Classes were cancelled at the University of Kansas Tuesday, a day after its men's basketball team won the NCAA Championship. The day off will give over-the-moon Jayhawks fans a chance to recover from their alcohol- and/or joy-induced hangovers—a result of the 40,000-person celebration that burst onto the streets of Lawrence after the team's overtime win against Memphis.
The 10,000 students watching the game at Allen Fieldhouse rushed the court at the end of the overtime—even though the game was being played almost 800 miles away in San Antonio. They cheered, chanted, sang, hugged, and cried. Then many of them left to join the celebration downtown.
Despite the massive throng of fans, the festivities went mostly without serious incident. Three people were arrested, and police received reports of small fires, including one couch set ablaze. Fans praised police for being "very relaxed," turning a mostly blind eye to alcohol violations and concentrating on more serious concerns such as keeping students from climbing atop light poles and store signs, stopping fights, and preventing criminal damage of property.
Thunderstorms eventually dispersed the mob, but from the sounds of fans' hyperbolic response, the excitement is sticking around. "I am the happiest person in the world right now," an alumnus shouted after the game. "I am not going to work tomorrow and this celebration does not end until I say it does."
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patsy holtz of KS 12:05AM April 10, 2008