Shortly after midnight, the Boston Red Sox won the American League Championship Series and a celebration erupted across the Brown campus. Groups of screaming students filled the streets, embracing and lifting each other in the air.
Cars paraded down Thayer Street honking horns, while people chanted "Yankees suck" and "Who's your daddy?" Yankees fans had taunted Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez with the latter chant throughout the series.
"I knew it would happen, and I was still surprised," said Michael Krawczynski '05, of Northampton, Mass.
Krawczynski, like many other fans, spent much of last week and this week watching all seven games in the series.
"My school work has been nonexistent, and I just earned another week without school work," Krawczynski said, pledging to watch all the World Series games. "But it's worth it."
Many Red Sox fans gathered outside Josiah's to meet friends and share their elation.
"My life is in shambles, but at the same time it's all together," said Kyle Eudailey '06, jumping up and down with his friends. "Maybe my birth was this exciting, but I don't remember that."
Before the game, Yankee fans were visible around campus, fewer in number than Red Sox fans but optimistic about their team's chances. After the game, however, Yankee fans were hard to spot, and most of those in public were visibly despondent.
Still, there were some Yankee fans sporting their team's apparel. Melinda Gills '08, who wore her Yankees hat, shirt and slippers to the Gate, says she plans to keep wearing the clothing.
"Of course I will wear my Yankees stuff," said Gills. "And I'm going to buy a St. Louis Cardinals hat if they beat the Red Sox."
The Cardinals play the Houston Astros today in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.
For Yankee fan Rody Tadenev '08, the results of the game were a shock, but he took the series into perspective.
"Life goes on," said Tadenev. "You root for the winner of the other series. My professor is going to give me a hard time, but next year we will come back."
The celebrations lasted early into this morning, with several students extending their celebration beyond the Brown campus.
"I'm going up to Boston," said Ben Cabot '06, who planned to drive up north to meet friends at 2 a.m. and then return for his 9 a.m. class today.
Other New England college campuses experienced similar reactions, with police keeping tight control of celebrations at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and at Northeastern University in Boston, where one person was killed during the melee following the New England Patriots' Super Bowl victory in February.
With the win, the Red Sox advance to the World Series for the first time since 1986. Red Sox fans were thrilled to beat the Yankees but are still looking to win the World Series, which has eluded the team since 1918.
"If this doesn't reverse the curse, I don't know what will," Krawczynski said. "The (Red Sox) just gave the Yankees the biggest upset in baseball history."
