Amid the honking, the yelling, the hugging, the crowd surfing and the shrieking of Steelers fans, a few people could be seen videotaping the celebration in Beaver Canyon Sunday night.

The cameramen -- undercover police officers sent to monitor the scene via video recorder -- were clad nondescriptly in jeans, winter jackets and Penn State baseball caps. They could be seen talking to uniformed officers as they panned over the students spilling into the canyon.

State College Police Cpl. Tom Dann said the practice isn't out of the ordinary.

"When there's a significant gathering, guaranteed we have cameras down there," he said.

Despite the surveillance cameras that have been in Beaver Canyon since September 2003, police use hand-held video cameras to capture images that are difficult for the overhead cameras to spot -- like people on balconies.

They're also used to increase reaction time, Dann said. Because the officers are on the street recording rather than watching from the station, they are more likely to swivel their cameras in time to capture a scene.

As it turns out, there was no reason to review the Beaver Canyon tapes after Sunday night's Super Bowl. Hundreds of students crowded the streets to celebrate the Steelers' victory, yet they were a "very upbeat" group, Dann said.

No arrests were made. No property was tampered with.

In fact, Dann said, he saw very little destructive behavior -- and, he added, when a few students got out of control, other students were quick to call them on it.

"Many were basically policing themselves," he said.

Dann said he wasn't surprised that the crowd complied with the police. Based on the reactions after the Steelers played the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos last month, he said he expected the crowd to remain under control.

There was much less action on campus, Penn State University Police Assistant Director Tyrone Parham said. He said he expected some rowdiness from East Halls, but things remained relatively quiet for the post-game celebrations.