With an events calendar filled with the Australian Open tennis, Formula 1 grand prix, Boxing Day Test match and, of course, the AFL season, Victoria is unquestionably this country’s premier sporting state.

But what really sets it apart from many other sports-mad cities, either at home or abroad, is that people attend these events in droves every year, without fail.

Victorians love their sport, and especially love watching it live. We are not a bunch of couch-potato consumers, like NRL fans to our north, who are content to watch on television while their teams play in empty stadiums.

Rather, Victorians want the full experience of going along to an event with tens of thousands of like-minded strangers and seeing the best of the best in action with their own eyes.

It is a sad reflection on the state of the world that we, here in Australia, even need to consider the possibility that terrorists might want to attack us on our own soil.

Even more confronting, however, is when you consider what percentage of those who assemble at these aforementioned events are children.

But given what has transpired in Europe in recent months – not to mention incidents such as the Martin Place and Brighton sieges here at home – it must be addressed.

Unfortunately, there are people out there who want to inflict harm and incite hatred through the use of barbaric acts against innocent people.

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001 all the focus was on stopping the large-scale sophisticated attacks. However, recent events show terrorism can be committed with the simplest of weapons.

Will the installation of full body scanners discourage sports-lovers from going along to the MCG on a Saturday afternoon to watch their team play? Perhaps, but it shouldn’t. The terror threat exists wherever in the world you are, be it getting a coffee in the Sydney CBD, attending a pop concert in Manchester or visiting a Parisian church.

If these body scanners are introduced, they will inevitably cause delays and inconvenience, but surely they are a small price to pay for improved safety?

- Ross Tyson, deputy editor