I don't know who you were talking to but I live in downtown Ottawa and it was absolutely a million times worse than any sporting event. I'm guessing your friends live in the suburbs, where the most they might have seen were some flag waving pickup trucks.

I was harassed the minute I walked out my door, there was literal shit covering the sidewalks, emergency vehicles blocked, businesses vandalised. The city basically shut down for 3-4 weeks. I know people who had to leave their homes to live with their family outside of downtown out of fear. People were physically attacked for wearing masks for fuck sakes.

Ottawa Police did absolutely nothing to stop it and Doug Ford declared a state of emergency but then pretended it wasn't happening. The only thing that ended it all was the federal emergency act. I don't like that it needed to be used either but the two lower levels of power completely failed

Lol.

There aren't even any major sporting venues in that area.

The people who you "know" clearly do not live in the area.