If you have participated, I am talking to you. You're a cretin. A low-life, socially inept, morally devoid buffoon who does not have the mental capacity to resist the mob instinct and keep from acting like an utter moron.
You want to defend hooliganism? Well, then let me give you some info to defend against.
England, 1314: Edward II of England banned "football" for fears that it could lead to social unrest or treason.
They were identified early on, folks.
England, 1885: Preston North End defeated Aston Vila, 5-0; players from both sides were beaten severely by fans from each club, including one Preston player who was beaten so bad he lost consciousness.
England, 1886: Preston fans fought with Queen's Park fans in the first recorded instance of an off-site meeting of "fight clubs".
England, 1905: 70-year-old "hooligan" arrested and tried for being "drunk and disorderly."
Apparently it crosses age lines, too.
England, 1973: Manchester United fans instigated riots up and down the country when their team was relegated to a lower division. Young Bolton fan stabbed to death by a fan of an opposing club, simply for being there. Both events resulted in crowd segregation and fencing at matches.
England, 1985: 39 Italian fans died, after being crushed to death by a falling wall they were trying to hide behind, when Liverpool fans broke through barriers and attacked them.
England, 1989: 96 fans died and 766 others were injured in the Hillsborough Disaster, when unruly fans attempted to push through narrow fences and barriers to get into the game, whether they were allowed to be there or not.
Spain, 1998: Real Sociedad supporter killed by Alético Madrid fan. Alético fan had ties to a neo-Nazi organization.
Spain, 2003: Deportivo supporter killed by his own as he tried to protect a member of a rival group from serious harm.
Germany, 1998: French police officer beaten severely by German fans, sustaining brain damage from the incident.
Germany, 2005: German fans clashed with police and rivals in a riot that damaged several cars, shops, and resulted in 52 arrests.
Germany, 2006. Germany won against Poland, and celebrated by rioting in the streets, attacking police with fireworks, chairs, and anything else not tied down. Of the 300 arrested, 120 were known hooligans.
Germany, 2006: 23 policemen injured in rioting.
Germany, 2007: 800 fans attacked a smaller force of 300 police officers, injuring 39. All lower division German matches were canceled as a result.
United States, 2008: 100 rival fans broke into fighting in Columbus, Ohio, during a match between Columbus Crew and West Ham United. Another riot was narrowly averted at Giants Stadium between members of the Empire Supporters Club and the New Jersey Sports Exposition Authority over perceived mistreatment. Things finally simmered down with the arrival of the New Jersey State Police.
Even we Americans aren't immune.
Mexico, 1998: While mostly low key in Mexico, hooliganism does exist. One fan died and several others were injured when Mexico lost to Germany in a World Cup match that eliminated Mexico from the running for the trophy.
That sure changed the outcome of the game. Oh wait, it didn't.
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