Hooligans: Fans or Foes?

Since the very beginning of organized sports, there have been fanatical fans who display violence associated with devotion to a particular team or neighbourhood. Beginning in the late 50s and early 60s, the violence amongst fans began to take a drastic turn for the worse. Hooligans began organizing into official gangs and fights between rivals became as frequent as the games played between the teams they supported. By the 1970s and 1980s, hooliganism was in full force and gangs such as the West Ham United's ICF, Manchester United's Red Army, the Millwall Bushwackers and the Chelsea Headhunters emerged as some of English football's most violent hooligan firms. Mass fights, destruction and even m u rder cast a shadow over almost every game involving teams followed by rival firms. Hooliganism has cooled with the introduction of security cameras and better police training to handle the firms, but violence still surrounds football in a very real sense. One must wonder: is it good for the game? Are these dedicated fans or just thugs looking for an excuse cause havoc? The simple answer is no, hooliganism is not good for the game. It has nothing to with football; in fact it serves as a distraction to the game and a dark stain on the reputation of the club. If we can no longer attend a football game and cheer for our team without the fear of being beaten to death, then society has certainly lost much more than just a game.