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Sports fans!

10:31 / 02.04.02

I know the subject of the riot mentality has been touched on here already (I believe it was the woodstock thread, head shop), but Im regularly fascinated at the behavior of large groups of sports fans. riot when we win, riot when we dont. break stuff and burn stuff!

ever been in the middle of this sort of thing? ever participated?

whats really happening that makes people get into the aggressive, violent behaviors regardless of whether they are pleased or unhappy with the event itself?

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

21:18 / 02.04.02

Youthful high spirits?
I don't know. I'm not into sport at all, but I guess the closest I can get is music. BUT I've experienced (and revelled in) the mob mentality/hive mind thing at particularly wonderful gigs, but we never felt the urge to break stuff or get into fights. (Although I'm sure there are some New Model Army fans out there who'd disagree with me on that one). First time I saw Atari Teenage Riot it all got a bit out of hand, but that was exuberance and little else... I remember saying to one of the people I was with that if they'd really though about their revolutionary agenda they'd have held the gig next door to a BNP meeting or something, and let everyone channel their energy more constructively... and I was only half-joking.
I think possibly with sport the tribalism is more directed, if that makes any sense. When you see your favourite band, they're just playing, they're not playing AGAINST another one. Whereas your favourite team are, putting the whole thing on a much more conflict-oriented basis. Possibly.

21:23 / 02.04.02

It seems to have a lot to do with soccer, and the losing thereof. People who are fans of any given team seems more interested in the logistics of a huge fight than they do in the actual progress of any given team.

More than that, it seems to be almost entirely a European thing, although I think I heard of one fight in America. Go figure. More than that, it seems to be an English thing, because it seems to me that the English like to riot every now and then, it keeps the adrenaline flowing, or some shit.

There, I said it. Soccer, not football. It's soccer, because there's five different things you can call football, so none of it is football. Instead, it's soccer, rugby, league, aussie rules an gridiron.

23:36 / 02.04.02

Nope, the only riot Ive ever been at was the riot in Montreal at the Faith No More, Guns & Roses and Metallica concert. Seeing as how I went there to see FNM and they were the only ones to complete their set I didnt feel compelled to Riot (Although it was my friend who started it all by throwin a row of seats and the fires and all that...)

15:56 / 03.04.02

there was a recent game here in maryland, where "our" team won. so the crazy bastards went and started a bonfire, threw shit in, began tearing up the streets and looted a store. its fucking amazing to me, especially where people end up injured or dead at these things.