Dispatch Shows Irresponsibility in Crew/West Ham Fracas Aftermath

It's official - the Dispatch is not interested in improving things at all in the City of Columbus.

In the online version of their article about the fisticuffs being thrown between rival groups of fans during halftime of the Crew/West Ham match yesterday, the Dispatch included a poll with the following title: "Does hooliganism make soccer more interesting to you?"

For those who only know about soccer via the hooligan problem, this may seem to make perfect sense. But as someone who has witnessed hooliganism first hand and seen friends affected by it (including a good friend of mine getting punched in the face because he wouldn't give a Chicago Fire "fan" a banner or scarf with a Crew logo), I can only recall the efforts that I and other US soccer fans have made to keep US soccer hooligan-free.

Let me ask you this: if the Dispatch had run such a poll after Buckeye fans showed just what wonderful fans they are when the Texas Longhorns came to visit several years ago, would the Buckeye Nation have stood for it? Not at all. So why do we stand for it when it's the Crew? They represent Columbus just as much as the Buckeyes; more, in some people's opinion.

Hooligan fans everywhere need to be treated as what they are: terrorists. They should be rounded up and sent to prison camps for causing terror for decent people who just want to attend a sporting event, but instead have to deal with issues of public safety.

And the Dispatch needs to be censured for their exhortation of such behavior.