And...THIS is why soccer (football) is effing crazy

[Wildeybeast]

I understand enjoying playing sport, watching people play a sport you play and watching people you know playing sport. I don't understand the fascination with people who never play sport acting like it is some kind of religious experience to watch a bunch of overpaid young idiots kick a ball around or whatever. I get the entertainment value, but worshiping them and in extreme cases rioting or killing people is just silly.

The explanation is simple really. It's about watching people do something you wish you could do but are utterly incapable of doing with even the slightest modicum of skill, so watching others is the closest you can get.

[Kirsten]

lack of ability never stopped x factor

[Wildeybeast]

Sadly 10 million people don't want to pay good money to watch me huff and puff around a field whilst attempting to kick a ball in the general direction of someone wearing the same colour as me.

[scadugenga]

I get that professional athletes are the epitome of their skill, they can do things people who focus on having a life generally cannot do.

I do not get the mania (and this is speaking as a near (suburban) Chicagoan post Blackhawks' Stanley Cup win) surrounding the goings-on.

I mean, I get regional (city, etc) pride. That's been ingrained into us for centuries. Professional sports = stand-in for military prowess. (My (insert regional identity here)'s better than yours! We rule! We dominate! (in the case of Milwaukee--"we suck!").

But--the 'Hawks are based in Chicago--doesn't mean that the players are native Chicagoans, or hell--even native Illinoisans.

Professional sports is all about the draft--building your team like a Magic Player building a cutting-edge deck.

Yay! I should root for the home town team with...wait...no home town players?

Silly.

Of course, I'll throw all that out the window the moment the Cubs win the World Series.

Just sayin'.

[Learn2Eel]

I'm really shocked to see this happen, and my condolences go out to everyone involved.

I must say though that I feel this is less the result of the sport itself and more the area. Something like this would never happen in England or Australia, for example. Still, it does go to show that taking sport a little too seriously can only end in tears. Take the "Ultra" fans for Italian teams in particular; the supporters of foreign teams are often mobbed and attacked, knives and crowbars are often involved but they don't attack with the intent to kill. They just want to ruin the enjoyment of everyone else.

[Psychosplodge]

Once upon a time the English fans would apparently mix it with the Ultras on the continent, but our police stop those type travelling these days so actual fans get attacked by the foreign hooligan element instead...