Hell is Other People...

[sox83cubs84]

Re: Hell is Other People...

Jeff, Has there been an influx in recent years of this entitlement behavior? I know when I was a Teen counselor circa 2005, this kind of self serving "You have to give it to me because I'm a kid" behavior first reared it's ugly head for me. It sucks you have to deal with it, good for you for not giving in to the pressure. F em.

Even more infuriating is the fact that a sizable number of parents support and encourage their kids to have these greedy attitudes. I'm amazed that I don't get more kids at the Chicago park begging for baseballs I catch.

Dave Miedema

[gingi79]

Re: Hell is Other People...

At a Fall League game last night, and a foul ball went into the seats, a middle-aged guy retrieved it and didn't give it to one of the several kids who came running from other parts of the ballpark, and he was booed by a half-dozen mouthy yahoos. (Of course, this group was mostly composed of those middle-aged women who sit behind the dugout shouting at each other throughout the game, like they are all hearing impaired, and laughing hysterically at each and every thing any of them says. They very obviously come to the ballpark in order to be the show.)

God, the brats were out in force last night. I don't mean just kids, I mean brats. At least a dozen, aged probably six to ten, screaming around the ballpark for most of the game, begging loudly for every foul or home run ball. A whole line of them came trooping by me at some point, and one little mutant was screaming something to his friends while about two feet from my face, and I snapped and said something that I'm surprised didn't get reported to whichever adult he was there with (assuming such a person existed) and didn't get me involved in a fight. Believe me, I was in the mood.

Jeff, Has there been an influx in recent years of this entitlement behavior? I know when I was a Teen counselor circa 2005, this kind of self serving "You have to give it to me because I'm a kid" behavior first reared it's ugly head for me. It sucks you have to deal with it, good for you for not giving in to the pressure. F em.

[godwulf]

Re: Hell is Other People...

At a Fall League game last night, and a foul ball went into the seats, a middle-aged guy retrieved it and didn't give it to one of the several kids who came running from other parts of the ballpark, and he was booed by a half-dozen mouthy yahoos. (Of course, this group was mostly composed of those middle-aged women who sit behind the dugout shouting at each other throughout the game, like they are all hearing impaired, and laughing hysterically at each and every thing any of them says. They very obviously come to the ballpark in order to be the show.)

God, the brats were out in force last night. I don't mean just kids, I mean brats. At least a dozen, aged probably six to ten, screaming around the ballpark for most of the game, begging loudly for every foul or home run ball. A whole line of them came trooping by me at some point, and one little mutant was screaming something to his friends while about two feet from my face, and I snapped and said something that I'm surprised didn't get reported to whichever adult he was there with (assuming such a person existed) and didn't get me involved in a fight. Believe me, I was in the mood.

[sportsnbikes]

Re: Hell is Other People...

I get balls thrown to me quite often. I got 6 at one game and 4 at another. It's not uncommon that I leave the stadium with 2 or more baseballs. My rule is that if I call for the ball and it's thrown to me, I keep it. If it's just thrown to a group and there is a kid to either side of me, I'll give it up unless my kids are with me, providing they haven't already been given a ball. Many times, I'll give the ball to a well behaved kid who has been waiting for a ball but hasn't been thrown to. If I chase a BP ball, it's fair game but if I were to ever inadvertently knock over a kid or female in the process, I would give it to them.

I just try and be fair to the kids but I will always keep most of them because I paid for my ticket just like the little ones and after all, who doesn't LOVE to catch a ball thrown to you by a player?!

[Klattsy]

Re: Hell is Other People...

Not about the AFL but if I traveled all the way to America and was at my first game and caught a foul ball, you can bet your ass i'll be keeping it no matter how many snot nosed brats beg for it. And if any adults question me i'd go all Balfour on them!

[joelsabi]

Re: Hell is Other People...

I would email or write a letter to the president of the Spring league and tell your concerns and focus on the liability of the ballpark if any of those kids got hurt while horsing around in the stands, the necessity of posting signs to this fact, and making periodic announcement over the PA system for consideration factors for enjoyment for all attendees (ie. control your kids but better wording). or even be more proactive and get other people to sign a petition at the ballpark while in the stands.

Good Luck.

[godwulf]

Re: Hell is Other People...

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I gave a Barry Bonds home run ball to a kid at a Spring Training game in 2001. I hate Bonds - different discussion - and there was this little African-American kid, maybe 7 or 8 years old, wearing a Bonds jersey, whom I figured would probably treasure that ball forever - it was a no-brainer. That kid thanked me, as did his Mom, but I've given foul balls to kids in the recent past who acted like it was something owed to them; so now, I keep them, get them signed and display them, and it's a fun hobby; running down some of those baseballs is about the only exercise I get these days.

[cjclong]

Re: Hell is Other People...

For years I was probably like the man who gave in and gave away a ball he wanted to keep. Now that I'm older I don't care what what some jerk thinks of me. The guy should have confronted the woman. Told her it was the first the ball he had caught, wanted to keep it for his own memory and if she didn't like it he could care less (and maybe tell her where to go).
The other side of the coin, there was a young boy who was obviously a huge fan of the Orioles Markakus . He threw a bat in the stands a fan caught. The fan wasn't a huge fan of Markakus and gave the bat to the kid on his own. Nobody forced him to, he didn't really want it saw someone who did. And he caught hell from fans who said he should have kept the bat even though he didn't really want it. So it works both ways.

[r_phelps]

Re: Hell is Other People...

Idiot parents make idiot kids. I prefer to smile at the parents while I refuse just to let them know I humor their stupidity. It's funny really.

[godwulf]

Re: Hell is Other People...

Took off from work yesterday to go to a day game, and it didn't matter - there must have been twenty kids there, in a crowd of not more than a couple of hundred. I asked one kid why he wasn't in school, and he just shrugged and said, "Well, it's October..." I have no idea what that even means.

[sox83cubs84]

Re: Hell is Other People...

My response to these bossy louts during a couple of BPs this past season:

"Hey! You want the kid to have a ball? Then YOU catch one and give it to him!"

Dave Miedema

[BHawk]

Re: Hell is Other People...

I caught a ball at a Spring Training game and a kid ran over and asked me for it, with his parents eyeing me. I told him I was taking the ball home to MY OWN kids, who didn't get to stay up late enough to go to the game (while looking at the parents). That seemed to shut them down.

[rufusandherschel]

Re: Hell is Other People...

Children have developed the disease of obnoxious entitlement because we live in a "Cult of the Child" Kids get everything, they never lose in sports, never have to deal with disappointment and they therefore become spoiled and unappreciative.

Let me throw a clue out to the parents of these precious snowflakes. Failure, losing and mistakes THEN getting off your butt and succeeding are what make those successes not only worthwhile but ingrain a sense of accomplishment and personal pride. It's time for children to get much less and earn much more.

(I'm a teacher, does it show?)

+1 I couldn't agree more! ! !

[gingi79]

Re: Hell is Other People...

Children have developed the disease of obnoxious entitlement because we live in a "Cult of the Child" Kids get everything, they never lose in sports, never have to deal with disappointment and they therefore become spoiled and unappreciative.

Let me throw a clue out to the parents of these precious snowflakes. Failure, losing and mistakes THEN getting off your butt and succeeding are what make those successes not only worthwhile but ingrain a sense of accomplishment and personal pride. It's time for children to get much less and earn much more.

(I'm a teacher, does it show?)

[godwulf]

Re: Hell is Other People...

I noticed an annoying trend at games this season. Adults shouting down anyone who catches a foul ball to "give it to a kid!"

I had a discussion with the guy behind me at a game, who caught a ball and was relentlessly shouted at until he gave the ball up to a kid. Literally for like an inning, just booing and shouting (one really obnoxious woman was egging everyone else one)... He didn't take it from a kid or knock a kid over to get it, he just happened to catch it.

The guy was telling me it was the first ball he ever caught at a game but wasn't worth keeping for that pressure and he gave it to a kid in the next row to shut everyone up. I understand that most of the ballpark attendees at this point are casual fans and only there to make memories for their kids, but do they need to impose that on everyone in attendance?

Great post, and I couldn't agree more. I have personally witnessed kids getting foul ball after foul ball, after begging balls from the players before the game, and having balls tossed to them over the top of the dugout during the game, running to where an adult has fielded or chased down a foul ball and almost demanding to have it given to them. And certain members of the crowd, as you say, yelling for the adult to comply. I've also noted the parents - usually the fathers - of those same kids are among the ones shouting the loudest for their kids to be given the baseballs.

I believe the next person who shouts at me to give up the baseball - he and I are going to have a conversation. With age, I find that I'm starting to lose a lot of my diplomatic skills.