There’s a long held perception in Canada that hockey moms and dads are more into the games and more intense than the kids on the ice.  Fights among parents in the stands, yelling at coaches, police being called in and brawling with the refs all seem to be the status quo in Canadian youth hockey.

It turns out, though, that the crowds at NHL games can degenerate into near brawls like as this recent one in Vancouver:

According to a commenter on YouTube (treat as [sic’d]):

The kid was throwing peanuts at the bearded guy. The bearded guy got up and jokingly said “Ok, who’s the tough guy?” The kid couldn’t man up though. So the woman sitting behind the kid pointed to the “Tough Guy” and mouthed the words “He did it”. So the bearded guy had a few choice words, including the offer to “step outside like a man, punk” But the kid could only work his gums and had no cajones to back up cowardly assault from the rear.

Maybe we should chalk this one up to “Only in Canada” but seeing as fans are becoming increasingly violent, I’m not so sure.  I don’t want to get sanctimonious but can’t we just unwind for a few hours at a game without trying to kill each other.  But that’s coming from a guy who was “kindly” informing a referee on Saturday night that he was letting the visiting team make all his penalty calls.