We can't know for certain what changed between the downtown Ohio State riot last Saturday night and the Philadelphia Phillies celebration on Wednesday night.

It could have been the memory of burning eyes and irritated skin. It might have been the State College Police Department's announcement that officers were analyzing video footage of the event and expected to make arrests soon. It could have been that feeling of embarrassment some felt that Sunday morning when they browsed through photographs and streamed YouTube clips of the previous night's debauchery.

Whatever it was, the Penn State community should be grateful. While the celebration that followed the Phillies World Series win on Wednesday required police intervention, it was a marked improvement from Saturday night's riot.

We saw two monumental events for Pennsylvania sports team last week. For the first time in more than a quarter of a century, the Phillies are World Series Champs. The Nittany Lion's win over the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, which restored bragging rights we haven't had in 30 years, also gave us reason to celebrate.

But as we found out on Saturday, taking that celebration into the streets is illegal, dangerous and tarnishes our reputation as the best student section in the nation.

At least on Wednesday, lamp posts stayed upright, there were no official reports of pepper spray and, so far, the State College Police Department has not been hinting at any arrests.

Other factors played a part in a more muted celebration on Wednesday. While most at Penn State students are Nittany Lion fans, not all are Phillies enthusiasts. It was also a weeknight and the two-inning game didn't lend itself to the daylong drinking that fueled the riots after the football game.

However, we hope that it was a lesson learned from Saturday rather than the mere absence of drunken revelers that kept the crowd in check on Wednesday.

Riots have far-reaching consequences, both in the Penn State and State College communities and for individual students.

The damage to Beaver Canyon will need to be fixed with taxpayer dollars. If this happens frequently, we might see tax hikes and increases in rent rates.

In addition to these ramifications, at least 15 students who were a part of the action last Saturday night will be arrested and cited with charges ranging from summary offenses to felonies.

Felony charges might sound like a pretty hefty punishment for a late night celebration that got out of hand, but regardless of whether you think the punishment fits the crime, understand that the punishments are real.

So too is the hit to Penn State's reputation as the best student section in the nation -- another, more subtle side effect of Saturday night's debauchery.

Let's finish out the season, one that could be filled with more reasons to celebrate, with all of these things in mind.