The Broad Street Bullies

I'm not sure what it is about hockey & Philadelphians, but mixing the two really seems to bring out the brute in us.  I tend to think of myself as a relatively peaceful person, & honestly I don't really follow sports much.  But being a Philadelphia native makes me intrinsically obliged to root for their sports teams, which I do gladly.  Yet it seems that it's only with hockey games that I get the most fired up.  Of course it doesn't help that I watch most of the games with my brother, who's a huge Flyers fan, but I find myself jumping out of my seat & yelling at the TV even when I watch them alone.  The players move so fast up & down the ice that it's almost impossible not to get worked up watching them, especially during the playoffs.  Every player on every team has worked all season to get to where they are & it's very apparent that this is when the take off their "nice guy hats".  Yet even still, I'm always surprised when I catch myself cheering/encouraging an opponent getting a hard check into the boards, or even when a fight breaks out.  It can be so barbaric & so mindless, yet my team always gets my support.  This is especially true when revenge is called for after a cheap shot is taken against one of my guys.  Is it all those pads that makes it okay to route for a fight?  Is it ever okay to cheer on violence?  This type of activity has been part of human culture for thousands of years, but does that make it okay?  Are those whom consider themselves peaceful & reasonable allowed that one time (such as a Flyers playoff game) to support barbarism, or does that just make them hypocrites?  I can't help but ask myself these things after I realize what I'm doing.  Strange isn't it?