The rain and hail that pelted Philadelphia for much of the day dissipated just as people across the city spilled out of sports bars, apartments and houses.

Their destination: Broad Street. Their reason: a celebration 58 years in the making.

On Sunday night, just as Nick Foles led the Philadelphia Eagles to a surprise Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots in Minneapolis, the scene more than 1,000 miles away in Philly was jubilation and pandemonium.

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Fireworks were set off. Car horns blared. And Philadelphians young and old descended on Broad Street, the busy thoroughfare running through the city.

“The city deserved it,” said 66-year-old Lou Potel, who threw a party at his home before joining a much bigger party outside. “It’s a great city, and now we have a Super Bowl to go along with it.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Police clash with fans celebrating the Philadelphia Superbowl LII victory. Photograph: Mark Makela/Reuters

Like so many other fans, Potel’s love for the Eagles has been passed down from generation to generation. He went to the Super Bowl with his son the last time the Eagles played in the title game in 2004, when they lost to the Patriots, and said watching Sunday’s championship with his son “made up for it”.

Dustin Seidman, 42, and his wife Staci, 41, brought their 10-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter to the festivities on Broad Street, even as drunken fans sprayed beer and climbed trash trucks, street poles and awnings. Video shared on social media showed the awning outside the Ritz-Carlton hotel collapsing with more than a dozen people on it, but it was unclear if there were any injuries.

My Moms Gonna Hate This Podcast (@momsgonnahate) No more trust falls.. #philly #phillypolicescanner #phillyscanner #phillyriot #PhillyDilly #PhiladelphiaPoliceScanner pic.twitter.com/EiRUIXb7x6

There were many other young children on Broad Street, with parents weaving prams and pushchairs between people and cars – and some even holding infants in carriers. One youngster rode a scooter while wearing an Eagles helmet.

“We wouldn’t miss this,” Dustin Seidman said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” As his son then asked to keep walking north to City Hall, he added: “Does life get any better than this?”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Eagles fans celebrate the team’s victory in downtown Philadelphia. Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP

Rick Campitelli, 63, who came into the city to watch the game with his son, said he wished his father-in-law was been alive to see this moment. “This is the greatest,” said Campitelli, wearing the jersey of Wilbert Montgomery, the former Eagles running back to whom he once sold insurance. “I was hoping they would do it before I died, and they did it.”

Philadelphia sports fans’ celebrations are infamously rowdy. The city’s baseball world series win in 2008 was marred by scores of arrests for looting and vandalism.

In a statement released in the early hours of Monday morning, the Philadelphia police department said: “We have had several acts of vandalism where windows have been smashed, and some injuries have been reported around light poles that have been pulled down. We have one report of looting at a gas station. There have been no fatalities.”

The scene in Boston on Sunday night was more sombre. Fans inside the Banshee Bar had to come to terms with a rare loss for Tom Brady. Some, however, were more sanguine. “I’ve got nothing to complain about,” said Boston resident Bill Crowley. “It’s the greatest dynasty in NFL history and this loss tonight doesn’t change that.

“They’ll be back,” Conor Hobert added. “100%, they’ll be back.”