Cheering at Sports Events

I enjoyed watching my high school-aged son play basketball, but I didn’t enjoy the fandom much (parents yelling at refs, etc). His senior year, the team needed helpers–a scoreboard keeper and a public address announcer. I had always enjoyed the public address at ballgames (have you ever watched the 90’s Chicago Bulls starting lineups? Incredible!), so I volunteered. I ended up becoming the public address announcer for both the girls’ and boys’ teams (and I occasionally do the scoreboard if needed). Watching the game from the other side of the court is much more interesting. I’m not near loud fans, and I am neutral–which fits my personality–as I take information from the refs and relay it to the fans. I have quite improved my knowledge of basketball, although I still don’t know it all. Luckily, the statkeeper is patient and has taught me quite a bit. I thought that perhaps people may not like a female announcer, but our fans have been quite supportive.

Spot on. When my son did little league for a couple years, I heard all the dads yell “good contact” whenever a kid would hit the baseball but it would foul or be an easy pop fly. So I just repeated that relentlessly.

Same.

You know what’s hilarious? Watching back my attempts to record my kid on the field. I barely capture the action (flag football is hard to follow!) but the mic gets all my gasps, cheers, “go go gooooooo!!” There are so many emotions and it’s just second grade. I do not understand how parents get through high school sports!
And I love that this comic models all the good. Our sports association puts a big emphasis on parents behaving and it’s rattling when we play teams outside our conference with parents that scream-correct their kids.

i just yell “hustle” a lot and it seems to work out.

When some parents were getting wayyy to worked up my friend cheered “Go, Children!” I still laugh when I think about it.

Or my personal favorite, from a fellow mom at a high school lacrosse game, at a point where play had devolved into just a bunch of adolescent boys whacking each other with sticks: “DON’T HURT MY BABY!” 🤣

I used to have a favorite parent at my former school for echoing. The one I constantly recycle when someone tries to go through a group of people is, “DON’T DRIVE RIGHT INTO THE TRAFFIC!” It will get nods of approval from my fellow spectators who have no idea I don’t know what I’m talking about. (Although I am hardcore invested in learning rugby now because I heart Ilona Maher like nothing else.)

I don’t really like sports and I’m not a very emotional person, but watching kids play sports makes me want to cry every time! I’m the person watching silently and holding back tears – for their bravery, courage, victories, disappointments, and even the miracle of their bodies running hard, developing skills, pushing through pain. Also hearing them encourage and cheer each other on . . . the teamwork and camaraderie . . .where else do you get all this?

Hahaha!

Too funny -Echo the person who seems to know what they r talking about – ‘seems’ lol

I am ALL these people. Nailed it.

This made me literally laugh out loud. I feel caught out, lol. I’m not remotely sporty or competitive, and my niece is ALL IN with a sport that I barely knew existed before she started. I love her, so I love going to her events, but I just cheer when crowd in the team section cheer!

Me: by yelling at the very athletic men in tight pants to SACK THE QUARTERBACK.

“Good idea” is so funny and loving, hahahaha.

Nailed it, Grace! That’s it exactly. I can never tell when goals are offside in my daughter’s soccer games, but I’ll scream it anyway.