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Hockey riot recap

By Alex Kerner

So what happened in Vancouver after the all mighty Canucks got plowed over in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final?

There hasn't been a hockey riot of this sort in almost two decades. Even last year's Olympic gold victory in Vancouver, which was a similarly alcohol fueled celebration, didn't result in this type of incident.
There are a couple of quick points to note.

First, the Canucks organization, although quite exciting on the ice, has a history of anti-fan practices.

Ticket prices for games are some of the most expensive in the league, leaving most Canuck fans watching at home or outside the stadium. Game 7 tickets were going for tens of thousands of dollars.
In addition, the club has targeted pubs that tried to usurp their copyrighted slogan "Go Canucks Go," claiming proprietorship over a slogan most teams would encourage their fans to express.

This is hardly something that endears the club to its fans.

Add the high tensions of the playoffs and the absolute collapse in the finals it helps maybe explain some of the riotous reaction to the loss.

Another point to note, however, is how the police dealt with this riot compared to the G20 in Toronto last summer.

While the destruction of police cars, property and lighting of fires was much more extensive this time, the police tended to focus only on those who committed the acts of vandalism.

Some tear gas was used but for the most part the targets were rioters.

Contrast this to the G20, where police used the excuse of much more limited property damage by anarchists during the protests to sweep through the entire protest and arrest a record number of participants, irrespective of their actions.

This sends a pretty sharp message from police that being around a pointless hockey riot is much safer than being at a protest with an actual purpose.