Stanley Cup riots

The riots in Vancouver after the Canucks crushing Stanley Cup defeat at the hands of the Boston Bruins has shocked everyone. But is it really 'fans' who were to blame or was it just an excuse for hooligans to riot?

Seems to me that it was just an excuse for a load of anarchists to cause mayhem. Didn't realise holliganism was an issue in sport in North America but this says otherwise. Have there been any other similar incidents like this after the Stanley Cup or any other major event? 

Canadians in general, and especially Canucks fans, take hockey very very seriously. The Canucks have now lost three Stanley Cups in the finals.. this one they were expecting to win and lost 4-3 on games played. The sheer amount of hype, expectation and adrenaline exploded into the scenes seen yesterday. The last time something like this happened was in 1994... when the Canucks lost!

Canadians are usually a passive, friendly bunch.. but not when it comes to hockey!

ps. let's not dump on anarchists here.. anarchism is a political movement/ideology, devoted to the abolition of the state.. petty thuggery as seen here or at any protest are often attributed to 'anarchists', but these people are unlikely to hold any political motivation, they just like to smash stuff.. it gives anarchism a bad name