h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Congratulations, for the best written piece i've ever seen related to football violence. Whose bright idea was it to go to the game with the intention of causing hell-up? it don't impress me much. what is going on in these idiots heads? i'm glad the sick days of the 1970s and 80s are gone

Yep, it was a mad time alright.

I was following West Ham all over the country with my much older cousins and their friends through the 80's and saw things which really were unbelieveable. But undeniably exiting to a kid - not a nice admission, but it was. I can easily see how so many people got caught up in it. I was 12 when Heysel happened - the way things were going, it was only a matter of time before killings became a weekly occurrance at football. I think it brought home to a lot of hooligans that things were getting out of hand, and that people who had no interest in fighting were starting to get hurt, or in this case, killed.

Your comment about 'what is going on in these idiots heads' is very interesting. It was just what people did on Saturdays. There was no real thought - it was just what happened at football. Sounds odd now, I know. In the company I was keeping, it was only a matter of time before I ended up in scuffles, and I am probably the least violent person in the world. I wish I had a better answer for you!

I see kids in my town (Reading) knocking each other senseless for no reason whatsoever every Friday and Saturday night now - it's exactly the same aggression, just channelled into pubs, clubs and taxi queues instead of football grounds. Perhaps the only useful feature of football violence is that it provided an outlet for aggression against like-minded people. I would rather see people who really want to fight each other getting together than dragging in bystanders who just want to get on with their lives. It's a complex subject, I know.

I wouldn't get too complacent about those days being over mind you - 900 Millwall fans rioting last week, two Leeds fans stabbed to death in Turkey the other year and the use of mobile phones and the internet to arrange ever more serious 'offs'.

If you need any more evidence that football hooliganism is far from a thing of the past, go to [Unsuitable link removed by Moderator]and chase some of the links through, especially the one for 'In The Know'. Bit of an eye opener.

Thanks for you comments!