or violence, a lack of safeguards at the stadium, the difficulty of policing sporting events, risky spectator behavior, and even terrorist or psychopath activity can result in injury and death for spectators.
Spectator violence is often associated with rowdy fans, or hooligans, but that is only the tip of the iceberg with respect to the multiple factors that contribute to violence. As Madensen and Eck (2008) point out, "Spectator violence in stadiums is part of a larger set of problems related to misbehavior in sport and concert arenas" and to crowd control when the games are held in other types of locations. Factors that can contribute to spectator violence include public intoxication, ticket scalping, underage drinking, student party riots, littering, loitering, and traffic congestion, just to name a few (Madensen & Eck, 2008). Moreover, although any of these factors in isolation can result in spectator violence, a combination of factors raises the likelihood that spectator violence will occur. A spectator that is drinking alcohol or taking drugs, angry about high ticket prices, and perhaps also upset about something in his personal life may find his psychological mechanisms for dealing with anger overwhelmed if his team loses the game or another spectator annoys him. Spectator violence is often a response to aggression by other spectators, which can include verbal aggression such as singing, chanting, or yelling taunts or obscenities; gesturing, such as signaling to others in a threatening or obscene manner; throwing objects such as food, drinks, bottles, broken seats, or cell phones; swarming the field, trying to crash the gates to get in or rushing the exist-both of which could lead to death by trampling; property destruction in the form of knocking down sound systems, tearing up the playing field, or otherwise damaging the venue's property; and physical aggression such as spitting, kicking, shoving, engaging in fi...