Fight night

To the best of my knowledge, soccer riots aren't too prevalent here in the U.S. But Rhode Island College had one on its hands Sunday night during and after the Division IV high school girls state championship game between Woonsocket and Tolman. For those who haven't seen the footage, click above.

As a semi-responsible adult, part of me feels like I should get up on my soap box and decry such behavior. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't find this fight pretty entertaining and amusing.

Now, if I'd had any ties whatsoever to the game, I might have another opinion. Say, for instance, if it had been Rogers, or another team I cover regularly, playing in that game (which nearly happened) I'd be disappointed that either, A. Rogers' state championship was marred by a silly fight, or B. Rogers players behaved in such a way when they were losing.

Unfortunately for me, I covered the game that immediately preceded Woonsocket-Tolman. Not that I didn't enjoy seeing the Tiverton girls win the D-III title, but I'd love to be able to say I saw the melee in the D-IV game.

Some might wonder how these girls could get so worked up over a Division IV girls soccer game. And I did, at first, too. But after looking in the mirror, I get it. Hell, I can get pretty psychotic on the basketball court in the Newport Recreation Department men's over-30 league. And there's pretty much nothing at stake there. In a high school championship game, no matter the level, there's a lot of emotion, and tempers can flare.

The pushing and shoving that broke out in the stands between fans of the two teams, though, is completely inexcusable, and just plain stupid.

By no means am I excusing the actions of any of the players involved, which, based on the video, looks like pretty much all of them. I'm just saying, I understand.