I don't understand why some sports fans riot.
They riot in celebration.
They riot in defeat.
When the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI and Super Bowl XLV, I didn't riot. When the team lost Super Bowl XXXII, I didn't riot.
It makes absolutely no sense to me. Get a grip!
From the Canadian Press:
Parts of downtown Vancouver erupted in flames, explosive booms thundered through the air and looters smashed windows and ran amok inside department stores Wednesday after the city's Stanley Cup run ended in bitter defeat.
Weeks of well-behaved crowds watching the Vancouver Canucks march toward Game 7 of the NHL final ended abruptly in violence and vandalism that erupted even before the 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins was officially over.
Police said they had reports of four stabbings, though spokeswoman Const. Jana McGuinness said she couldn't confirm them.
The riot shattered the wholesome legacy of the nightly parties hosted on the same streets during the 2010 Olympics — an experience that had the city's mayor and police chief confidently proclaiming Vancouver had "matured" since similar riots in 1994.
"It's terrible," said Canucks captain Henrik Sedin, shaking his head, in an interview after the game.
"This city and province has a lot to be proud of, the team we have and the guys we have in here. It's too bad."
Police officers from around the region flooded into downtown and Mayor Gregor Robertson said things were getting under control, but the images and atmosphere that lingered late into the night suggested otherwise.
Robertson said there had been no fatalities, though he had to be asked the question twice.
Fights broke out and people were seen falling on broken glass.
At the flagship Bay store, looters jumped inside and were seen grabbing T-shirts and anything else they could get their hands on. Young women were seen escaping with MAC cosmetics. One girl carried out part of a mannequin.
The landmark building was filling with smoke as rioters, their faces covered in bandannas, continued the violence. Almost none were wearing hockey jerseys.
The looters turned their attention next on a Future Shop a few blocks away, smashing windows and flooding up the stairs to the second-floor store, only to turn around quickly. One witness said police were at the top of the stairs.
Sears and Chapters stores were also looted, their glass fronts smashed.
For many, the ugly chaos made the Cup loss an afterthought.
"Tonight, what I've seen is a complete disgrace," said Beth Hope, 28, who is originally from England but has lived in Vancouver for the past two years.
"I'm a Canucks fan but my jersey's in my bag — I'm ashamed to be a fan right now."
She said she saw a parkade on fire, cars ablaze.
"It's insane, it's absolutely insane. What's the point? Our team lost — why destroy your own city? I'm afraid."
It is insane.
I don't believe this sort of rioting is tied to the outcome of the sporting event at all. The rioters are just thugs looking for an excuse to do damage.
Here's video of the insanity:
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