UNC fans continued tradition on Saturday night, rushing Chapel Hill’s Franklin Street seconds after the buzzer sounded in their 81-77 Final Four victory over Duke.
As is customary after the men’s basketball team beats their rival down the road in Durham, students and community members alike flooded the central street of downtown Chapel Hill. The mass of people celebrated UNC’s trip to the national championship for more than an hour.
The town government spent time preparing for a potential Carolina victory, removing street sign and greasing the light poles on the street corners. But some students still found a way to scale the pole, as well as set off fireworks amid the crowd.
Chants of “We want Kansas,” “Hubert Davis” and, of course, the Carolina fight song rang out shortly after 11 p.m.
On Sunday, Chapel Hill Town Manager Maurice Jones said an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 people joined in the celebration on Franklin Street. Town authorities reported ten people were treated for injuries on the night, with four taken to the hospital for further treatment. According to Jones, none of the injuries were serious.
Chapel Hill Police said one person was charged with carrying a concealed gun without a permit in the celebration.
The Town of Chapel Hill cleared the intersection of Franklin Street and Columbia Street shortly after 12:45 a.m., with street sweepers on hand to clean up the remaining debris from the celebration. The intersection was reopened to traffic around 1 a.m. on Sunday.
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