Frank39 wrote:Maddog wrote:ambient wrote:Guest wrote:
They were just numbered segments of the ground for organisational purposes
and fenced in with wire mesh to keep rival tribes from kicking each other to death
Sounds like a lovely way to spend the afternoon with your wife and children.
Unfortunately Maddog, that was de rigeur at soccer matches all over Europe in the 70s and 80s, it still is in places like Turkey and Ukraine, and to a lesser extent in Poland and of all places Italy.
You may be wistfully thinking of pleasant afternoons/evenings at Globe Life Park, watching Texas Rangers playing Arizona Diamondbacks, with beer, hot dogs, cotton candy, and corn dogs.
That wouldn't have worked in Britain, different mindset, a lot of "fans" hoped that their team won, but as long as they got a chance to smash someone's face in, the day wasn't wasted.
The bad apples wrecked it for everyone else. The football fans, it seems now, were dehumanised by the behaviour of the hooligan element.