When Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2018, the radio commentator was one of the first comments from Mike Quick: “Pole Ko Greece!”
He knew what he was talking about. After the game, fans took the streets to celebrate, with some light fire, flipping on cars and, yes, utility polls, or not.
This was again again in Philadelphia when Eagles won the NFC Championship game. There were more than 30 arrests, including many for attacks on police officers, as fans celebrated. A teenager died after falling from a pole.
This is not just Phili. Angelenos set a bus on fire and threw fireworks after the final decline in the police after the Los Angeles Dozers won the world series.
During a celebration of San Francisco Giants World Series win in 2014, some people threw bottles at police officers, and firing and stabbing. In the early 1990s, fans of Bulls in Chicago rioted after each of three direct championships, leading to hundreds of arrests.
Philadelphia or Cancas City, Mo. There may be more fan disturbance, after teams from those cities meet on Sunday in New Orleans in Super Bowl.
How and why fans who celebrate sometimes turn to violence and harassment after big sports?
‘Crowd mentality’ can be powerful
After a big win, fans like to live together. Most just want to show support, but those who cross the line may be inspired by many factors.
“This is a type of crowd mentality,” said Brandon Podgorski, Program Director of Sports Leadership at Abiline Christian University, who has studied fan violence in the United States.
“You want to be around others who cares you like and feel the same about your team,” Podgorsky said. “It often occurs in public places and, unfortunately, public property is damaged in this process.”
How do people change because of being in the crowd?
Fans can be hugged by an oblivion provided by a mob.
They are “less likely to be identified in a large group, and then do things that they usually do alone,” said Jason Laenter, a professor at psychology at the University of Kutztown, who has studied fan violence.
Others can be caught in social fingering: causes damage or violently spread through one group, and others are involved to fit in bus.
“A part of it is visible,” the lanter said, “The part is stuck with the tasks of the group and not thinking about what they are really doing.”
And some may be looking for a sense of belonging. “Many fans are involved in the violence to display how many fans they are,” the lanter said.
Some believe that behavior is “a sign of more loyalty to the team.”
Funny fans are mostly male
Experts agree that the wholesale of violence is provoked by men. To begin, men create most sports fans and most violent actors in other situations.
And sports violence is particularly associated with men. Podgorski said that a team had a close identity and an increase in violence, was more closely associated with men and especially with young men. “I don’t believe it is completely isolated for men,” he said, “but these emotions do not seem so strong in women to function physically.”
Winners abuse more than losers
In 2011, fans in Vancouver who were disappointed after the defeat of Boston Breens in the Stanley Cup final, threw bottles, looted city shops, fought and fought on fire. Hundreds of people were eventually arrested. But this was an exception. Fan rampages start after winning more often.
“Men’s testosterone levels actually grow after their team’s victory,” Podgorsky said. “Aligned with an enthusiastic social fingering and the need to release this paint-up energy, it is easy to see why men work after a big win.”
After the loss in an important sport, men’s testosterone levels may decrease, Podgorsky said, which makes it look like depression. This can reduce a request to participate in violence.
Alcohol is often a factor
Videos of fans being booked or violent after the Games often show many of them showing the taletell signals of intoxication.
Experts cited alcohol as one of the main drivers for violence after the game. Other factors include the importance of the game for the team and its start time; Later the possibility of violence is more likely after sports, perhaps in part because it gives fans more time to drink.
Are some places susceptible to violence than others?
Data shows that violence is more likely to occur in larger cities than in more rural areas, as it can become a larger crowd.
“I would also assume that small and more rural areas have strong cultural relations that will limit uncontrolled behavior,” Podgorski said. “These are people who have to live and work every day.”
Fan riot is different worldwide
The incident of fan violence in other countries, especially in football matches, is very different. It is planned more often than comfortable. “It is rare to see that fan riots in the US should be predetermined,” said Podgorsky. “This is usually sparked by some type of external phenomenon.”
Rarely there is a lot of time between events in the world: the fight between rival fans on 30 November in Germany and the next day the struggle between fans and police in Guinea, for example.
Sports violence abroad is more likely to incorporate a conflict between fans rival groups. “Football hooliganism is a regional issue, where fans of one team are legitimately fighting fans of another team to demonstrate validity,” Laaint said.
Can it be stopped?
The police in Philadelphia and Canasus City are fully aware that super bowl can increase fans. The Canasus City Police is bringing additional officers “whatever can be,” Captain Jacob P. Bechina said, a spokesman of the police department. He said: “Census City is generally peaceful, which some other cities have seen.”
Police in Philadelphia did not respond to the request of comment on plans for this weekend.
A part of the challenge for the police is that the troubleshooters involved in sports disturbance cannot be specific criminals. “The passion for someone to someone is combined with a charged environment, people can act in ways that they cannot otherwise,” Podgorsky said.