Sunday's Super Bowl turned in to a real riot and not because the Pats lost but because the Eagles won.
I have been befuddled since. I am not happy that my beloved Patriots lost. They played a shoddy game. The Eagles were ready for that trophy. They played a very good game and, honestly, deserved the win.
Philadelphia isn't a bad city. They have wonderful cheese steaks, a lot of history and now a darn good NFL football team. How does the city of brotherly love suddenly turn into the city of brotherly contempt? Where is the logic?
Vancouver is one of my three favorite cities. Every time we go there I am in awe of the beauty that Vancouver has to offer. Tell me why, in 2011, hoodlums demolished many downtown shops because the Canucks lost the seventh Stanley Cup game to the Bruins. Vehicles were overturned and burned, store windows smashed and looted with 85 people arrested.
It's a hockey game, nothing more. Where is the sense in this notion of rioting after a sports contest, win or loose? This is Canada, where people are nice and civilized.
Wrong, as I discovered when looking at some history. Nice and civilized most of the time, but not when it comes to sports. Montreal seems to have been plagued with sports related riots, with at least five after hockey games.
One of the best known was because fans didn't like a decision over a punishment given to Rocket Richard ,one of the most beloved players for the Montreal Canadians. Players were known to poke and prod him. He was a scrapper, often fighting back and ended paying many fines. One got out of hand and Richard was slapped with a huge fine. The fans protested and that turned into a riot. Richard came forward, pleading for the destruction to stop.
Unfortunately, sports riots aren't a new trend. We certainly can't blame it on the orange guy south of the border. Then again, he does have a habit of frustrating many people, especially in the northeast coast of the U.S. Frustrations are high.
Literally half of Istanbul, then Constantinople, was burned in 532 AD with some 30,000 people were killed during a riot which followed a chariot race. More recently, in 1964, Lima, Peru, lost a soccer game to Argentina. Over 318 deaths occurred after that riot. There have been riots after tennis' Davis Cup matches as well as at rugby games in New Zealand, especially when South Africa's Springboks National team toured New Zealand in 1981 to play against the All Blacks.
So why all the destruction after a win by the Eagles last Sunday? The USA and Canada seem to gravitate towards property damage. The Europeans tend to be tribal and strike out against the fans of opposing teams.
No matter the cause or target, what kind of people engage in such senseless behaviors? Some speculate that there are folks who don't care about the event at all but just look for opportunities for disgusting mob behaviors. For instance, it was said that many traveled from Seattle for the Vancouver riot.
We know that alcohol plays a big role in it. I suspect that the pot smokers just stay in with their munchies.
What did I miss? When did violence become fun? When has it ever been said that destroying private property is an OK thing to do? Certainly, the term "sportsmanship" is not recognized by everyone.
Fortunately, there was no sign of anyone showing up with Swastika or Confederate flags and Tiki torches.
