UCLA Fans Celebrate Final Four Berth in Wild Way

The UCLA Bruins men's basketball team defeated the Michigan Wolverines on Tuesday night to lock up [...]

By John Newby

The UCLA Bruins men's basketball team defeated the Michigan Wolverines on Tuesday night to lock up a spot in the NCAA Tournament's Final Four, which fans can watch online with a Hulu trial. Following the game, the fans gathered in Westwood to celebrate in a wild way. They set some furniture on fire and then danced around.

Video footage surfaced on social media on Wednesday that showed a mass of people dancing around a bonfire. According to TMZ, the group had set fire to a couch, a bookcase, and other objects. Some people stood on top of vehicles while others danced in the streets. The fire department ultimately showed up and doused the flames. Law enforcement said that no people were injured in the incident and that they made no arrests.

"Why are they celebrating? They're gonna get smoked by Gonzaga!" one person tweeted after watching the video. Several others weighed in with other comments about both the game and whether the celebration would "spread COVID-19."

According to Samuel Braslow, a writer for the Beverly Hills Courier, the gathering "appeared to be in violation of county covid restrictions" due to the lack of masks or social distancing. He said that several people "verbally and physically accosted" him as he documented the celebration. Braslow said that some slapped him while others threw bottles and cans.

Braslow posted another video after the fire department extinguished the blaze. People continued to dance with their arms around each other while cheering and celebrating the win over Michigan. He said that none of the people stopped after the authorities arrived and that they did not pay attention to the police. Although Braslow said that someone threw a bottle at the authorities.

The UCLA men's basketball program has not experienced much success in recent seasons. The team last reached the Final Four in 2008 and has since only reached the Sweet 16 three times. Now the Bruins are on the cusp of reaching the national championship game.

SportsLine's proven model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It absolutely crushed its March Madness picks in the last tournament, beating nearly 90 percent of all CBS Sports brackets one year after finishing in the top five percent. Get winning college basketball picks right here. Disclosure: PopCulture is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of ViacomCBS.

0comments
Start the Conversation

of