Vancouver's Night Of Shame

The Stanley Cup run has come to an inglorious end, thanks to a bunch of thugs and hooligans who went on a rampage after the Canucks' 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins. The sense of pride and achievement still hanging over us after the successful conduct of the Winter 2010 Winter Olympics has now evaporated into thin air because of the destructive acts of a few bad elements. Overturned cars and trucks being set on fire, breaking of store windows, looting of merchandise, general destruction of public property everywhere and billowing smoke in the downtown core have seriously damaged the reputation of Vancouver as the most livable city in the world. On top of the pain of having lost the Stanley Cup after getting so close to it, now Vancouver has earned the notoriety of being the city of sore losers as well.

Having come from a country of rabid cricket fans, I have always been confounded by the behavior of fans after a game loss. If the cricket team won, the players were lauded as heroes and celebrated to the utmost, but if they lost a match, their homes were pelted with stones and rocks, the chairs in the stadium were set on fire, buses were burned, government offices and public buildings came under attack, and sometimes, the players even received death threats. It begs the question how someone can keep winning all the time. Don't we win some, and lose some? What about being gracious in defeat? Is winning a game the be-all and end-all of our existence? Seriously, guys, grow up! How about showing some class and grace and acknowledging the skills of the other team and giving them credit for their victory?!?

One common truth that jumps out of this chain of events is that fans are RABID, period! Whatever part of the civilized world they are from, when it comes to winning or losing a sport, they are all governed by elemental emotions that blind them to decorum and basic civility of any kind . Sanity takes a back seat, and the mob mentality takes over. True fans would never resort to violence and destruction as those in Vancouver have, rather they would applaud their team for having come this far along in the game, to the finals, after 17 years! They would congratulate their team for their mettle and perseverance, and egg them on to victory in the year to come. Sadly enough, sane-minded people and loyal fans have now been left hanging their heads in shame because of the atrocious behavior of a few hooligans who have brought on untold shame and embarrassment to this beautiful city. I hope to God Vancouver gets a chance to redeem itself in the eyes of the world soon enough!