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Jan. 9 (UPI) -- The bars and streets of Tuscaloosa, Ala. were an explosion of celebrations after Alabama won the College Football Playoff title. Thousands of fans sang and danced following the Crimson Tide's overtime victory Monday against Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
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The most congested area was the Strip, which was packed with people and included fans climbing trees and on top of vehicles.
Fans watched the Tide comeback from a 13-point deficit and force overtime. They anxiously stared at television screens before freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa found fellow freshman wide receiver DeVonta Smith on a walk-off touchdown pass, leaving Atlanta with a 26-23 victory.
Rounders Bar posted videos of the wild celebration on University Blvd. (NSFW language). Another patron posted a video of fans jumping on top of a police car. That fan was pulled off the roof by a police officer.
Alabama returned to Tuscaloosa at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Tuscaloosa Regional Airport. The Tide will celebrate the championship on Saturday, Jan. 20, according to the Tuscaloosa News.
Tuscaloosa is getting accustomed to title celebrations. The Tide has hoisted national championship trophies in two of the last three years and in five of the last nine years.
Monday's win gave Alabama coach Nick Saban his sixth national title overall, which ties him with Bear Bryant for the most by a head coach in the poll era.
"This is the happiest I've ever been in my life," Saban told ESPN as he was walking off the field.
Enrollment at the University of Alabama reached a record high of 38,563 for fall 2017, ranking just above the University of Georgia's enrollment of 37,606 and ranked No. 3 in the Southeastern Conference for school size.
