Standing on the shoulders of....Mickey-Bo

Do you remember the ad that appeared on television about 10 years ago with the two wee boys frolicking through the 'beautiful Northern Ireland landscape' and asking 'Wouldn't it be great if it was like this all the time?' It was a kind of forerunner for the film 'Mickey-Bo and me.' Cheesy as this ad was I fear this entry may lean toward such schmaltz....

Last night, on the recommendation of two good friends of mine, I went to a Belfast Giants Ice hockey game at the Odyssey.

As soon as we sat down a large group of 7-year-olds came in to be seated. All with inflatable hockey sticks and the giddyness that comes from a large Fanta with their fries...as soon as I saw them I groaned thinking it would be tantrums and toilet runs all night disturbing my view of the game.

But as the kids settled and the game began I realised there was something more significant about this group sat in front of me. Thats when the ad with the two wee boys popped into my head.

Waking up today many of you, like myself, will be reading about the rioting and violence at Windsor Park and Tate's Avenue last night. Although it is still unclear exactly what happened, it is understood a hardcore element of Polish hooligans -without tickets- came to NI with the intention of causing trouble.

That they did, causing serious damage to Wetherspoons in Bedford Street, injuries to NI and Polish fans, and chaos for traffic in Belfast city centre last night (we were stuck in the Odyssey car park in traffic for 30 mins after the game.)

This image of violent soccer fans is nothing new, indeed riot police are now a common sight at some games.

Yesterday a young man in Ballymena had his ear bitten off in a violent street attack. The reason for the assault? He was wearing a Rangers shirt. The attack had all the hall-marks of the sectarian attack on Michael McIlveen (known as Mickey-Bo) in the same town in 2006.

Unfortunately, like most other things in NI, sport has been held to ransom by people's inability to divorce political tribalism from other areas of life.

Such tribalism, and the sectariansim associated with it, is ingrained in soccer, as with many other sports.

There is, and was, none of this at the Giants game.

The allegiance to one team and desire to see that team beat others, as well as having a particular nemesis within a league, is part and parcel of the fun of following a sport. But here in Northern Ireland, as we have long learned, adherance to a particluar position or unwavering support for one side does not always bode well for intercommunity relations.

There is no d'Hondt system in sport however, and the scenes in Belfast last night, as well as the attack in Ballymena will have to be addressed by the relevant authorities to try and curb in the future.

The youngsters sitting in front of me last night hopefully won't be familiar with such scenes and could have been from any background or religion - they all just loved the Belfast Giants.

There was no sectarian or even antagonsitic chants against the visiting team - the Cardiff devils - and there was more fighting on the ice than in the crowd - the way a sports match should be.

There was something very refreshing about hearing people shout in support of a Belfast team and not having any obvious political allegiance attached to it.

Although soccer and GAA teams in Northern Ireland have done a lot over the past few years in terms of reaching out to the 'other side,' the fact that each sport has roots with one community cannot be erased.

The Belfast Giants team has no such historic baggage and offers an alternative to young people than simply following a team of past generations, support which may well carry political connotation.

Before people start thinking this blog is sponsored by the team, I have to say there was the odd brat kicking off because Daddy wouldn't buy them a foam finger so I didn't totally feel like I had stepped into the Waltons, but the atmosphere before, during and after the game was happy, healthy and lighthearted.

Although the giant Subway machine gun that fires out Subway sandwiches into the crowd and the various team mascots running around in the crowd, made the experience somewhat surreal (you really have to see Gordy the Gorilla rubbing his not insignificant backside on the head of a mortified middle aged woman to see what I mean) overall it was great night.

The formation of the Belfast Giants was billed as a deliberate attempt to normalise sport in post Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland. The group in front of me will hopefully benefit from the existence of such a team.