It’s saturday and I am preparing myself to play a soccer game with my team ! I am completely motivated, I can’t wait to be on the field…Let the game begin !
Today is a very special day : it is bring-your-family-to-soccer day ! And boy oh boy am I lucky ! A bunch of people are already in line to accompany me to the game ! My angry dad, my overacting mom, my annoying sister, my agressive cousin, my drunk uncle and our-know-it-all friend of the family…
Jeez….What could possibly go wrong…
When cheering becomes jeering…
My angry dad
I recognized a pattern after all these years. At first he told me what to do on the field, followed by throwing insults at me. It infected my play and I regularly lost focus…
His remarks often leave me wondering why I am still playing football, he says I suck afterall…
I learned how to deal with his behaviour, one day I just stopped listening to him, I imagined carrying a remote control on me, and I muted him whenever I wanted it !
However, now that I am immune to his insults, he has turned his anger towards someone else and he spits his frustration out on other people !
My overacting mom
She can really embarrass me. Her voice usually overrules any sound around. My teammembers always give me that look, I just know how much they feel sorry for me…
Tackled and lying on the field ? A bleeding nose ? There she is running on the field towards me like a desperate animal, a headless chicken, she’s losing it !
No challenging duels for her ! How dare anyone attack me – her son for godsake – and steal the ball ? Next thing you know, I turn my head and she’s already punching my opponent or taking him by the ears…
My annoying sister
She is able to shy away the grass beneath our feet. My teammembers stare at her. She seems to be able to hypnotize a whole crowd. She always wants to steal the show. Whenever she is around, it’s all eyes on her !
I am often obliged to install a buffer zone around her or to tie her up so she can’t escape…What do people see in her ? She’s such a spoiled brat….
My agressive cousin
It is easy to find him in the crowd, he always catches attention and he can’t sit still for a single minute !
He’s not really here to watch my game, that’s not interesting at all ! He likes to bully everyone around, he’s here trying to trigger people for a fight. He calls himself a hooligan.
He even wants me to lose, so he can be emotionally upset, destroy other people’s property and leave a trail of destruction behind. He is often in company of :
My drunk uncle
I wonder what’s wrong with him when I don’t see him carrying a beer in his hands. Things can turn around very rapidly in soccer…so with uncle Eddy : he can morph from teddy to creep within seconds ! Once he’s loaded he’s going completely bananas…
He touches anything on two legs and usually remembers absolutely nothing afterwards. Alcohol is his excuse for everything that goes wrong : spirit made him grab the pussy !
Our know-it-all friend
Did you spot him already ? Who invited him ? That arrogant prick, always wanting it bigger and better, always wanting to be right. Mr. Know-it-all ! He wants to be my manager and make me great again huh ???
He corrects my coach, tells him he’s a loser…According to him the ref doesn’t know anything about soccer. In his days things were a lot different, my whole club just sucks !
It’s not okay !
It’s not okay when each time you are playing a game, you have to worry what insults your dad is going to yell this time.
It’s not okay when your mother is always there shaking things up !
It’s not okay when supporters are verbally abusive towards you, calling you names, belittling you, swearing at you…Thug, diver, bully,…
You should have fun playing the game and enjoy learning to play, free from adult interference and intimidation !
Silent sidelines
A lot of clubs are working towards silent sidelines these days. They often receive angry emails from the parents afterwards…
“What’s the point of watching the game, when we can’t yell and scream and be supportive ?”
We’re not telling that a grandmother saying “good job” to her grandson, all of sudden needs to shut up, or that you can’t use uplifting words to motivate your son.
Things are different when children become ashamed of parental behaviour, when there’s verbal abuse or physical assault towards other spectators, the ref, other players and not to forget : their own children !
If supportive means being respectful towards EVERYONE that would be wonderful ! But I’m sure some are benefitted with guidelines when it comes to tempering their emotions…
Continual verbal attacks thrown back at each other or at the children on the field… heckling the ref…. this kind of behaviour often leads to physical violence !
Put everything back in perspective ! Show some respect ! We are all human !
Phuro! Be inspired!
Phuro! 