without having goosebumps. Although I was apart of the huge crowd of people rushing towards Lancaster I didn't realize exactly how many people there were. Everyone in the Villanova community came out for that night, to represent a school that they have immense pride for.
So it's a National Championship trophy.....WHO CARES?
Trust me, there is a lot to care about. It isn't just the trophy, it is the sense of unity we all experienced that night. Rushing in that crowd we weren't just individuals, but we were Villanova.
