Since the creation of sports, human beings have been drawn to the spectacle that these games create. The act of physically going and watching sports has become such a profound part of society. These sporting events cause all sorts of behavior in people; joy, sadness, anger, and excitement to name a few. The most controversial behaviors amongst the crowd to come out of spectator sports however is violence. Team rivalries, consumption of alcohol, promotion of crowd intensity as well as individual issues play a part in this unfortunate phenomena. It is the combination of both environmental and personal factors that contribute to crowd violence during sporting events.
Violence in sports can be dated back to the Roman Empire during the gladiator games and chariot races. Huge crowds would come to large arenas such as the Coliseum in Rome to spectate humans killing humans and sometimes dangerous animals. The crowds were also given such an intimate role in the outcomes of these "blood battles ". By levels of enthusiasm and cheer, they influenced the emperor's decision to keep the remaining gladiator(s) alive or have them killed. The chariot races were less violent in nature due to main goal being the first chariot to cross the finish line. However, they were equally as popular and intense and spectators came from near and far to spectate these brutal races. One of the earliest sport related riots can be dated back to the catastrophic Nika riot (AD 532) involving fans of different chariot racing factions at Constantinople rioting in the streets destroying a large part of the city and resulting in nearly 30,000 deaths (Dunkle 2008). These spectacles were some of if not the leading most violent spectator sports in history and people were so captivated by them. That may or may not say something about our human nature. .
Making the jump to modern day sports, spectator violence continues to be an issue at sporting events today.
