Alabama had a lot to celebrate, so football fans in Tuscaloosa did just that: tossing beer bottles, banners and masks; climbing trees, light posts and one another.
It was as if the backdrop to the title game, a deadly pandemic, did not exist, even though about 250,000 Americans have been found to have new cases of the virus daily over the past week.
On Monday night, the University of Alabama football team won its 18th national championship, beating Ohio State in a 52-24 rout in Miami Gardens, Fla. And just as in previous championship seasons, thousands of fans took to the streets outside the collection of restaurants and bars in Tuscaloosa, Ala.