Piston Fans Run Wild in Detroit : Hundreds of Carloads Celebrate Victory Over L.A.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. —  Hundreds of carloads of boisterous Pistons fans jammed the streets today, screaming and shaking fists and brooms to celebrate Detroit’s 4-0 sweep of the NBA finals and its first championship.

About two hours after the Piston’s 105-97 Tuesday night victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, a mass of honking cars crawled along Jefferson Avenue, which runs east from downtown.

Several fans hurled bricks and bottles at a Detroit bus early this morning, shattering its windows, driver Robert Mobley said. Two passengers aboard were unhurt, he said.

By 3:30 a.m., police posted at nearly every intersection had restored peace to the glass-strewn streets. “It was a great party--now go home,” one officer said.

Fans, some wearing “Bad Boys” T-shirts jumped in and out of their cars, hugging and waving their brooms. Police fanned out along the street and closed the route into downtown, but there were no reports of arrests.

“It was like the World Series, people blowing their horns outside the bar,” said Jimmy Butsicaris, owner of Lindell A.C. bar in downtown Detroit. “There’s still people on the streets.”

“The World Series was slightly larger,” Butsicaris said, referring to the near-riotous celebration in downtown Detroit that followed the Detroit Tigers’ 1984 World Series victory.

Unlike the destructive nature of the 1984 celebrations, the jubilee on Jefferson Avenue today was marked more by high fives and dancing between cars caught in the resulting traffic jam.

One bar patron, Jim McIntyre, drove more than 100 miles from Perrysburg, Ohio, to watch the game in Detroit.

“It was worth it,” he said. “This is the Pistons’ year and we knew it. I kind of wished the series went six games because then Detroit would have won it at home and maybe it would have been a better party.”

Screaming Pistons fans--more than 21,000 strong--counted down the final seconds of Detroit’s victory over the Lakers as it flashed on a large-screen television at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

“We are the champions,” they sang as the final score showed 105-97 and the Pistons had their first NBA title.

“We’ve been waiting so long for this. We’ve got the championship, now all we need are back-to-back championships, just like L.A.,” said Carolyn Henley, 21, of East Detroit.

“Did you ever have a dream that you kept reaching for. When you finally reach it you just sit back and enjoy it,” said Wanda Brown of Detroit, who watched the game at The Palace.

The Palace crowd acted as though the game was on the court instead of on television screens on the scoreboard, chanting “beat L.A.,” stomping their feet and performing the “wave.”

“Everyone wouldn’t be here if they didn’t want to tear this place apart. . . . We’re going to party to the max,” fan Jeff Pangman said.

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