Fire Truck Dance Party
“Hark, how shall we celebrate the Giants winning the World Series for the first time in 56 years, and the first time ever since they moved to SF 54 years ago?”
“Why, let us light a mattress on fire in the middle of the intersection and dance upon the firetruck that comes to put it out!”
Behold the 270 panorama of idiocy on Mission & 22nd — click here for the 10,000 pixel wide version.
Shots walking north on Mission from Cesar Chavez to 22nd, with the SFFD responding to the mattress blaze, increasingly crowded roof dance party, and the SFPD response.
Oh, Mission, I do love you, but you show some seriously poor judgement at times. Seriously, fucking with firefighters like that? What’s wrong with you? </grumpyoldmanrant>
As Brock noted, this was not a riot. (After all, a marching band did spontaneously appear after things cleared.) But we are lucky to have the most patient cops in the entire world.
More at Mission Mission, Beer & Nosh, Troy Holden, Uptown Almanac, The Tens, Holy Mountain and Telstar Logistics (including shots looking down from the Bay View / US Bank Building), and a summary by the SF Appeal — according to the SFPD, “Everyone was very happy last night, and even happy people sometimes need a police presence.”
Also, TK brings up something I have no answer to:
“Strolled down to 22nd and Mission for the Ritual Burning of the Mattresses. I was thinking, where do these mattresses come from? Is there a Mattress Guy who keeps them on hand for easy distribution any time a sports team wins a title or a white cop is acquitted of something? Where do the mattresses come from? Some people were calling it a “riot,” but Detroit is all BITCH PLEASE. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT A RIOT IS.”
Burrito Justice 
Here’s a video from 24th and Shotwell – street fires were going for several hours…
Yeah, I had the same thought about the Mattress, but before it was on fire. I was walking up from 23rd to 22nd and there was the mattress in the middle of the street, with people jumping up and down on it like a trampoline. I thought to myself “Where the hell did they even GET a mattress?! I’m surprised no-one has set it on fire.” By the time I exited Doc’s Clock… They had.
And yes… Not a goddamn riot, and I’m tired of people referring to it as a riot. It was a street party that got a bit out of hand, with a tiny tiny subset of people deciding that the best way to celebrate was by fucking shit up. That is unfortunate, and condemnable, but it does not a riot make.
I support your grumpyoldmanrant, and hope the parade today resets the mood for all.
Tonight I was walking down Mission and looked up that alley between 18th and 19th and saw a mattress leaning against the wall. Maybe they just spontaneously appear after all.
22nd and Mission wasn’t quite the same the 2nd championship around, was it.