The hatred between Philadelphia and New York spilled out into the stands last night as a group of young men came to blows in a chaotic scene at Wells Fargo Center.
Wild NSFW brawl between Flyers and Rangers fans at Game 6Philadelphia pushed New York to a seventh game thanks to the heroics of Wayne Simmonds and Steve Mason and no doubt this series has been a battle. But the on-ice action was nothing compared to the crazy antics in the cheap seats, where a group of visiting Rangers fans fought with their Flyers counterparts. Caution: There is foul language and, obviously, violence in the following videos:
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zirkEzJVvU[/embed]
Here's another angle of the mayhem:
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsK387bxOjM[/embed]
According to some reports, alcohol was allegedly a factor (shocking) and in a charged atmosphere, it was almost inevitable that fans from the two cities would get under each others' skin. While opposing fans should be able to wear their colors and cheer on their team at away games, they also should do so in a respectful manner and realize that the home fans are just as passionate and agitated about their team.
They weren't shooting off flares at each other like soccer fans, but here's a question: Should supporters of away teams be given their own section at playoff games, or would that just set up a worse scenario, since they'd be concentrated (and surrounded on all sides) in one area?