I write this with a bit of sarcasm and I certainly don't think it's a good idea.
But I remember talking MAJOR crap to referees and opponents from the crowd during middle school and high school basketball games. If you were a 7th grader, you stayed to watch the 8th grade team play. And vice versa. We had all kinds of chants and cheers. Most were taunting and trash talking. Some where borderline racist. (One was a "A rope. A tree. Hang the referee." And this was in an area with a mix of races in all schools. And everyone in the stands was saying it. At a middle school basketball game). Definitely screaming during free throws and the "AIRBALL" chant when a kid missed the backboard.
But it was so damn noisy in the gym, that you couldn't really hear what was being said.
I was a kid who wore sports goggles back then. I remember a parent making fun of me during 6th grade baseball for it. My dad was at all of my games and he never threatened another parent for "bullying" his kid. He told me to deal with it by making a play at 1st base and shutting them up.
What if instead of telling parents to shut up on the sidelines, we encourage everyone to scream and yell more? Currently, the only people that say horrible things are those that are looking for a fight. What if every dad on the sidelines started acting like a maniac and started calling kids names or threatening 10 year olds? If everyone does it, then everyone can stop being so sensitive when Bubba yells "You're faster than him!!" or "Ref, you can't let that fat kid run over my kid like that." Or "Check his ID. Why does an 11 year old have a mustache? Did he drive the team here in his van?"
But I remember talking MAJOR crap to referees and opponents from the crowd during middle school and high school basketball games. If you were a 7th grader, you stayed to watch the 8th grade team play. And vice versa. We had all kinds of chants and cheers. Most were taunting and trash talking. Some where borderline racist. (One was a "A rope. A tree. Hang the referee." And this was in an area with a mix of races in all schools. And everyone in the stands was saying it. At a middle school basketball game). Definitely screaming during free throws and the "AIRBALL" chant when a kid missed the backboard.
But it was so damn noisy in the gym, that you couldn't really hear what was being said.
I was a kid who wore sports goggles back then. I remember a parent making fun of me during 6th grade baseball for it. My dad was at all of my games and he never threatened another parent for "bullying" his kid. He told me to deal with it by making a play at 1st base and shutting them up.
What if instead of telling parents to shut up on the sidelines, we encourage everyone to scream and yell more? Currently, the only people that say horrible things are those that are looking for a fight. What if every dad on the sidelines started acting like a maniac and started calling kids names or threatening 10 year olds? If everyone does it, then everyone can stop being so sensitive when Bubba yells "You're faster than him!!" or "Ref, you can't let that fat kid run over my kid like that." Or "Check his ID. Why does an 11 year old have a mustache? Did he drive the team here in his van?"
