It was surprising to see Montreal’s 1993 Stanley Cup riot included in the “Blood Sports” section of Jacobin’s “Nationalism” issue. While most of the details were correct, it was the explanation that the riot had been caused by “incensed Los Angeles Kings fans” that hit a discordant tone. There were many contributing factors that led to that riot, but nationalist rivalry wasn’t among them.

After all, Montreal fans have a history of rioting when the Canadiens win.

News reports clearly identified Montreal fans as being responsible for the riot, and linked it with what was considered a growing global phenomenon of “hooliganism.” It wasn’t without precedent either: fans rioted the previous time the Canadiens won the cup as well. The 1986 riot — which saw several thousand jubilant fans looting stores along Montreal’s main commercial thoroughfare, Saint Catherine Street — caught the city and its police force by surprise. Most of the blame was attributed to police’s slow response rather than the “few bad apples” whose “exuberance got the better of them.” Then chairman of Montreal’s public security committee, Guy Descary, defended police inaction at the time, saying that had police employed their batons it would have made things worse.