There were 21 fires in Ann Arbor after Michigan football's win — including a burning couch
It was a perfect season and almost perfect night in Ann Arbor, police and fire officials said, with the undefeated University of Michigan football team, more than 1,200 miles away, beating the University of Washington and winning a national football championship outright.
The Wolverines had come close before, but Monday night, police said, was different.
"This was by far the biggest celebration," Chris Page, Ann Arbor police’s 37-year-old public information officer, said. Michigan has had its brushes with glory in recent years, but this time, the university went all the way. "The size is what made this unique."
The first responders were ready for the hoopla that broke out in A² after the win, Fire Ann Arbor Fire Chief Mike Kennedy said. Folks, he added, also reacted differently than in 1989, when Michigan won a basketball championship.
Back then, the chief said, some rowdy fans turned on firefighters.
"Although, there's a lot of apartments missing couches this morning," Kennedy added. "Fortunately, there were no injuries. No vehicles or structures were damaged. We do not condone the behavior, but there were no long-standing consequences."
The last time the team won a national football championship with an undefeated season was in 1997, and that, unlike Monday, was before a playoff system, before a bowl coalition, and it ended with two national champions.
Winners back then were decided by votes of either sports writers or coaches.
"Most of our officers weren’t even alive in ‘97," Page said, who recalled that he was in fifth grade or sixth grade back then. "I don’t even think our interim chief was here. You know, after 25 years here you retire."
In 1997, Michigan beat Washington State in the Rose Bowl.
And the headline in the combined Detroit News/Free Press newspaper on Jan. 4, 1998, declared: "WRITER’S: U-M IS NATION’S BEST," and in smaller type, a qualifier, "But Wolverines fans rankled as coaches poll puts Nebraska No. 1."
As for Monday night when U-M beat U-Dub, there were cheers, 21 fires, including some burning couchs, and a lot of excited — if not inebriated — students, authorities said. But the blazes were extinguished and the streets eventually cleared.
There also were no arrests or incidents, police said.
"It’s what we had expected," Page said. "If they won, they were going to celebrate."
And sure enough, the victors gathered, several thousand students and local residents, cheering, shouting riding on each other's shoulders and, generally, for many amounted to a lifetime of waiting for their team to win.
"It was very peaceful. No injuries," Page, who was in Ann Arbor and watched it unfold, added. "It was cold. But other than that, it was what Michigan fans wanted. It was 26 years in the making and they had fun — and were responsible."
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ann Arbor officials: 21 fires, no arrests after Michigan football win
