Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Oh, for the days of kindergarten soccer, when we used to pray before games and run through "tunnels" afterwards, share snack, and not keep score.

I love football, but sometimes I hate football fans! Last night, we drove #1 son into a lovely nearby mountain community for an away football game. We dropped him off early and then went to have dinner with Adam at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place (aren't those always the best ones?). The evening was going swimmingly until we showed up to watch the game.

My son plays on the "senior" team, so we arrived in the middle of the game before his. At that game, we were treated to a display of nasty sideline behavior that was so bad that the refs actually called a "sideline warning". Before you start thinking that this was an overzealous dad, guess what - it was a MOM!!! (No, not me...).

Things just got worse from there. The crowd on our side of the field felt they our team was being subjected to bad officiating, and they let the team of referrees know their feelings - loudly and crudely. It got so bad that I actually took Adam and moved to the end of the opposing team's sideline in the fourth quarter.

We lost the game in double overtime, thanks to a called back touchdown and some additional questionable calls, but by that point, the local sherrifs had actually been called to escort the officials from the field and remove one particularly nasty fan (no, not the MOM!).

At this point, I'm questioning my responsiblities as a parent. At the very least, I feel like calling our league president to discuss the reprehensible behavior of our fans. When did it become acceptable to stand and yell obscenities and have people laugh and think it's funny? Sorry for the rant here, but I'm "all shook up"! Maybe I should encourage #1 son to go back to the spelling bee team...spectators aren't allowed to talk during spelling bees!