More than 2,000 people flooded the streets in the Cedar Village area following MSU’s 80-61 Final Four loss to Arizona on Saturday night, but the scene remained relatively peaceful.
A far cry from the mayhem of the March 27-28, 1999, riot after a Final Four loss to Duke, students this time around spent hours chanting “MSU” and “Go Green! Go White!” while cheering.
East Lansing police Lt. Tom Johnstone reported few arrests in the area, although six officers on horseback were called in to keep revelers from blocking streets.
Most arrests were for minor incidents such as indecent exposure and throwing bottles.
Officers from East Lansing, MSU, Lansing, Meridian Township, the Ingham County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police patrolled the city.
Minor incidents, including arrests and several small fires, were reported throughout the city and campus after the Spartans’ season came to an end.
Most students, however, remained positive during the postgame festivities. When one person lit a Roman candle firecracker in Cedar Village, another promptly used a beer to put it out.
Jessica Parker said the crowd gathered at Cedar Village in good sprits - and so were the sheriff department’s horses.
“I got to pet the horses,” the kinesiology senior said. “The police officers have been very nice, they even let us take pictures with them.”
Parker enjoyed gathering with the peaceful crowd - which, on a much smaller scale, mirrored last year’s calm celebration when nearly 15,000 people flooded city streets after MSU won the national championship.
“There hasn’t been any violence. We are having a great time besides the fact that MSU lost,” she said.
Even the rain that began to drizzle shortly after back-to-back title dreams were squashed didn’t seem to dampen the crowds’ spirit.
Although, the size of the group gathered in Cedar Village had been nearly cut in half after several hours.
“I really support the team,” said Jeff O’Brien, a telecommunication sophomore. “There’s nothing wrong with being the fourth best team in the country.”
