There are a small group of guys at every lacrosse game — middle aged, normal in every aspect — who are the loudest people in the stands. They gather on the top row of the bleachers at midfield and shout, and shout, and shout. It’s terrific that people show up and support their team; lacrosse games are not an event like Friday night football, so it’s good to see an enthusiastic crowd.
But like everything, sometimes it goes too far.
I was at a game recently where the loud guys crossed from cheering for their squad to taunting individual players on the opposing team. For example, a shot on goal would sail high and they’d yell, “Hey, number 11! Nice job!”
That’s not cool.
Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that adults don’t know what’s appropriate and what is not. I used to coach in a youth soccer rec league, a place where we barely kept score, and parents would sometimes yell at the teenage refs officiating the game. Unbelievable.
Look, you want to go to an NFL game and scream out ridiculous sh*t for three hours, have at it — but these are just kids, so do us all a favor and keep it to cheering for your team. And if you can’t do that, just shut up.
It’s a tride and true cliche, but some parents still live out their failed sports careers through their kids.
And that’s fine — but unfortunately, poor sportsmanship is ingrained in the psyches of some them along with the drive to compete.