FULPHILLMENT

With the Phillies one out away from their first World Series title in 28 years - but one Tampa Bay Rays' hit away from yet another setback - the standing-room-only crowd at Cavanaugh's turned to alcohol to quell its anxiety.

"Chug, chug, chug," screamed a pair of students near the door, as others prepared for one final "Let's go Phillies!" chant.

And then they saw, on all but one of the bar's 30 TVs, Eric Hinske flail at a nasty Brad Lidge slider for the final out.

Let the mayhem begin.

There was the initial euphoric scream; then students and grads from area schools stood on top of tables, exchanged high-fives and tossed beer glasses into the air.

"This is just nuts - it was everything we ever wanted. We're so sick of losing," said College senior Suzanne Kreider, who said that, since she had only arrived at Cav's around first pitch, she was "reasonably sober."

How many drinks did that entail?

"Maybe like eight."

She wasn't alone among the inebriated taking in the historic occasion. At Cav's, there were even Red Sox and Yankees fans - donning none of their teams' gear - scattered throughout the festivities.

But the win was sweetest for those most deeply connected.

"I've been waiting for this my whole life, my whole life, man," Engineering senior Brane Bosnic said. "Now I'm gonna go to City Hall and celebrate with the rest of the city. I'm expecting riots."

He wouldn't be disappointed. Fellow Penn students were among the tens of thousands of people who converged around Broad Street, those in cars honking their horns, and those on foot dancing, breaking bottles and launching fireworks into the air. And they were the calm ones.

People were "burning the dumpsters, turning over cars, taking down Christmas lights," said College freshman Victor Galli, a Dallas native who decided to head downtown after hearing the commotion out his window.

"I guess people lose their common sense when your sports team wins."

Police were out in full force, stealing glimpses through Cav's windows during the final outs and, later, lining the avenues and side streets of Center City. But they mostly kept to themselves and let the city cherish the moment in Philadelphia fashion; one officer snapped a picture of the Broad Street bonfire from his camera phone.

College junior Thad Kirk watched last night's three innings with friends in his apartment near campus, but he felt that West Philadelphia's celebration was a tad too calm.

"We decided to go outside and participate in a Philly tradition of banging on pots and pans," he said, "but it didn't seem like enough at 41st and Pine."

So they hopped on an empty trolley; by the time they arrived at the Quad stop, it was packed.

Kirk - like College senior and Philadelphia native Jennifer Phuong, first year MBA students Matthew Hankin and Ryan Berger, and others at the melee - has class at 9 a.m. today. None were sure if they'd attend.

Ater briefly moving to New York, Hankin came back to Philly this year. That was better timing than his birth in 1981, when he just missed the Phillies' last championship.

But as his father told him last night, "It's like 1980 all over again."

- Campus news editor Rebecca Kaplan contributed reporting to this article.

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