The more things change, the more things . . . (blah blah, you already know the cliché).

So I’m perusing my Google Alerts this morning and I came across an interesting piece by Shankar Vedantam, entitled “Sideline Rage: Sports Parents Go Berserk.”  The article had me from the word “berserk” (honestly, when was the last time you’ve seen the word “berserk” in a Washington Post headline!).

Vedantam's article got me thinking about when I was growing up, and yeah, I do recall momsy and pops losing their tops on occasion.  If I were ‘going by’ psychologist, Jay Goldsteins’ findings I would say that my parents’ rage was, in part, symptomatic of their determination to see me receive an athletic scholarship.  I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon stuck in my mouth so the Conley family depended on that ‘free money’ to get me through college.  Their rage wasn’t all in vain because I did get that scholarship and my parents had one less financial burden to confront at the beginning of the Bush administration’s government-spend-a-spree!

I remember one time during an AAU basketball game, a woman sitting about ten feet from my mom and dad shouted a vulgarity toward me on the court (I think she didn’t like how I was d-ing up her daughter – ha! I kid.).  So, my mother, in all her glory, stood up and walked over to the enraged woman and, well, they both proceeded to share sweet nothings back-and-forth.  On cue, my father then chimed in, adding his priceless two cents.  After about five minutes of bickering, the parents were asked to leave, the game was over, and I don’t remember if we even won or lost the game.

It’s a jungle out there on the playing field, especially when parents are each other’s prey.  So in the spirit of ‘sport for good,’ remember kiddies and kiddos: it’s just a game—even if it IS your only means toward receiving a college education in this day and age, the game will be there tomorrow—and so will mom and dad (that is, of course, if they aren’t spending a night in county jail).

And finally, here’s your moment of Zen (WARNING: PARENTS PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME, OR AT YOUR KID’S PEE WEE FOOTBALL GAME, OR IN THE SCHOOL PARKING LOT AFTER THE GAME.  IT’S SO NOT A GOOD LOOK.)