Team Anarchy Wins Three Games Against Team Olympics

Team Anarchy Wins Three Games Against Team Olympics

“So we went to a fight the other day and the Olympic games broke out.”
- variation of popular Canadian hockey joke

By an independent commentator
Coast Salish Territory, Vancouver, Canada

From February 12th to 13th, 2010, Team Anarchy won three games against Team Olympics during the International Class War Championship Series in Vancouver. Team Indigenous Sovereignty also won three games against Team Olympics. The game times and outcome of the rest of the series are still to be determined but so far the Olympics have yet to win a game.

Team Anarchy started off strong on the 12th by successfully blocking the Olympic torch from coming to Commerical Drive at all. Earlier in the day Team Indigenous Sovereignty had blocked the torch from parts of the Downtown Eastside, Canada's poorest neighborhood.

That night, another game was held, as thousands marched in protest against the Olympics. Team Indigenous Sovereignty had a strong presence at the front line, while Team Anarchy pushed against and allegedly injured two Team Olympics cops with projectiles.

The next day, Team Anarchy won game three, scoring goals against the Hudson's Bay Company, the Toronto Dominion Bank and possibly a McDonald's restaurant as well, leaving them with broken windows. The streets of downtown were also blocked with a dumpster and many newspaper boxes. A few fanatical spectators tried to attack Team Anarchy but were pushed back by Team Anarchy and removed from play by the cops of Team Olympics. At no time did Team Anarchy engage spectators or the cops in confrontation until they themselves were attacked by bystanders or the cops.

In a show of corruption within the International Class War League, the cops of Team Olympics took on the role of referee and put more than a dozen members of the opposing team in the penalty box. This gave the cops an unfair power play and brought an end to the game. No cops were given penalties despite unnecessary roughness such as high sticking, slashing, cross-checking, holding, interference and too many men on the street, as well as instigating fighting.

The referees of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA), such as David Eby, also showed corruption when they publicly denounced Team Anarchy in the media and praised the cops as “restrained” despite the cops' unnecessary roughness and the fact that the BCCLA wasn't even present at the game to witness it.

Commentator corruption was also evident as CTV news journalists chased after and filmed players and had one person put in the penalty box.

One spectator commenting on the goal against the Hudson's Bay Company said, “This isn't Canada."

One member of Team Anarchy responded by pointing out that hockey, Canada's favorite sport, is the most violent sport outside of boxing and martial arts. The Hudson's Bay Company also provides an example of the violent military force used to colonize the land and build Canada, an ongoing violent process of genocide, also shown in Canada's escalated war on Afghanistan, obscured by the timing of the Olympics.

Team Indigenous Sovereignty won another game on the 13th after blocking the bridge between reserves at Katzie, Coast Salish territory, in Vancouver's suburbs. No players were put in the penalty box.

Team Anarchy in Calgary also recently won a game, scoring goals against two Olympic sponsors, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and McDonald's.

The series continues.

See vancouver.mediacoop.ca for more independent coverage.