Joyful San Francisco Bay area celebrates Warriors win
SAN FRANCISCO - Firecrackers, honking horns and occasional celebratory gunshots boomed across San Francisco Tuesday night as residents celebrated the Golden State Warriors' NBA Finals victory.
In Oakland, the Oracle Area was sold out simply to watch the game, which was played in Cleveland, Ohio.
More than 17,000 tickets were sold and the arena became one giant party after the decisive 105-97 victory over the Cavaliers.
The Warriors set up a DJ booth outside of the arena and hundreds of people gathered to scream, dance and share their joy.
Cars traveling down Oakland's Broadway street honked and walkers responded with shouts of "Go Warriors" and "Warriors Rule," multiple Periscope streams of the scene showed.
At 11 pm, Oakland police issued traffic advisories due to the crowds that were still congregating to celebrate in downtown and in east Oakland.
San Francisco's Mission District became an impromptu street party, with police blocking off six blocks of Mission Street as revelers carried the party out into the night. Several hundred people drummed, danced and set off fireworks in the street.
At one point, a crowd began tossing tortillas into the air. Elsewhere, dozens of bottles of champagne were sprayed into the crowd by happy fans, who paused to drink some of the bubbly as well.
"I'm celebrating the first Warriors victory in 40 years. It's surreal and exhilarating. I prayed, baby, we believed!" said Ivan Marcelo of San Francisco.
Another large crowd gathered in downtown San Francisco but police scanner traffic described the crowd as peaceful and happy.
The majority of celebrations across the Bay area were peaceful, if loud. Police scanner traffic in Oakland reported multiple gunshots but appeared to mostly be celebratory shots fired into the air.
By midnight, the crowds in both cities began to thin out.
The San Francisco International Airport was lit up with blue and gold, the Warrior's colors.
The Warriors announced a victory parade to be held in Oakland at 10:00 am Friday.
Contributing: Chris Wiggins