One mans opinion on how kids should be handled at sporting events. This was generated no doubt out of a discussion of 2 things. 1) The announcement of new gameday rules, etc by ND. 2) a discussion of how old a kid should be to bring him to a Notre Dame game. No doubt not all will agree with this mans conclusions, just as nobody could agree on how old your kid should be when attending a game. He was 10 before his dad would take him to a ND football game. Kids and Football Games I see young parents with babies at Astros games and I wonder what were they thinking. I'll be interested to hear from the group how old their kids were when they took them to major sporting events, and how did it go the first time? Terry
BTW I was about 9 or 10 before my Dad took me to a major event. It was the Miami/Syracuse game in the Orange Bowl (regular season) back when we lived in West Palm Beach. I was pretty excited.
Parents will always want to share experiences with their kids as soon as possible. I don't think there is a set age but I don't think ND stadium on game day is suitable for any child's debut. That is a tough place to watch a sporting event, It seats 80,000 (Somalis) comfortably; perhaps 60,000 average Americans. Besides being wedged in like sardines on bleacher seats, factor in that you are standing 80% of the time. The average kid less than 13 will not see much but the backsides of those in front of him. The biggest problem is that impatient kids take away from the campus experience from their parents.
Terry, Brings back some memories! Times have certainly changed over the years. I grew up in an environment that children were to be seen, not necessarily heard. Of course that was a long time ago! :lol: Don
I took Commish to an ND-Mizzu game when he was 3 1/2. To show you how times have changed, I only had one ticket so I put him on my shoulders and walked in and no one said anything. Now he's always been interested in sports. However, it had to be about 90 degrees that day and after a while in the son he laid down under the bench to get into the shade. Mary and I went to a game in late Oct. that same season. Mike trying to act like he knew all about going to ND game said to his mom, "you'll have a good time, but it's awfully hot there." I took my grandson Patrick to his first big league game, a Tiger game when he was 6. He sat there and watched rivited to the game. He and his neighbor play video games and he knew a surprising number of players on both the Tigers and Chisox. He had already played some tee ball so knew the game. (one last point, those folks who take babies to baseball games are just too cheap or untrusting to get a sitter. They sometimes take the kids to movies which drives me nuts.)
Well I'll cover several generations with my answer. First my dad was not a big sports fan. I think he did take me to the first football game I went to, University of Miami vs Kentucky in 1949 when Kentucky was a very good team, coached by the Bear and QB'd by Babe Parilli. I was hooked, but went to most of the games I went to after that by myself or other friends. In those years in Miami all the UM games and the big high schools played in the Orange Bowl. I was a rabid fan from that time right on though college. However after college my interest switched to the pros except for following the Gators on radio and tv. I never really took my kids to games as they were younger. What we did do was get very active in sports with our kids, which has carried over to them with our grandchildren. In our little city we had a group, Athletic Association, that ran all the youth sports. I was super active and president for two years. I drug our smaller kids with me to all our football games at home and away. I took them to a few Dolphin games and some Florida games when they played in Miami. We had season tickets to the University of Miami for a few years. Then my kids entered college at Florida and we started attending games with them sitting in the student section but only a few times a year. I was hooked again. When the last of my kds graduated from Florida and Steve Spurrier came we bought the season tickets we still have with our two daughters and their husbands, six of them. They didn't have kids at that time. Then they started having kids and like gipper took one or more of them a few times when they were really young, in one case less than a year old. The weather was not hot and she was in baby sling around her neck. We got her in for free. Later while very small each daughter took a smaller kid that could just stand in front of us and not even take a seat. We took our older two grandkids by my son to at least one game a year when they were under 10. All of our experiences with them going were good. They were on campus with their parents, got a taste of the college and the game day situation. During the game when they were very small they did a lot of coloring or scribbling in a book. No matter the experience was good and now they are all of age to understand what is going on. My oldest grand daughter, 15 now, is absolutely in love with Tim Tebow. Sorry about the length of this post.
Never had kids... My "dear old pappy" did good to show up once a year to one of my football games maybe a baseball game of mine or two. Major sporting events to him meant messing around with the next door neighbor and trying not to get caught. He wasn't very good at it either.
I guess it always gets down to the parent. People like me are always amazed that parents want to bring their toddlers ( or babies) to sporting events. Many parents no doubt want their children to experience the fun of a sporting event. I can understand that, and as long as mom or dad takes the tyke for a walk when things go south then all's fine. But I've seen a few too many who make those around them suffer the poor behavior of a tired, cranky, hungery, etc youngster. Terry
Terry, I would say my daughters did just what you suggested they should do. I have to say this though, that it also reinforces the child and parent bond. I am very proud of my grandchildren and how they remain good kids, love their parents and cousins and it has a lot to do with how much the parents do with them. Ball games, camping trips, coach their soccer teams, etc. It all adds up to relationships that last a lifetime. It may sound trite, but I am a firm believer in what I just said. I didn't take my kinds to that many paid sporting events but they were with me constantly through about 13 years of coaching youth sports and they remain very close to us to this day.
Well I guess I will add another perspective here. Carson attended his first ND game when he was about 3 months old. We weren't too cheap to get a baby sitter. In fact, the entire purpose of the trip for us was so that my parents could spend as much time with him as possible. In fact, they saw Carson in person for the first time in the living room of G-man (whobedis/gbythedome). It was cold, rainy and kinda crappy all around. We could have kept him at the hotel but that place was dirtier than a frat house toilet. (those of you who have made last second arraignments to South Bend know of what I speak). Since Carson was so young, we just decided that it would be best if we took turns up in the concourse area by the concessions. He sat bundled up in his carrier and slept through the entire game. I really didn't like the idea, but we were basically out of options since everyone we knew in the area was at the game. I took Carson to the USC game when he was a little over 1 in Los Angeles. It went without incident as he sat quietly throughout the whole game just watching people go nuts. The next season, I took Carson to the USC game in South Bend. Again, not a single problem. The only thing that irked me was that we had called ahead to see if we needed to buy a ticket for Carson because at 2, I felt it would not be an issue to buy a ticket for him. He was too big to sit in anyone's lap and once again, everyone we knew was inside at the game so a sitter is not possible. We called several times and spoke with several people. We told them we'd have no trouble getting a ticket but I don't wanna get to the get and have them tell me to get one... They all said at 2 there was no problem with him not having a ticket. We got to the gate and sure enough, I spent the next 15 minutes speed shopping for an extra ticket. Carson sat quietly through the game but did receive several disapproving looks from some ND fans in the nearby area. He'd stand and dance with the band but by and large did nothing but sit and watch. Two years later, I took Carson to the ND Stanford game. Again, more disapproving looks from some ND fans but he just sat quietly through the game. Three weeks later that same season, I took Carson to the Notre Dame-Florida State game in Tallahassee. He was the absolute hit of the entire section. He was adored by every FSU fan who encountered him (he had the leprechaun stickers on one cheek and the ND on the other). I sat with Jack O'Brien and a HUGE group of ND students who made the trip to the game. They had noticed Carson trying to imitate the cheers they were doing and by the 2nd quarter, they had adopted him. He was doing push ups after the ND TDs and everyone for 3 aisles had to high 5 him after each ND score. The next year I took Carson to the ND-Stanford game and of course received a few disapproving looks at people having to sit next to a child, but he never so much as moved. I've taken him to Auburn games as well. He's always a crowd favorite there. The only place I've ever seen someone give me that 'oh ****' look is actually at ND...and the kid just sits their quietly. That being said.. my kid has always been really well mannered in public. I've seen LOTS of other kids who just go bat sh*t and can't sit still at those games. Know your kid and be considerate of others... I think it's a good rule of thumb. BTW-my son still talks about that game against Florida State as if it is one of the single greatest days of his young life. I am sure one day he will look back on the day that cemented ND in his heart, or at least gave it a special place in his heart and he will remember that FSU game... or golfing with Terry and Mike at the tailgate (believe it or not, he remembers that).. or playing catch with Terry Hanratty for a few at an ND tailgate.. Thank God I didn't wait for permission from the AARP ND division to do so.
after reading the article, I would like to add this... There are TONS of children at SEC football games... and game day in South Bend (while truly special and is something everyone should experience at least once) is like a church service compared to SEC home games at the major venues. I am hoping to take in the Florida experience one day soon, but I can tell ya that Bama, Auburn, Knoxville and Georga... they are incredibly loud and rowdy snake pits.. as crazy as there is out there. Raise your kid right, know your kid and their demeanor and don't be afraid to hide too many things from your children. Remember, it's better if you get to explain something to your son/daughter than to have their peers do so.
That's interesting stuff Corey and I agree with you 100%. The only thing I would add here is that when we took our young grandsons or our daughters took their kids, our grandkids also, I didn't think about anyone disapproving and don't recall anyone in our section doing so. It was just a given that kids were going to be there. As I think about it a lot of other people around us did the same thing. I have watched some of the youngsters grow into young men and women and some of them are now Gator students and one young man in particular is bigger than I am. I think maybe it's a difference in culture.
Good post Corey, I'm one of those old dudes at ND games (or any other game) who casts a wary eye on toddlers coming into my section! But then it's the same at a restaurant as well!
I read and re-read the article. My conclusion is that the writer has entirely too much time on his hands and needs to get a life. It took him 6 full paragraphs of describing his personal experience to get to his point. Why should he or anyone else care about the relatively few young parents who bring small children or infants to ND games? Or about the tens of thousands of gameday fans and their families who do not have tailgates to attend? Or about the efforts of ND authorities to maintain an enjoyable gameday atmosphere in the face of a vocally shrill minority of misfit fans who condone - even encourage - obnoxious and generally inconsiderate behavior at public sporting events? I've been attending ND games since the early 60s. Nothing has changed in almost 50 years in terms of parents bringing kids of all ages to games. As far as fan enthusiasm, the noise level in the stadium always has been in direct proportion to the performance on the field. What has changed in recent years is the starting times - about 2 hours later. I commend the university for trying to provide a way for kids to have fun during the pregame hours and for trying to provide the non-tailgate fans with wholesome entertainment. What also has changed is that small cliques of people, alumni and fans, now can engage in a group whine via the internet about what bugs them in their glass half-empty worlds. Think about it. What kind of person has an issue with young kids, even infants, attending college football games with their parents? A normal, well-adjusted person? Definitely not. I took my kids to games in the late 70s and 80s, and I've taken my two oldest grandsons to games in recent years. My focus always was on making the day enjoyable for the youngsters. At the Joyce Center on a cold day, the grandsons participated in the two or three playground-like activities available to them and had a ball. We walked the campus in decent weather, and they had a ball. Each time, I had opportunities to attend tailgates, but IMO it would have been unfair to the boys to hand them a football and make them fend for themselves while I socialized with my friends. People like the writer of that piece always have been part of the scenery at ND games and always will be. It would be a sad mistake to assume that his views are even close to being representative of ND fandom. He is part of a small minority of very vocal glass-half-empty complainers who always need a reason to vent or, in his case, to take a public stroll down his personal memory lane as a means of justifying his complaint du jour.
Sid, Well said. Terry, I'm with you about restaurants. When Des and I were together and Carson was small, the RARE few times he ever fussed, we would immediately remove ourselves from that area and take him to settle down. Bliss and I were shopping one day at Sam's Club and this guy.. maybe mid to late 30s was there with his wife.. They had a baby and a 3 year old in one cart, food in the other. The baby was SCREAMING at the top of it's lungs for well over 20 minutes. You could hear them from wall to wall in a Sam's Club that's how loud it was. Worse yet, they almost seemed to follow us no matter where we went in the store. I finally turned around and said 'raise your damn child and show it some attention!' The guy and I exchanged some words about him questioning what kind of man tells off parents in front of their children. I assured him there was only 1 man standing in that aisle and there's no point in me showing him in front of his wife and kids who that man is..He got the point, his wife took the baby and surprise.... the baby stopped crying.. He kept shouting something at me after we got several aisles away. Bliss reminded me that while I was technically right, I could have been nicer about it.. I blame my father, it was a play straight out of the JOCO playbook Bill, You are right about the culture difference. It is not uncommon to see a woman with a baby in one arm and a shaker in the other. No one seems to mind. I think it's great when people bring their kids to the games. You can bribe the older ones to make coke and dog runs for you if you give em an extra 5. It's a different world down here.
5?? Ouch. My how times have changed since the 80s when my grade school kids would come to see me in the stands at the HS football games and ask for a dollar.
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: A lot of those glass half empty folks like to post on the internet don't they Sid. Very well said.
I don't really agree with you and Sid, Bill. But I think it's more a reflection that you guys have kids and grandkids and I don't. I've brought most of my male nephews to a ND game but not until they were in Jr. High.
Terry, I sure don't put you in the glass half empty category. And I would be surprised if we were sitting next to each other if my kids or grandkids would bother you or you would be bothered by them. We would all be enjoying ourselves. Actually we have a loudmouth fan behind us who used to bother us. He never had anything positive to say even when the Gators were winning game after game after game while Spurrier was our coach. However though the years he either matured or lost is voice. So he's not bothersome any more.