The MLB playoffs is a time to watch some of the greatest teams around battle it out to be named the best of the best. No one would expect to see any of these games turn life threatening over team rivalry or maybe nothing at all.

After Friday’s Angels-Royals game ended in a loss, an Angels’ fan and veteran LAPD officer, was attacked by three men appearing to be Kansas City Royals fans in the parking lot of Angel Stadium. He is now in critical condition.

The motive of the attackers is still unclear but is said to not have have been led from team rivalry, as previous altercations had.

If it was not team rivalry then what could it have been? Did they just do it because no one was around and they could get away with it? Were they not thinking straight due to alcohol intoxication? There will never be a decent excuse for acting like this. Not only are the attackers hurting the victim but also the victim’s family, employees and fans.

This is not the first time that an incident like this has happened at this stadium, or even others in Southern California.

In 2009, Brian Powers was attacked in a stairwell at Angel Stadium, which paralyzed him and he later deceased. Police found no motive from the attackers.

The most notable incident is the 2011 beating of San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow. He was attacked by two Los Angeles Dodgers fans that left severe permanent injuries. Police were led to believe that nothing else but fan-rivalry was the cause in this case.

Stow’s attack not only affected him but also Dodger Stadium. Buying tickets and attendance went down considerably after this incident because fans were afraid of this happening again. That will quickly happen to Angel Stadium if these types of situations are not handled quickly and effectively by everyone involved.

Many people would like to blame the incidents on the lack of stadium security and police officers during games.

“We take any incident that happens in our venues or near our venues very seriously,” said Tim Mead, vice president of communications for Anaheim Angels. “Stadium security is one of our focal points, our fan experience and we take a great deal of time and effort to provide the best environment possible.”

The security and police cannot be held 100 percent responsible because some fans decided to lash out and act like animals after their games.

Security at Angel Stadium was increased during the playoffs for this very reason but they still struggled to have eyes and ears everywhere around the park.

People can come up with any excuse for their motives. The attacks were driven because of the intense playoff atmosphere along with the drinking or the lack of supervision from stadium officials but that does not mean that everyone at any other game that has been drinking will blatantly attack someone. Security and police would like to believe that adults would have better sense than this and would not have to watch over them like hawks.

Anyone that is going to a sporting event with their loved ones would never expect anything this atrocious to happen. This should not even be called “fan-rivalry,” or a case with “no motive.”

Real team rivalry does not involve bullying tactics and harming people. Someone that would deliberately harm another human being like that knew exactly what they were doing and need to be punished for their actions.