Quote:
Originally Posted by RichMSN
Sit back and have a good laugh. Nothing else is a good option.
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Yep, same here at a holiday tourney doubleheader yesterday. The depth of ignorance fueled by sheer favoritism is sinking lower year by year.
Options I've been exercising for about three years now is working out quite well, with my alma mater gym (where I can't do games due to conflict of interest with son playing there also) as a testing laboratory:
1) Avoid sitting by ignorant/boistrous/stupid (IBS) people I know well. This includes a handful of relatives and close friends. When they ask at the concession stand why I sit by myself, away from the crowd, I unashamedly express to them how embarassing it is to sit by them. Have won over several relatives this way.
2) Intentionally sat by two chronic IBS's and, over the course of two years, have won them over to observing the game from the official's point of view. One of the two is even considering donning the stripes for an upcoming season.
3) Stand up annually at parents' pre-season meetings with the coach to express to other parents how ridiculous chronic one-sided, biased, favoritism-fueled complaining is, pleading the case for sportsmanship, explaining how young players begin to play to the whistle as a result of stuff that is shouted from the stands.
4) Make myself available to fans before, during, and after games to explain calls and rules from an official's point of view so as to enhance their understanding
This experiment may not be changing the world, but it is having somewhat an impact at at least one school. And it's working little by little.
And...sometimes I just sit back and laugh.
