You Can't Avoid Boyd!

Parents Need to Tighten Up

            Attendance for major league baseball games is down so far this year.  Most will point out this is due to our current economic situation.  With more people struggling to find work, it is probably not the best time to spend discretionary income to go catch a ballgame when you watch the same game in HD from your couch.  Other potential factors are poor performance of their team (I’m looking at you Indians and Pirates fans) and the early cold/wet weather we’ve been experiencing.  However, a lot of people are saying unruly drunken fan behavior is another deterrent.  Parents feel that their kids should not go to baseball games due to the poor example being set by drunken fans.  I say the parents need to get off their asses and do some parenting.

             Most people drink at sporting events (legally or illegally).  This should not be news to anyone.  There is a reason why most bars around sports venues have game day drink specials and the floors of stadiums are littered with empty airplane bottles.  People are entitled to enjoy a cocktail or six responsibly.  While it does not entitle them to call Jayson Werth a cocksucker for striking out with the bases loaded, it will happen.  Drunk people do dumb things, no matter how stupid or ugly they are.  I am not defending them.  However, it exists and parents shouldn’t be so naïve about it.  It is up to the parent to teach their child appropriate behavior and the difference between right and wrong.  There is a reason why most sporting venues have family friendly sections, where alcohol is prohibited.  Parents may legitimately gripe about drunken behavior if a brawl breaks out at Chuck E Cheese and/or someone calls the mouse a cunt because their pizza is cold.

            I believe a child should be at least ten years old to attend a sporting event (maybe older depending on the child.)  A child is going to be distracted by everything that is going around as most children have never been surrounded by tens of thousands of people before.  Constant vendors walking by, scoreboard graphics and sounds going off every ten seconds, thousands of different people conversing/screaming.  It is a lot for a child to take in, even before the drunken antics of others sets in.  While a ten year old shouldn’t be subjected to seeing two people fight in the stands, the child should be developed enough to know that is wrong.  I attended my first baseball game when I was seven.  Luckily, I was pretty focused on the baseball itself and not distracted by the other factors.  However, my dad would still point out any unruly behavior around us and why it was wrong.  Why did he do this?  Because he got off his ass and did some parenting.

            I already know most of you will question how effective the parenting was on me as I have been known to abuse alcohol at games before.  Sure, I’ve screamed at Carlos Beltran and held him personally responsible for 9/11 (probably not true, but still possible) and other proud moments as such.  It is not the fault of my dad.  I blame my scumbag friends and attending the 4^th best party school according to a 1994 Playboy study for my alcohol dependencies.    

        -Written by Marcus Boyd