Posted on 07/20/2008 8:56:54 PM PDT by buccaneer81
West Ham, Crew fans brawl in stands Sunday, July 20, 2008 11:17 PM By Shawn Mitchell THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH From the southeastern corner of Crew Stadium came the West Ham United chants: “East! East! East Lon-don!”
From the northeastern came the answer: “Co-lum-bus! Co-lum-bus!”
Today’s war of words turned physical at halftime of the Crew’s exhibition match against West Ham, when a handful of West Ham fans ventured into the heart of the Crew’s supporters section.
A scuffle broke out and stadium security quickly pulled the West Ham interlopers to the stadium concourse. The next few minutes were frantic.
While the West Ham fans were removed to a stair landing on the back side of the stadium, supporters of both teams gathered on the concourse. Several punches were thrown and one West Ham fan was thrown to the ground by security and handcuffed by police, who used pepper spray or mace to help break up the melee.
Police couldn’t confirm the number of arrests and Crew vice president of operations Scott DeBolt said he would have no details “until I get a report, which might not be till (Monday).”
More fans were seen handcuffed in the parking lots after the game.
Shortly after halftime, West Ham fans unfurled a banner in the stadium’s south end that read “ ICF, 30 Years Undefeated.”
The Inter City Firm, or ICF, is one of the most notorious hooligan groups in England.
Peter Witham, a fan of the English team Arsenal, said he was on his way to the restroom when he got hit with chemical irritant used by police.
“I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life and I’ve been going to English Premier League games for forever,” he said.
One of the fans who entered the Crew’s supporters section was not ejected despite being detained by security for several minutes.
“We just went over for some tea and crumpets and (the Crew fans) got mad,” said the man, who identified himself as Dave Simpson from London.
smitchell@dispatch.com
Baseball is interesting when the game means something, as in post season play. Besides that, it sure isn't a television sport.
By the way … wrong, wrong, wrong … strong argument. Beyond debate, I concede. /s
The only real serious problem with soccer hooligans are a small segment of fans from England. It is NOT a widespread issue worldwide at all.
There are certainly pretty serious fan brawls right here in the US. Just recently in fact there was a case of a group of Red Sox fans seriously beating a Yankee baseball bat. Earlier this year a fan was beaten to death in the street after an NHL playoff game. Then of course there are the cases of Philadelphia Phillies fans throwing batteries at opposing players, New York Giants fans pelting the field with chunks of ice, and who can forget the infamous Detriot Pistons and Indiana Pacers game that erupted into a riot. All of these instances happened not too long ago, so don’t try to convince anyone that it is confined to soccer.
Your assertion that most Americans don’t like soccer and that the sport is only played here because it costs little to play is also very misleading. Last year’s average attendance at Major League Soccer games was at around 16,000, which is about the same as the NBA and NHL. This is even more impressive when you consider that the sports media bombards us with NBA coverage while paying little, if any, attention to MLS (and the NHL). Finally, perhaps the biggest indicator that professional soccer has, and is gaining, a significant amount of popularity in this country are the brand new soccer specific stadiums in Denver, New York, Salt Lake City, Washington DC, and Toronto.
These are the facts.
13 current MLS teams is not a fact.
1. Chicago Fire
2. Colorado Rapids
3 Columbus Crew
4. DC United
5. FC Dallas
6. Houston Dynamo
7. Kansas City Wizards
8. LA Galaxy
9. New England Revolution
10. New York Red Bulls
11. Real Salt Lake
12. San Jose Quakes
13 Chivas USA
14. Toronto FC
15. Seattle will enter in 2009 and has paid expansion fee
16. Philly will enter in 2010 and has paid expansion fee
In a year or so ST Louis will awarded a franchise starting in 2011. The finishing touches on a soccer specific stadium and government approval are just about done.
In 2020 MLS will surpass NHL.
The Hispanic percentage of the population will reach about 17% of the total by then.
I find it extrememly boring to have a game run on a clock. How creative can you get when you have 30 seconds left. Time's up, you lose.
Though you are correct regarding "athleticism", baseball requires much more athletic "skill" and coordination. Of course, the real attraction of baseball is that there is a lot more to the game than just making contact with a 90+ mph fastball. The gamesmanship and strategy is extremely intricate. So much so that baseball is a much more cerebral game. That's probably the main reason why soccer fans can't relate to baseball.
Note the handbags . . .
http://bp2.blogger.com/_OkuhepoopDc/RhUV8O-_nrI/AAAAAAAAAAo/8OcGkYWfvG0/s320/soccer2.jpg
There are 30 NHL teams, believe it or not.
Which to me isn't a knock on the game as much as on the playoffs and division structure, which I think should be eliminated. AL Pennant winner and NL Pennant winner meet in the World Series the way it used to be - that's it. Make the season games count for more than they do.
The best thing about baseball as a TV sport is that you can work on something else while the game is on, and just pay attention at the critical moments. ;)
Slow doesn’t necessarily mean cerebral. A quarterback, or point guard, or soccer player has to see so many things before they develop and react so quickly. A point guard or soccer player has to see a couple passes ahead. And i’m not so sure baseball requires any more coordination than golf or any better reflexes than tennis.
The NBA and NHL have been around since the first part of the 20th century. MLS has been around for 12 years and has seen consistent growth in attendance and fan interest, and has seen the league expand from 10 teams in 1996 to 14 today. Of course the NBA and NHL bring in more total fans, that tends to happen when there are over twice as many teams in each of those leagues which is understandable since those leagues have been around so much longer. The fact is that the size of MLS has expanded by almost 50% in just 12 years; show me another league that can say that.
Saying that most Americans don’t like soccer or that it is not popular here is just plain wrong.
Here’s another fact. The record for total attendance in a World Cup was set 1994 when it was held in the US, despite the fact that there were fewer teams/games involved than there are today (24 qualifying teams as compared to 32 since 1998).
I see your point, but once you get beyond that this arguement crashes.
Professional soccer throughout most of the world actually displays more chacteristics of capitalism than American sports leagues do. For one thing, there is no salary cap, revenue sharing, or luxury tax imposed on teams in the vast majority of soccer leagues, whereas these all exist in one form or another in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL.
In the NFL, the most popular league in the US by far, the most successful teams are punished the following season by being given the most difficult schedules, and the weakest teams are rewarded by getting weak schedules; parity. This does not happen in soccer leagues throughout the world. In fact, in most leagues (except for the US) the weakest teams are punished via relegation to a lower league, while the best teams in the lower leagues are rewarded via promotion to the upper league. Contrast this to every single league in the US where the biggest losers get the first choice of new young talent in the draft.
If anything, it is our sports in the US that follow a socialist model, while soccer leagues throughout the world follow a capitalist model.
“Give me my hockey anytime.”
Indeed (make mine the Penguins)!
It’s hard to believe that these people came all the way from England to get into a fight in Columbus Ohio. What losers.
This should bring happiness to all those Liberals and other politicians who look to Europe as a model for the USA to aspire to, and who are embarrased and ashamed of the USA.
As we become more civilized in the European style we might advance to the point our soccer fans are actually killing each other too.
South America is on another planet?
South America is on another planet?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
