Soccer Riot and Competition

Obviously Michael Kinsley (Editorial Pages, June 5), “One for the Books,” has not studied the British soccer fans.

I go to Britain about every other year so I believe I have a very good picture of England.

I have driven thousands of miles in England. The English have some very good large rest areas where one may obtain good food and toilets. As I drive into the large rest areas I see a very big sign “No Soccer Buses Allowed.”

I was on an English Channel large ship-ferry to Belgium in 1984. A soccer team was going over to Belgium on the same ferry. The soccer fans started getting drunk on the ship and these fans were already in a bad way, getting rough among themselves and scaring some of the passengers who were sitting near them.

It is not competition that is the culprit; it is man and alcohol that do not mix well, especially when alcohol is drunk in such vast quantity that man loses reason, as in the case of soccer fans.

There are no riots at tennis games or cricket matches, only after soccer games, especially abroad.

Competition is the mainstay of the capitalistic United States. No way are we going to stop competition. In main competition makes one move ahead in business, sports, science, engineering, trades, art and many school subjects that are thought of as being academic.

BEV WILLIAM MORANT

Sierra Madre