Watched it tonight while having dinner. Boston won and it seems that our friends to the north are a little peeved.
From British Columboa station CTV:
Raging Canucks fans start riot downtownI would not be happy with 4-0 either but this is a bit extreme...
Unhappy Vancouver Canucks fans are taking out their anger downtown at losing the Stanley Cup to the Boston Bruins in Game 7, and there are unconfirmed reports rioters have flipped a police car.
Eyewitnesses told CTV News that an angry mob had flipped over a police car near the intersection of Nelson and Granville streets, and that rioters were smashing windows at a pizza place nearby.
Rioters also smashed windows at the Bank of Montreal branch at the intersection of Georgia and Homer streets.
Fans flipped a car out front of the post office on Georgia Street and turned over another truck nearby after the Canucks were trounced 4-0 in the final game. Another car was set on fire.
As soon as the final whistle blew in the game, young men in the Georgia Street fan zone began shouting "F*** Boston" and setting Bruins gear on fire.
Other angry fans held signs reading "Riot 2011" and burned homemade Stanley Cups as the pandemonium spread through the downtown core. Some rioters flipped portable toilets, and there were early reports of head injuries as fist fights broke out throughout the downtown area.
I think I have a solution for this type of sports related rioting and vandalism. If the regulating group- the NHL in this case, made it a rule that any misbehavior like this would make the team ineligible for playoff status the following year. Let them play the regular season but if they make the playoffs, they don't play, period. A couple of years like that and the team owners would be begging their fans to behave.