Election Night 2008 at Times Square in Pictures

I arrived in the vicinity of Times Square at about 8:45 p.m.

I walked to the square.

I walked into the center of the square, next to the U.S. Armed Forces Recruiting Station, on the island between Broadway and 7th Avenue. I stood there in awe of all of the Herculean neon signs…

 and TV screens I suddenly found towering all around me.

Then I walked past the recruiting station and walked down the island toward ABC Studios. I crossed the street and stood on the corner in front of ABC Studios and took a picture of the crowd across the street on the island, where there was broadcasting equipment set up, including a camera mounted on a boom for panning shots of the audience.

Then I went back over onto the island myself and stayed on the island on the other side of the metal barrier for the duration of the event.

When I first arrived at Times Square, there didn’t seem to be as many people as one might expect, however, in time, it became miserably crowded. The atmosphere was wonderful, as long as you weren’t a McCain supporter. Every time it was announced that Obama had won a state, cheers and chants rung out from the crowd, and when it was announced McCain had won a state, people would boo, which I didn’t like. (Since Obama was winning, booing the opponent just added to the pain of loss, and it is poor sportsmanship. It’s acceptable to be a sore loser, but there is no excuse for being a sore winner.) Despite that, there was a wonderful feeling of harmony and solidarity.

People were taking pictures left and right, there were press all over the place, from newspapers, television and radio.

They swung the camera, that was mounted on the boom, over us several times. I thought it was a really odd-looking thing, like a mechanical one-eyed monster sinisterly eyeballing the crowd for some devious scheme, or like Big Brother (reference to George Orwell’s novel 1984, not the “reality” show). However, to everyone else, it was just a camera, and they all screamed and waved at it.

After what seemed like an unusually short time (for American presidential elections), it was announced that Barack Obama was to be the next President of the United States and the words “BARACK OBAMA PRESIDENT-ELECT” started running across one of the screens.

In addition to the chanting “Obama!”, ”Yes We Can!” and “Yes We Did!” and the screaming, hooting, hollaring and the arm-waving, cars drove by honking their horns, their passengers and drivers chanting, hanging out the windows. All strangers cheering together for Obama’s victory. All united by Obama.

People’s cheers and chants grew deafening, arms were flailing, jubilation spread, some got teary-eyed with pride and joy…

 and others, perhaps, with sadness of loss.