Stanley Cup Playoffs 2011 - This Thread Is Now About Riots

[Tapir12]

Wow, I just turned on the radio and I'm shocked. The sports shows are covering the riots rather than the games. I figured there would be some disturbance, but this is nuts. According to the radio, people are looting London Drugs downtown and trying to break into Pacific Centre.

And to think I just drank and cried my sorrows away.

[LackingSanity]

I really hope the HBC building doesn't burn down, because we don't really have that many nice old buildings...

[zfubarz]

came home from work to live feeds of looting and burning cars... good times

[TheRocket]

Its not that we don't deserve it, I really believe that Vancouver deserves the cup, something to give this franchise some credibility to what is one of the strongest clubs in the NHL over the past decade. But this is really the buildup of 40 year, nothing really to cheer about next to almost victories combined with heavy drinking that caused it.

I might be misunderstanding your post, but that is complete shit. You don't deserve the cup, as a team or a city because you did not win it. You were given the same chance as everyone else and you lost. I don't get what you mean by credibility. Where is the lack of it in other teams? I think I must be misunderstanding your post, and if I am I apologize but I don't get where the hell you're getting that van deserves the cup... what have they done to be better than any other NHL team?

It's not the buildup of no victories and almost victories. It's the fact that a few asshats had premeditated actions to relive 1994 no matter what the outcome of the game. It almost has nothing to do with hockey at all at this point.
Plenty of NHL teams have not had a victory in years, and you don't see them destroying their cities. A very select few people started rioting, and then some more people decided to join in because they were either drunken idiots or looking to be a part of the action. Mpost people stayed to tweet photos of themselves giving thumbs up in front of a burning car for their twitters.

[tak197]

The thing that Ditto can maybe attest to that I definitely know about Philadelphia sports fans is that they can be flaming bags of horse feces. I mean they booed MOTHERFUCKING SANTA CLAUS, for fucks sake! Not to mention the time they booed Destiny's Child at the peak of their career because Beyonce had the gall to wear a spliced Sixers/Lakers jersey during their performance at the NBA Finals. We are RUTHLESS, RUDE, and NASTY.

Yet we have never gone into "full blown LA riot" mode that I can really recall. (Insert any edited links with news stories to refute claim here...) I know hockey is, culturally, a bigger deal than here in the US, but NOTHING, I mean NOTHING, is worth felonious activity and self-destruction. Grass grows, rain falls, life goes on. Console yourselves, take a deep breath, do a shot of maple syrup or something, and remember that the Canucks aren't going away any time soon.

[Metcarfre]

[CommanderKeen]

Eh, the rioting is within a 10ish block radius in the downtown core. I'm 20ish minutes away, so not worried here at all. A lot the damage is superficial and to very large businesses.

With 100,000 estimated downtown when the game finished, it's no surprise VPD had to take time to get the crowd organized. They're doing a amazing job in being civil and giving AMPLE warning before any force was expelled.


what's more depressing is that we basically can't do anything of any large scale now. Sigh.

[Metcarfre]

I wonder if they'll cancel Symphony of Fire now. It's clear that there's a group or class of people that just want to come down and cause a situation like this.

Full credit to the VPD. I'm surprised they showed such restraint. Especially for all the people that were just hanging around watching instead of following the orders of the police.

[Valliac]

I wonder if they'll cancel Symphony of Fire now.

Looks like it's already happening.

*Bu-dum tish*

EDIT: I truly don't mean to be an ass. This certainly sucks and I hate to see a team which went into the series with dignity be taken out the way they did and the subsequent reaction. Was still a hell of a game.

I really just COULDN'T HELP that joke.

[CommanderKeen]

We'll see. The fireworks went in '94 with no problems and while they have their problems, they mostly are peaceful. It just means that we won't see these large live sites anymore.

[LackingSanity]

Which is a shame, since I had a lot of fun when I went downtown for game 2.

[CommanderKeen]

As did the hundreds of thousands that enjoyed six other games downtown.

[gcninja]

I was wondering WTF was going on, I hop on twitter and see reports from LRR people and some vancouver cosplayers about riots, god damn people..
I read the earlier tweets, it went from

Well, even though we didn't win, I'm proud of you boys! Next year we will have the cup! #GoCanucksGo

to

Car turned over kicked being ripped apart on Georgia. Bonfire.

then

"Fans" burn their jerseys? Don't you mean "bandwagoners", Mrs. Reporter?

and

Also, apparently one Canucks fan killed themselves over this by driving off the Granville St bridge according to a friend downtown.

and now

I'm afraid of what these idiots might do to the mounted police and their horses :/

Shit. Here comes the tear gas D: My city is in chaos

also, I'm guessing maybe that earlier photo is in reference to

The Bay is on fire. How could they do this?

Damn, this shit hit the fan hard, but either way it probably would have happened no matter who lost...

[Matt]

Ugh.


Just. Ugh.

-m

[Metcarfre]

And now some guy blowing an air horn every 5 minutes. Great. I didn't feel like sleeping anyways.

[TheRocket]

http://tinyurl.com/3snegzo Here's a link to a fb page to identify the rioters. Some douche hammers have already been identiffied and arrested thanks to their dumbasses posting photos of them with their looted merch!

[gcninja]

[zfubarz]

This might be the best thing I've seen in ages

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bbb_1308214844

[Trymantha]

wow, just wow

[Lord Chrusher]

Here is a question.

Why weren't half the police in the Lower Mainland either in Downtown Vancouver or waiting to rush in if a riot broke out?

[CommanderKeen]

Because the other six games where similar sized crowds showed up, they dispersed peacefully and with no major issues. Same with the Olympic crowds. The fact that they were able to control the crowd so quickly is amazing with the ridiculous amount of restraint they showed. And from what CTV was reporting they were, at least there an hour or so after the game ended.

[goat]

2. the fact that a loss in this or ANY game causes people to be sad, upset, angry, whatever, is extremely frustrating to me, and probably ties into #1.

It is a game. Furthermore, it is a game you have no control over. The fact that people invest so emotionally in something they have no control over that has no real world significance really bothers me. I can understand going down to the pub and having fun watching a game, rooting for a team, being happy with a win and disappointed at a loss. But the emotional response I've seen here is completely out of control.

A lot of people need a big reality check.

Do you cry at the end of a sad movie? You had no control over that either. People who closely follow their team and have been through all of the trials and tribulations are going to have some sort of emotional investment in their team. Sadness and emotion are only natural in that situation.

Rioting, however, is decidedly not cool.

You know...Detroit doesn't riot...

There's no one in Detroit left to riot. Besides, that's what East Lansing is for. /LocalJokes

[CommanderKeen]

AlexanderDitto, you mention real world significance on the outcome of games.

I'd beg to differ. Say Team A has a losing season. This causes bars to be empty on game nights, seats in the stadium empty and generally not a economic boom to the local area. Fact is that in Vancouver's case, we've had two more months of hockey that we normally do. Those Bars that have been packed every night mean more money for those that normally would have had a lousy evening. Especially when everyone is typically outside on an evening such as yesterday. It means more sales for sport shops around town.



Perhaps I'm wrong, but outcomes of games do matter, maybe not on a personal level, but they certainly do in a cities economic bottom line.

[AlexanderDitto]

2. the fact that a loss in this or ANY game causes people to be sad, upset, angry, whatever, is extremely frustrating to me, and probably ties into #1.

It is a game. Furthermore, it is a game you have no control over. The fact that people invest so emotionally in something they have no control over that has no real world significance really bothers me. I can understand going down to the pub and having fun watching a game, rooting for a team, being happy with a win and disappointed at a loss. But the emotional response I've seen here is completely out of control.

A lot of people need a big reality check.

Do you cry at the end of a sad movie? You had no control over that either. People who closely follow their team and have been through all of the trials and tribulations are going to have some sort of emotional investment in their team. Sadness and emotion are only natural in that situation.

Rioting, however, is decidedly not cool.

When I'm watching a movie, if it's good, I suspend my disbelief and become invested in the story, and along with that am imparted with various emotions and thoughts, yes. When the movie is over, I go back to reality. I am not hopelessly despondent or upset for days. I do not set things on fire. I would not kill myself over a movie. If I did, I would be advised to seek psychiatric help. There's something wrong with the amount of emotional investment people are placing in their sports teams.

Sports teams which, by the way, are almost all destined to lose. Only one team is can actually win the cup.

AlexanderDitto, you mention real world significance on the outcome of games.

I'd beg to differ. Say Team A has a losing season. This causes bars to be empty on game nights, seats in the stadium empty and generally not a economic boom to the local area. Fact is that in Vancouver's case, we've had two more months of hockey that we normally do. Those Bars that have been packed every night mean more money for those that normally would have had a lousy evening. Especially when everyone is typically outside on an evening such as yesterday. It means more sales for sport shops around town.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but outcomes of games do matter, maybe not on a personal level, but they certainly do in a cities economic bottom line.

I do not believe for even a moment that people who are upset over this game, or the people who are rioting, are upset because local bar economy is going to take a hit.

I meant real-world significance to the people who are watching, following the games. Yes, perhaps bar owners and people who make sports jerseys will be upset. That's a completely separate issue, and is not the issue at hand.

[Elomin Sha]

Wow, wasn't expecting that.
With me an sports it's just a game. You win you win, you lose you lose, I can't get that emotional in any sport.