Parents are like the Plague

8 thoughts on “Parents are like the Plague”

1. as a former Youth Football coach, I can tell you- parents are idiots! I do not get it at all. I insisted that my daughter give it all or nothing- I stood behind her coaches 100%, demanded that my wife sit on her hands and always give the coach the benefit of the doubt. MOST parents have no clue about gameplans, preparations, why we do what we do, or any of that. They watch TV and think we should be doing it the same way, when our purposes are completely different. My job as a youth coach is too instill in the player a love for the game first, the basic fundamentals second, and then a desire to win and an understanding that the outcome DOES matter. Its hard for a player to love what he is doing when his mom or dad is screaming at him, a coach, official or another parent. BAN THEM ALL!

2. Brilliantly funny and of course superbly drawn!

3. Good morning from Omaha,

   wow, I had not heard of this incident until right now. the kids have to be embarrassed beyond belief.

   their hoovering over their childs lives.and not allowing them to experience the ups and downs of life.

   Not all of the kids are growing up to be heisman winners, or the next tiger woods.

   I wish the parents were that involved in their kids scholarly lives. If they would rush the school and be involved in what the children are learning the results would be amazing. I don’t mean attack the teachers, but volunteer for after school programs, playground duty, or just help around the school with printing and collating etc. Then they could see what actually goes on in school.

   That is what is wrong with the educational system…yes there are poor teachers, but in the lower performing districts, the parents don’t show any value to “free” education and if you ever went to an open house at a poorer performing school you would be amazed at how low the parental attendance is. teachers can only work with what they are given, if the chids parents don’t care or value their education, why should the kids.

   Instead of dreaming of their child being the next MVP on the field, how about working with the kids to be a Rhodes scholar, or a Nobel prize winner….or inspired by a teacher to become a teacher and pass along the joys of education to the next generation.

   enough of the morning soapbox

   Strive for excellence, nothing but your best.

   Gene

4. Add a 16-year soccer ref to the chorus. Letting your child play a youth/school sport can be a great thing: Aside from the physical benefits, sports are almost the only true meritocracy in our society, where what a player and their teammates achieve on the field is the only measuring stick to their success.

   But for many (thankfully, not most) parents, it’s another outlet for their personal issues. Some child athletes are seen as a future meal ticket; others, as infallible phenoms who can do no wrong; and for still more, their child athlete is yet another expression of their status and a way to express thier influence in a community.

   But reffing youth games, much like teaching, is rewarding in that area: When their little angels break the rules or miss the mark, I make the call. And all the ranting, pleading and vandalism to my car (yes, that’s happened) won’t change it.

   Welcome to the real world, kid…and Mom and Dad.

5. After all these years, that cartoon is still my favorite.

6. Maybe we should design football fields with Plexiglass walls around them, like they do in Hockey. Or perhaps they should play them on a neutral field with only the teams and TV cameras in attendance, then show the games on pay-per-view.

   On a different sports subject: Ochocinco’s breakfast cereal phone number mix-up: Why do all the misprinted phone numbers lead to sex phone lines? You would think that that business was dying out with the advent of the Internet, anyway.

7. Feeling incredibly goofy after our 50 hour marathon of work on this Mondays ESPN animation…The Ochocinco breakfast cereal thing would have been good fodder for it. Next week we have the Vikings vs Jets. That’s going to be fun

8. Dear Mr. Litton,

   You cartoon helped me to recall an old Bill Cosby record I use to have. Now this was about playgrounds but it would equally apply to adults and kids sports. He talked about how the kids had a great playground even with the broken glass and garbage and how the kids started getting hurt thanks to the parents putting in (Deep Voice) The Monkey Bar’s”

   The routine went on to other things adults put in for “safe fun” but did more harm than good like the see saw, or that spinning wheel where (quoting Cosby) You spin around for 5 minutes…..then you throw up.”

   When I was a child (Long, long, ago in a galaxy 10 miles away.) My brother, myself, and mostly his friends would play sports until the sun went down or it got too cold/hot. We didn’t need 9 for sides in baseball or 11 for football. We just had fun with what we had.

   Its one thing when parents want to teach you how to play the game to the best of your ability (whatever that ability is) but when parents like the knuckleheads who had that fight at their kids football game cost their kids their playoff spots I wanted to tie them all up with duct tape send them to the nearest college football program and let the players there use them for tackling dummies (they’re already halfway there being dummies)

   I’ll get off my soapbox for now.

   all the best

   Louis