Once again, a greased pole won't stop a determined fan.
+ READ ARTICLEWhen Villanova won the school’s second NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship in three years, students in Philadelphia celebrated in the way Philadelphians celebrate best – by climbing up greased utility poles.
Villanova University students and fans took to the streets around the Philadelphia-area school late Monday night after the Wildcats beat the University of Michigan, 79-62, to secure the national title in San Antonio.
Much like how workers greased poles around Philadelphia to prevent fans from scaling them after the Eagles’s Super Bowl win in February, utility poles near Villanova were covered in grease to halt the potentially dangerous form of celebration.
Once again, fans conquered the greased poles, according to videos shared by ABC 6 reporter Christie Ileto (who, back in February, also shared a video of an Eagles fan scaling a pole post-win).
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]The city of Philadelphia used Crisco after ahead of the Eagles’ NFC championship game against the Minnesota Vikings earlier this year — but that didn’t work. The city then used the more-intense hydraulic fluid before the Super Bowl. Again, that still didn’t stop determined fans.
“I don’t know what they’re using but some poor guy from Villanova has to smear it all over the place,” Radnor Police Lt. Chris Flanagan told the Philadelphia Inquirer ahead of the March Madness championship game Monday. “We just don’t want anybody falling, that’s the biggest problem.”
There were a handful of other problems as raucous fans took to the streets after the big win. Some fans set up a small bonfire in the street and the celebrations resulted in two arrests, police told the Associated Press. Back in 2016, more than 20 arrests were made after Villanova won the NCAA championship, according to the Inquirer. Then, four people were arrested for assaulting a police horse — an act the police said would result in felony charges if it happened again.
Villanova students had another reason to celebrate late into the night. The university cancelled classes Tuesday, according to CBS Philadelphia.