Vancouver riots: Are sporting events and violence intertwined?

Vancouver erupted in violence after the Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in the NHL Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday -- rioters smashed windows and set cars on fire, causing perhaps millions of dollars’ worth of damage.

The riots bring into focus the uncomfortable link between sporting events and violence -- think of the Giants fan reportedly beaten by Dodgers fans at the Dodgers’ home opener at the end of March, or the riots that swept through parts of downtown Los Angeles after the Lakers won the NBA championship last year.

Research has mixed things to say about the subject. Winning a match is what often triggers violence, according to a 2005 paper published in the journal Injury Prevention that tracked assault cases in relation to rugby and soccer games.

Similarly, a 2007 study in Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health found that rugby spectators on the winning team’s side rated themselves are more aggressive than those rooting for the losing team, and the more aggressive people planned on drinking more alcohol after the game. Aggression plus alcohol: How’s that for a “winning” combination?

This, however, did not appear to be the case in Vancouver, Canada, where the home team lost the Stanley Cup.

RELATED: Photo gallery of Vancouver riots

The historical link between sports and mass unrest goes back a long way, according to University of Warwick professor Bernard Capp, who found that when Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas and “disorderly” sports in England in the mid-1600s, “football riots” occurred, where people would protest by playing soccer.

On the bright side, says a 2004 study published in the journal Aggression and Violent Behavior, over the years, sports riots have actually been decreasing -- which means riots like the one after the Vancouver game Wednesday may be the exception rather than the rule.

Follow me on Twitter @LAT_aminakhan.