Saturday, October 19, 2013

People Watching at a 10 & 11 Year Old Football Game...

Or maybe I should call it Parent Watching...

Cade was on a good football team this year. Whenever his class is with the grade behind them they are great. Two years ago they won the Super Bowl (Cade is still upset he didn't play that year). This year (until today) they were undefeated. When Cade's group is with the grade ahead of them they (to put it gently) stink. I can't remember their record last year but they didn't win many. And I think we all still have nightmares from the flag football year when we got humiliated every game in Mt Vernon. But I think everyone expects big things from these 5th and 6th graders. So it was quite disappointing for a lot of people today. And, in case someone who reads this is offended by my observations, just remember this is all relative. I may not have cared today but when Cade is on an awesome FFA team and if they would happen to get beat I would be disappointed. 

So with my disclaimer done just let me say Holy Cow!!!  It was a mixture of disappointing and funny today. Quite honestly I was embarrassed and a little sad for some of those parents. And I said some. Obviously I didn't witness the reactions of all of them- just the few I was fortunate enough to be siting within ear shot of. 

Holy Cow. It just had to be said again. You would have thought someone's life hung in the balance on the outcome of today's game. I'm not sure I've seen adults use such terrible language over a game. These parents were angry that we lost. I heard every cuss word imaginable. Even the F word was used in the bleacher directly above where Camryn was standing. It is good thing it wasn't uttered again because this Mama was going to tell him not say that in front of my baby if it was. Jay is probably thankful he didn't have to pull my hands off is this man's throat. He was about to get a letter delivered in person!! I also heard plenty of foul language coming from a couple of men who paced the field the whole game. It was definitely not a classy way to end the season. 

What made me sad for them is that I really think there are a lot of parents who are reliving their HS days through their kids. I wonder if the best days of their lives happened when they played football? That is sad. We hope for such more for Cade then that. If he wants to play football that is great. We will support him in everything...but does that define him or change how Jay and I feel about him?  Absolutely not. Mr F man used that word about a kid that did something he shouldn't have done on the field. Of course I have no idea what it was. The man said something about how if he (meaning the man) had done that in HS he would've got his A** kicked. And that there sums up a lot of the mentality I witnessed (or heard) today. These poor kids aren't in HS. They are 10 and 11. And they are still babies with their whole lives ahead of them. Their whole lives that can be filled with so many wonderful things that today will just be the tiniest blip in their timeline. 

Now that I'm off my soapbox here is the funny part. Jay was standing somewhere
else. When the writing was on the wall he came sat down beside me. I told him he had better grab Camryn as soon as this was over so we could escape the brawl. I  also asked (in a whisper) if we were the only ones happy. That then made me laugh. I'm pretty sure I was the only parent who laughed at that moment so I figured I'd better straighten up. 

Yes , I am not a football mother. Actually I'm not a sports mother...or even a sports person at all. I'm probably the only HS cheerleader in America who secretly hoped her team would loose all of their tournament games. Sheldon boys held the record for the most losses in Missouri for several years. But of course we would seem to win every tournament game that meant we would have to travel back on a Saturday. So after some deep soul searching I think my issue is with sports that screw up my whole Saturday....but then I'm also not big on games during the week either when I've worked all day and then have to work the next day...or when it is too hot or too cold...or when I can't decide on the right outfit- you know that mixture of cute casual, etc. Yeah, it's
Just not my thing. But that is ok because other parents probably won't obsessively refresh Judging Card.com during March.  That is more the "thing" for us. 

I also had to laugh when Cade told me all  but 5 of the boys were crying after the game. Three of the ones not crying were Cade and two brothers (3 of the benchwarmers). The mom of the two brothers told me that the boys had asked her that since they joined band did that mean they didn't have to play football anymore. She told them to not ask their dad that question. I still laugh about that story every time I think about it. So I wasn't surprised they weren't upset. And obviously the Shepherd's weren't crying. While Jay was listening in at the huddle I was trying to figure out how to keep from dancing a jig all the way to the van. Then Jay came back from the huddle and announced we had yet another
game Tuesday night. Our season was in fact not quite finished. So the Shepherd's weren't exactly tear free either after the game. 

And another clarification so I don't sound like a complete bore. I enjoy games and socializing. I also enjoy the excitement...like a cool night and the band playing, etc. I like the atmosphere. It is the actual game that bores me. I can't follow it and I loose track of Cade all the time. All the time. Jay is constantly having to tell me "he's in."

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