I know this has nothing to do with pets, but I just feel I have to say something.
I got home from work and read Ben E. Gas's heartbreaking post.
I then went to my son's soccer game.
I have to give a little background story.
My son's team has come in first place every season that they have been in the older division. Except one. Two seasons ago they took second place to Grapevine's first place, who had always come in second place to our first. They also took first place in the first Grapevine tournament on a penalty kick after two overtimes and we took first place the next year after two overtimes and a shoot-out (this is a new tourney so it's only been held twice so far). Also, since our towns are both small and border each other, the kids know each other. My son works with two of the Grapevine kids. Since some of Euless is in the Grapevine school district, some of the kids were classmates in earlier grades. So this is a tense rivalry but has always been friendly until tonight.
One of the Grapevine kids has always had a mouth on him. He's been redcarded many times and was thrown out of one of last season's games with us.
Tonight was no different. Only this time, the Grapevine coach, instead of being mature about it and setting a good example for his son and the boys on both teams, he chose to run onto the field and start screaming at the ref. I guess he was touchy because the score was 7-4 our favor. Of course, the ref immediately redcarded him (which means he's supposed to leave the game). The coach ignored the redcard and continued to harangue the ref. Even the Grapevine team was hollering to their coach to get off the field (it's sad when the boys are more mature than their "role model"). One of our kid's fathers is a police officer, and he was waving his badge from the sidelines trying to scare the coach into coming off the field. The coach ignored him. So the ref cancelled the game. The coach followed him off the field! Still yelling and waving his arms! Don (our po dad) finally had to threaten to arrest him to get him off the field!
I know that Dateline and all those type shows have really been harping on the behavior of parents at their kids' games, but in the ten years my son has been playing soccer, I had never seen an example until tonight. Maybe it's different in soccer since it has always had built-in ettiquette, or maybe we're just friendlier in Texas.
But all this was happening as Ben's post was still ringing in my head.
I kept thinking "is it really that important? Is it really that important? If your smartmouth player is killed in a car crash tomorrow, will it still matter that he was redcarded? Isn't it more important that the boys have a good time and the adults be good role models?
Anyway, maybe this is bothering me more than it should, but I just hope no one out there, especially those with kids or those to whom kids look up to, is losing perspective.
Hug your kids and let's please all get along for their sakes!
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