Dear Sam, I wanted to thank you for your March '96 column on fans and their frequent comments during
games. As a player, I like having fans there to cheer us on and encourage us. I believe that that's their
purpose, which does not include yelling and screaming insinuating remarks at the players and fans of the
opposition. I understand that they're just trying to help out, but it's annoying and even rude. I have two
good examples of this problem. First, at Far West Regionals this past June, where teams are the best,
maybe I expected the fans to be too. During one game, a mother on the other sidelines got upset because our
team was wearing tank tops with one or two players wearing there jerseys instead. Since the other team
was wearing a completely different color, I pointed out that it didn't matter. This mother became very
upset and every time I got the ball, she made some rude comment towards me. I thought that that was just
one instance, but the following day while we were warming up for a game, this mother walked across the
field and told a player on the opposing team to "kill ..., especially number 7" and pointed directly at me.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't parents supposed to be mature and set examples for the
young? Well, I sure was not inspired by this immature woman. Second, recently a player on our team left to
play for our rival team. During one of our games, regrettably one of our parents yelled to his daughter to
"get that little girl." The girl on the other team turned towards me with pain in her eyes. I was not only
shocked that this parent could say such a thing to our old teammate, but also embarrassed. In conclusion,
parents are there as support and encouragement of their kids to have fun playing the sport they love, not to
embarrass their children with their rude remarks. There is no need for them, because it doesn't make them
any better of a person by saying them, if anything it makes them worse. If these remarks stopped, it would
give back the fun that they take away. Thanks for letting me complain for a little while. Sincerely, A Player
Samster's Response to A Player: This is definitely a growing problem in youth soccer. It's funny how it
always seems to be the adults that ruin YOUTH sports, and not the youths. I could devote the rest of my
columns to preaching against parents and their stupid remarks, but it still probably wouldn't be enough to
make them catch a clue. If it helps any, more and more players are starting to complain about this. Keep
playing, and try not to let them get to you! Ciao for Now.
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