After the Boston Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks last Wednesday night to win the city’s first NHL Stanley Cup since 1972, the City of Vancouver erupted into violence.

While the Bruins’ win should’ve been the story line around the world, people were instead viewing images of police cars in Vancouver lit on fire, rioters breaking windows in downtown Vancouver buildings and riot police on horseback patrolling the streets, trying to quell an escalating situation.

Vancouver looked more like a political protest gone awry as residents flocked the streets trying to force social change.

That, unfortunately, was not the case. More than 150 people were injured in senseless acts of violence over a hockey series.

It’s true that sports fanatics around the world take sports seriously, which is OK. Sports are an outlet for many people to have a few hours of joy and escape the difficulties of life. Sports can unite countries, and they can be an instant source of gratification. They can also lead to tragedies that should never occur as fans take the results of a game too seriously and sometimes fail to remove the joys of entertainment from the struggles of real life.

The scene in Vancouver last week embodies this distorted situation.

This was, unfortunately, not the first time Vancouver has made international headlines for similar violence. In 1994, the Vancouver Canucks lost the Stanley Cup and Vancouver was witness to rioting. Nearly 100 people were hurt during the riots over that hockey series.

Residents of Vancouver, however, are not alone when it comes to violence after sporting events.

In 1994, Colombian national soccer player Andres Escobar returned to his country after participating in the World Cup Soccer Tournament and a fan shot him to death because Escobar had accidentally scored a goal for the United States in the countries’ match. The goal led to a United States’ 2-1 upset against Colombia. The result ended in a tragic loss of life. Escobar was only 27.

In April, Los Angeles Dodgers fans senselessly beat a San Francisco Giants fan in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles after the teams played a regular season baseball game. In late May, Bryan Stow could finally open his eyes after spending nearly 45 days in a coma. Los Angeles police arrested 31-year-old Giovanni Ramirez as the “primary aggressor” and lead suspect in Stow’s beating.

Stow did nothing more than wear a San Francisco Giants jersey to a Los Angeles Dodgers game, and for that he continues to suffer.

In May 2008, a 43-year-old Nashua, N.H. woman allegedly ran over a Red Sox fan with her car, killing 21-year-old Maria Hughes after an argument between Red Sox and Yankees fans erupted at a Nashua bar.

These acts of violence and destruction should not be tolerated, and people must begin putting sports into their proper perspective. Sports are entertainment, an escape from reality and a chance to have fun. People should never take a sporting event so seriously that it causes pain, suffering, utter chaos or even death.

Fans should enjoy the game while it is being played. Good-spirited taunting and joking should be expected and enjoyed by everyone watching the game. After all, fans want their teams to win and never want to see them lose.

But life is too short, and at times too difficult, to let the outcome of a ball game or match affect or end the lives of others.

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Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via e-mail at kristenm@journaltribune.com.