Why do we have hooligans in Europe but not in North America?

Greg79 · Share | #1 (**permalink**) 04-16-2012, 03:04 AM

Hi,

I was just wondering why we have sport hooligans in Europe, but not in the US or Canada (apart from a few hockey fans maybe

. I've seen a few US football games, and it was good fun, people would bring their kids, it was great. In England/France/Germany, people sometimes think twice before bringing their kids to see a soccer match... It can get kind of messy, especially if the home team is losing... Any idea why hooliganism never really existed in North America?

kju385 · #2 (**permalink**) 04-16-2012, 04:55 PM

N. America has laws which give them far greater punishment for the same actions, both financially and in a criminal sense.
It's easy to be "brave" and make a mess when the biggest fear you have is a misdemeanor or just a formal warning.
But when the punishment involves a hit on the wallet, people tend to think twice before acting foolish.

Greg79 · #3 (**permalink**) 04-17-2012, 07:36 AM

OK, I see! I just read an article though, saying that "some" Philadelphia Eagles fans could be described as North American hooligans. Don't know if that's true, but it sounded interesting!

**Zap** · #4 (**permalink**) 04-17-2012, 07:39 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Va...anley_Cup_riot

Greg79 · #5 (**permalink**) 04-18-2012, 07:51 AM

Ouch, that looked pretty bad! I guess you DO have hooligans in North America (or in Canada at least

**Zap** · #6 (**permalink**) 04-18-2012, 08:07 AM

It was pretty bad. Arrests and prosecutions are ongoing.

Dating Factory · #7 (**permalink**) 04-18-2012, 11:09 AM

The US also has OWS.... Lame.

Greg79 · #8 (**permalink**) 04-20-2012, 02:25 AM

OWS? What's that?

Claude D · #9 (**permalink**) 04-20-2012, 04:22 AM

Hooliganism and hooligan is born in the UK and began to be associated with violence in sports mainly in the 80's particularly in football that is very popular in Europe. But France, Spain and Portugal are less affected by this scourge.

I believe North America has also Hooligans even if they don't use this term. All kinds of violence in sport can be compared to hooligalism.

Hatgirl · #10 (**permalink**) 04-21-2012, 07:36 PM

I really can't understand how people can get so angry about sports. It just boggles my mind. Here in Australia I couldn't imagine that happening ever.