Catastrophes and Blunders at Sporting Events

Catastrophes and Blunders at Sporting Events 1

Deflated footballs, anyone?

Of course, this controversy regarding a post-season game between the American football teams of the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts (and which has its own Wikipedia article–see “Deflategate”) occurred slightly more than three years after the “Catastrophes and Blunders at Sporting Events” infographic was published. Moreover, there was no loss of life as there are in most of the sporting events listed in the infographic.

A similar controversy which also did not result in any loss of life but which did occur before the publication was the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The concerns and controversies regarding this comprise a very lengthy Wikipedia article (as long as, or even longer than the article about the Games themselves). In brief, though, there was excessive corruption, excessive budget overruns and excessive delays. In the week or so before the opening, a walk-over bridge collapsed, and there were reports of snakes and many other animals found in the buildings, as well as tremendous filth in the residences.

Regarding the actual catastrophes themselves (most of which did show a loss of life), it was interesting to see the historical nature of the catastrophes, extending back to the 1908 Summer Olympics, as well as to see the large number of these occurrences in the last 30 years. It was also noteworthy to see that there was a seeming calm between 1972 and 1985.

Although it is not very popular in the U.S., soccer (football) is undoubtedly the most popular sport in the world. From this infographic, it is also the most deadly.

Likes: Again, the most fatalities occurred in soccer (football) events, but it is shocking to see that many other tragedies occurred in the U.S.

Dislikes: The inclusion of the events of 9/11. It minimizes the true and relevant impact of the events.

When you finally hunt down and secure those sports tickets for the biggest event of the year, the last thing on your mind is the potential for catastrophe. Throughout history, though, we’ve seen some horrible things happen at or around these games and events again and again. When we buy our sports or concert tickets, we never expect it to end in tragedy. Unfortunately, history has shown us that the unthinkable is often quite possible.

Sports Infographic

Via: Online Tickets USA

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