Vancouver Riots Make For Compelling Social Media Content

Normally, wanton destruction in the face of a major championship comes from the winning city. In Vancouver, however, fans were obviously unhappy with the way the Canucks lost Game Seven of the Stanley...
Vancouver Riots Make For Compelling Social Media Content
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  • Normally, wanton destruction in the face of a major championship comes from the winning city. In Vancouver, however, fans were obviously unhappy with the way the Canucks lost Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals at the hands of the Boston Bruins, and instead of, oh, going down to the local watering hole and drowning their sorrows in beers and shots, Vancouver Canucks fans decided to do the next best thing: Riot. It’s clear the Vancouver city proper was the reason the Canucks lost, so why not just destroy everything, right?

    And that’s just what Canucks fans tried to do. Meanwhile, Roberto Luongo goes unpunished.

    While the riots themselves are not necessarily web news-related, the reaction to the destruction certainly is. Naturally, social media was where the majority of the reaction took place, and while Twitter was indeed blowing up — in fact, there are still two active trends related to the Vancouver riots — there were also videos uploaded that provided a clear picture of just how raucous downtown Vancouver got after Canucks were summarily dismissed by the Bruins.

    First off, some highlights from the Twitter nation.

    As indicated, there are two trends focusing on the Vancouver fun, one titled “Dear Vancouver,” and “#canucksriot,” using the standard hashtag presentation. Although there are many posts for each topic, two of the more ones from the “#canucksriot” sums things up nicely:

    I’m just going to assume that the people in the #canucksriot have a very limited mental capacity. What’s the point? It won’t bring the cup! 27 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    I’m just going to assume that the people in the #canucksriot have a limited mental capacity. 33 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Further trending topic fun:

    This is what happens when you have universal health care. #canucksriot #BachmannMaterial 55 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Not even 5:30 am and we’re already getting calls from people embarrassed about last night. It’s gonna be a long day. #canucksriot #kelowna 46 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Perhaps my favorite of them all:

    Dear Vancouver: Don’t riot because the Stanley Cup Champions aren’t Canadians. Riot because Nickelback are Canadians. #CanucksRiot 1 hour ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    The fun continues:

    Dear Vancouver … is that a riot in your pants or are you happy to see me? 5 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Dear Vancouver it’s times like these I wish I had built the third Death Star, I would end this riot quickly. 7 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Then there are the tweets that contain actual information about the situation, while others chastise their fellow countrymen:

    Dear Vancouver: Egypt & Libya had reasons to revolt. You do not. I hope Canada is embarrassed enough to remove the team from your city. 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    Dear Vancouver, thank you for embarrassing our country. Usually it’s the Montreal fans who embarrass us, but you’ve outdone yourselves! 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    Big props to @VancouverPD for keeping the public safe, and to @translink for providing constant transit updates. Well done! #canucksriot 1 hour ago via Osfoora for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    And then there are the tweets that link to additional user-generated content, like the following:

    Another raw video of last night’s #canucksriot in downtown #Vancouver: http://ow.ly/5j8As #YVR #riot 1 hour ago via HootSuite · powered by @socialditto

    Another rocket scientist on Facebook #Canucksriot #riot http://twitpic.com/5canff 1 hour ago via Twitpic · powered by @socialditto

    The picture Jane Daly is referring to, and yes, her use of the term “rocket scientist” is quite fitting:

    Vancouver Facebook

    Speaking of Facebook, Vancouver police created and are monitoring this particular page that invites Canucks fans to post their own riot pictures. Clearly, the hope is to catch some of the rocket scientists Daly mentioned, and judging by some of the submissions, the Facebook “trap” looks like it will bear some fruit.

    The video in question shows just how out of hand these things can get when you mix alcohol, a mob mentality, and the disappointment of losing:

    Naturally, there are additional videos as well:


    Boston fans, on the other hand, were, by all accounts, fairly well behaved after their team snatched Lord Stanley’s cup from Canadian hands. Clearly, when it comes to winning professional sports championships, the city of Boston has been there before.

    The lead image is courtesy of the Vancouver Sun, and quite a few of them do a great job of showing the absolute chaos Vancouver officials had to deal with.

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