Let’s just take a moment

to assess the post-Super Bowl damage. On Capitol Hill, celebrating fans broke street signs and a tree lit up in flames. At the University of Washington, people set a couch on fire. According to the Associated Press, one man expressed his glee via gunfire, which, unsurprisingly, led to a timely arrest. But none of that compares to the damage wreaked upon century-old Pioneer Square, the city’s oldest neighborhood. Rioters celebrated their way to $25,000 worth of damage done to the Square’s pergola, a national historic landmark erected in 1909. On Sunday night, Seattleites climbed atop the poor pergola and broke 20 glass panes in unbridled jubilation over the Super Bowl victory. Really, Seattle? Yes, it’s great we won the Super Bowl. Yes, the all-night street party was awesome. Yes, it’s nice that Seattleites have come together to cover the damage costs incurred. But that doesn’t excuse the destruction of a beautiful national landmark and blatant disregard for the well-being of Seattle’s oldest neighborhood. Being the mild mannered population it usually is, you would think Seattle’s

residents could party responsibly, but apparently not—the excitement was too much for us to handle. Seahawks fans acted like a bunch of wild teenage boys on Sunday night and, frankly, it was a little embarrassing. The celebration was undoubtedly warranted, but the destruction of city property—particularly property as beautiful and historic as the pergola—was not. Wrecking the city from whence the Seahawks came seems like a pretty misguided way to celebrate the team’s victory. Even the Occupy movement inflicted less physical damage on city property than the 12th man. The Seahawks may look like gods, but the rest of us look like idiots. The real loser of Super Bowl XLVII isn’t the Broncos—it’s our sad, sad Pergola.