They weren’t drunk — they were just really, really into the game.
That’s the word from Kamloops Mounties after a fight between players at a junior B lacrosse playoff game Monday erupted into a brawl between a handful of opposing fans in the stands at Memorial Arena.
The Kamloops Venom were taking on the Vernon Tigers in Game 3 of their Thompson-Okanagan Junior Lacrosse League championship series.
With less than three minutes left in the game, the host Venom sporting a commanding lead, things got physical on the floor.
Kamloops RCMP Staff Sgt. Grant Learned said the Vernon goalie came out of his net to challenge a Kamloops player to a fight.
“That started a fight on the playing surface, and that resulted in a scuffle between fans from Kamloops and fans from Vernon,” he said.
Someone called police, but the fans had been separated by the time officers arrived.
“Everyone was sober but, how do you say, deeply invested in the game,” Learned said.
No arrests were made, but the bleacher brawlers — three or four in total — were warned.
The Venom earned a decisive 17-8 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.
Game 4 is slated for Wednesday night in Vernon.
