San Francisco Sweeps Up After Giants Sweep

Fans lit bonfires along Mission Street and around AT&T Park, and some revelers threw beer bottles at police just before midnight.

San Francisco leaders were forced to begin cleaning up parts of the city Monday after Giants fans wreaked havoc celebrating the World Series win.

Crews from the city's department of Public Works worked overnight through the morning, cleaning the streets of garbage and debris.

That's because some fans lit bonfires along Mission Street and around AT&T Park, and some revelers threw beer bottles at police just before midnight. Some fans hopped on top of Muni buses and cars along Market Street; at least one car had been tipped on its side.

At least one fan was disappointed with that behavior.

"Why do they have to throw things at buildings?" asked Kristen Wells, a Giants fan who saw no point in destroying property when her favorite baseball team just won the World Series. Some said that the vandals weren't fans at all, just hoodlums taking advantage of the situation.

The partying had been relatively peaceful after the 8:45 p.m. win 4-3 against the Detroit Tigers until just after 11 p.m.

For much of the evening, the crowds in San Francisco were tense, then joyous - before some got out of hand. Most of the fans - about 10,000 of them - had gathered  at Civic Center Plaza outside City Hall to watch the game on a huge television screen. They erupted in cheers when the final out was made in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Two years ago, fans acted similarly when the Giants also won the World Series in 2010. That year, a patrol car was damaged,  at least three private vehicles had their windows smashed, a window of a Giants' dugout store was broken, and one couch was destroyed after being lit on fire and tossed out a window. There were also reports of graffiti on store windows in the Mission district.

If the weather holds up on the East Coast, the Giants are expected to return to San Francisco Monday at 3 p.m. and have a big parade and celebration Wednesday at 11 a.m.

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