Recently, Prince William and I packed up the car and headed to Game 3 of Sir T’s soccer season. When we got there, we spent about 20 minutes setting up our little shop on the sidelines. Setting up shop is quite a little job since Sir K and Ladies E and A can’t go anywhere without snacks, drinks, toys, and of course, their individual fold-out chairs which they never really sit in. Once we collapsed into our sideline seats, the team mom came by to let us know that our team received 2s last week and we needed to work on how we cheer during a game.
WHAT? Excuse me? There’s rules on how to cheer? We received 2s? What the hell does that mean? Who’s grading me? Better yet who’s watching me?
What has happened to the world we live in? Do I really need to take instructions on how to cheer for my son and his teammates? Isn’t that a no-brainer? You watch the game, you oooo and ahhhh in delight, clap and encourage when necessary, and you congratulate both sides at the end. Sounds easy enough, right?
Sadly, I know there are problems at kid’s sporting events. I read Fox News and CNN. I read the horror stories; “Soccer Dad Shoots Other Soccer Dad” or “Baseball Mom Runs Over Coach in Parking Lot”. I know it happens.
In fact, last year during one of Sir T’s basketball games, we had our first “incident”. The coach of the other team was loud, obnoxious, and conducted himself poorly. To make it worse, his actions influenced his players, who were also loud, obnoxious and conducted themselves poorly (remember, these are 8 year old boys). When our team lost the game, we all watched in horror as the opposing team ran around laughing at our team and calling us losers.
Let me just say this for the record, it takes a lot to get Prince William and me going but we felt this coach and his team were acting inappropriately and someone needed to know. When we called the following Monday to voice our concerns, the association informed us that this coach had been in the league 15+ years, he has children in the program currently, and all his team parents and players love him. In other words, the association took no action or accountability.
In my book, this is where it starts. Unacceptable behavior by a coach that trickles down to his or her players, upsets the spectators and we all know what happens next. I have to be coached on how to cheer but this clown’s behavior is o.k.? Where is the accountability?
I guess this is what I'm trying to say. No one seems to take responsibility or accountability for themselves anymore. Why do we need a manual or policy to be kind and considerate of others? I know how to conduct myself in public and I sure as hell know how to cheer for my son in a gracious manner without followng procedure.
It seems like common sense isn't very common any more. I wish we could all just be kind and courteous to each other and maybe, just maybe, we could get along without following a policy.
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On a side note, Sir T’s basketball team met up with the same basketball team a year or so later and, you guessed it, nothing had changed. The good that comes from this story is when we won by 2 and the other team was crying and calling us cheaters, we held our heads high, congratulated them for a fantastic game and we walked out with dignity and grace. A lesson learned.
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