### q13 organized sports fandoms are politically useful > If Procopius’ portrayal of the sinister power of the Blue faction has a modicum of truth, Justinian also seems to have fallen into a trap of a poor, or at least unreliable, choice of political bedfellows. Their influence on the streets of Constantinople must have been extremely useful to the future emperor when he was an heir to his uncle Justin’s throne and was thus seeking to secure a platform of power. Really? "Must" it have been? I thought he spent a bunch of time trying to stop race-related petty crime? - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fjaeq5ysz959d3c4dpr7d369) - [[Chariot-Racing Hooliganism The Nika Riots of Constantinople by Antigone#q13 organized sports fandoms are politically useful|View in Vault]]