Rowdy sports fans nearly overthrew a Roman emperor.

Ancient Romans were fanatical about chariot races, and were devoted to one of four teams: the Reds, Whites, Greens, or Blues. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE, the four teams consolidated into two, the Greens and Blues. The rivalry was more potent than ever, and often led to violence. In Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, competitions took place at the local hippodrome, an arena with a capacity of more than 60,000. In 532 CE, the bitter sports rivals, enraged by some recent tax increases, found a common enemy in Emperor Justinian I. After some particularly nasty fighting broke out at the hippodrome, Justinian, a longtime Blues fan, put his foot down, relinquished his fandom, and sent for the military. He sentenced seven leaders in the fighting to death, but two of them, one fan from each team, survived when the hanging scaffolding broke.