Brock Anton. Since I already shared with Reddit, this is my take on the riot:
I was also downtown, I was settled up next to the CBC building...got there very early, was the only time my mum ever encouraged me skipping school. Security was fairly lax, city needed to do a better job.
For example, I had just turned 18 and I was able to procure some vodka that I brought in a clear plastic bottle that I stuffed inside my lawn chair bag. Some of my friends started drinking on the Skytrain, but I wanted to watch the game sober and drink after (had we won). I get to the security checkpoint, they check my backpack "all good" they wave me in, I being the naive and trying my best to be morally upstanding youngen, I say "you want to check my lawn chair bag?" they say no. I'm in.
I had actually talked to my mum in the car and we both agreed there would be a riot had they lost. Looking back, I can't believe she let me go. She was strict, but my dad worked downtown so my entire family went to his building to watch the game. I knew shit was gonna hit the fan during the 2nd intermission, guys were climbing on top of the porta-potties and a lady got punched and was being taken away by police to be looked after. I was pretty down on the experience, I cried a little bit and wanted to go home but my friends insisted on watching the Cup be raised. That got shutdown when fans started hurling bottles at the screen and they rolled them up.
Me and 2 other of my buddies wanted nothing to do with downtown anymore. But some of our group wanted to stay for the riot, one wanted to flip some Smartcars but I told him we don't do that. Finally we coaxed them to leave on the Skytrain, my family was stranded for awhile downtown. Didn't get home until much later.
That has to be up there with one of the worst, most memorable days I ever had. It was embarrassing watching people act like angry monkeys over a hockey game. Total disgrace. It was even more enraging to watch people my age who got prosecuted plead "I'm just a kid". I wasn't the smartest kid, quite average in fact, some of my friends wanting to stay got much better grades than I did. They should just know better and try and rise above the rest as citizens, I have no sympathy for them (those prosecuted) to this day.