More than 100 fans were involved in a fight during halftime of Sunday's friendly soccer match in Columbus, Ohio, between British soccer club West Ham United and the MLS' Columbus Crew. It is no secret that soccer fans all over the world often have an intense passion for their teams, which can escalate to violence. And while many Americans are hardcore fans of their teams, we rarely see this type of fan-violence, especially in sports outside of soccer.

Soccer (football or footie if you prefer), is, by far, the world's most popular sport. I'm no cultural anthropologist, but it seems to me that soccer has become the world's sport because it is so accessible and easy for anyone to play. All you need is a ball and open space. Kids grow up playing soccer all over the globe, and their love for the game sticks with them forever. I think that's part of the reason we see such passionate soccer fans world-wide.

Passion is great; violence isn't. Unfortunately, in too many instances we have seen passion manifest itself as violence with terrible consequences. You frequently hear examples of injuries and deaths as a result of soccer fans fighting. There have been incidents over the last half century where dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of people died as a result of soccer fan rowdiness. While I know efforts have been made to beef up security to combat these issues, it doesn't seem like there is an end to the unnecessary violence in sight.

Until now, however, there hasn't been a major fight like those seen in Europe in the U.S. Sure, you can say the reason might have to do with the limited number of U.S. fans and you might even blame the many West Ham soccer fans who also attended. But I think it's something more--I think it speaks to the unique culture of the sport.

We almost never see large-scale fights in other sports? Why does this happen in soccer?

The two teams involved in Sunday's game in Columbus aren't rivals. They're not even from the same continent. By contrast, in college and professional sports, we see many intense rivalries - Duke/North Carolina, Ohio State/Michigan, USC/UCLA, Yankees/Red Sox, which you think would fuel poor fan behavior. Instead, these games look like a church service compared to some soccer matches. The only incidences I've witnessed have been between a limited number of (usually intoxicated) fans.

What do you think? Is this a problem unique to soccer? What can be done to combat this issue?