It's Only A Game

I'm not sure where I'm going with this post. It started out as an update on events in Ukraine, but wandered off into a look at bizarre soccer deaths.

First, Ukraine:

The mood on a warm afternoon had been friendly. Some supporters of both teams joined together to walk the route to the stadium before kickoff, displaying their support for the new pro-Western authorities, chanting their contempt for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to local news ... the starting point of the fighting was when the two teams' supporters were walking down Greek street. There armed men, wearing masks, in black attacked them, some shooting pistols.

The gunmen were pro-Russian activists, allegedly undercover Russian military troops who had infiltrated Ukraine to foment unrest.

The fans responded by throwing stones. Many tried to flee.

Some tried to hide in the nearest building. Not a good idea.

It is not clear who first started throwing petrol bombs.

At least one town official suggested the fire may have started on the third floor, which would suggest that the cause of the blaze was something other than a petrol bomb thrown from outside. That could not be independently confirmed.

"The fire engines came very late. The fire was raging. Those who hadn't been overcome by smoke, just started jumping out of windows. It's a tall building so you can imagine what happened," said an eyewitness.

There are at least 40 confirmed deaths. Moscow is blaming Ukraine and its Western supporters. Kiev is blaming pro-Russian "saboteurs."

Those deaths are only tangentially related to soccer. The next fatalities have a much more direct link.

A Brazilian football (soccer) fan was killed on Friday after being struck in the head by a toilet bowl that was thrown from stadium stands...

I could make a joke about how that poor fellow's life had bottomed out, butt that would be in poor taste. So I'll just say that he had an untimely end...

The incident occurred during a riot by upset fans. While the death is tragic, at least it was accidental. In another incident, a Colombian soccer player was killed intentionally as a result of his play in a World Cup game.

Andrés Escobar was a professional Colombian soccer player who was shot and killed in Colombia. The murder itself is not bizarre, but rather the reason for which he was killed. In the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Escobar scored on his own goal in a game versus the United States that ultimately led his team’s loss. A wide consensus believe that this goal led to his death.

I'd say that's a pretty good guess, seeing as how one of Escobar's assailants was heard to shout "Thanks for the own-goal, hijueputa [son of a whore]!"

And I used to think American football fans took their games seriously...