I Made a Promise Never to Be One of Those Sports People

by Marc Parsont

sports dadI made a promise never to be one of those sports parents, loud, obnoxious, screaming from the sidelines.  I rarely get upset watching sports on television.  As a matter of fact, I pride myself on calmly and cooly passing judgment on plays on both sides of the field.  So why do I have so much trouble watching my children play sports?

I broke my promise in the time it took me to write it down.  I just can’t understand why I can’t let it go.  Let’s face it.   If I can’t even watch a six year old soccer game without yelling, screaming and losing my stoic, cool demeanor, then I’ll become one of those pariahs that everyone stares at on the sidelines.

That does not stop me from being critical of the way everyone else stomps around on the sidelines.  Hypocrisy is one of my strong points. […]