When tragedies such as the Boston Marathon bombing, the September 11 attacks and the various shootings in recent years occur, sports often act as a distraction.
After the 9/11 tragedy, I remember well Mike Piazza’s game winning home run against the Atlanta Braves 10 days after the attack. Perhaps more famously, I remember President George W. Bush’s first pitch at Yankee Stadium before game 3 of the World Series. That was by far the most famous first pitch in baseball history. Not only did it symbolize patriotism and America’s resiliency, but Bush walked straight up to the mound and delivered a perfect strike right over the heart of the plate.
The various tributes to the victims are always heartwarming. The New York Yankees played “Sweet Caroline,” a ballpark favorite of their bitter rivals the Boston Red Sox the following night as a tribute. The Yankees also played an exhibition game against Virginia Tech in the wake of the shooting back in 2007. Many people praise sports because at the end of the day, sports have little significance on life. Regardless of if your team wins or loses, life continues. However, in the wake of disaster, the distraction that sports provide is immeasurable.
However, it is all too often that sports are not the distraction, but the disaster. On Saturday evening, fans of English soccer team Millwall began fighting each other in the stands during their FA Cup semifinal match against Wigan Athletic. Millwall, a mediocre team in the second division of English soccer, should have used the match as a chance to celebrate their dream run in the competition. Instead after falling behind 2-0, brawling erupted resulting in multiple injuries and arrests.
The next day, more soccer-related violence erupted. This time, the violence occurred almost 300 miles away in Newcastle. After losing 3-0 to their bitter rivals Sunderland at home, Newcastle United fans took to the streets of their own city clashing with police forces. Oddly enough, one fan decided to punch a police horse. There were nearly 30 arrests and a handful of injuries.
Much like many places across the globe, the Geordies of Newcastle are suffering from a poor economy. High unemployment and a decline of wealth have swept the city. Watching their beloved team play a big match should have provided a much needed distraction. Instead, it just added to the pain of suffering of the city.
Soccer violence is nothing new, and with the anniversary of the Hillsboro tragedy so recent, it’s hard to believe so many incidents occurred. In Greece, fans of AEK Athens rushed the field chasing all players, coaches, and referees off the field after their team gave up a late goal against city-rival Panathrakikos.
Other events of similar magnitude have occurred around the world. After the Vancouver Canucks lost in game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, fans took to the streets to riot. Over 100 people were injured or arrested in total. Even if full scale riots don’t occur, there is almost always some form of violence at sporting events. Verbal abuse, fighting amongst fans and ejections are common at sporting events.
I never truly understood why people would pay the high price of tickets to just complain and fight the whole time. If you are truly unhappy with your team or sport, find another hobby. And if you can’t quite pull yourself away from your team, but are still unhappy, just don’t go to the games. Instead of negatively supporting your teams by booing and complaining, hit the teams where it hurts, their pockets. The overwhelming majority of people who go to sporting events go for the entertainment and to support their team. But if you are unhappy, don’t go. Perhaps if you can rally enough people for your cause, change could occur. It’s simple civil disobedience.
I fully understand that suffering is part of being a sports fan. However, the failure is what often keeps you coming back for more. The hope of success always brings you back. However, at the end of the day, it’s just sports. There are much bigger priorities and blessing in life. Tragedies such as the horrific events in Boston last Monday should provide much needed perspective.