Let me be the first to admit that I go nuts at sporting events. It doesn’t matter if it’s my kid’s volleyball game or the Vulcans Men’s basketball game, I cheer loud and hard. So, in putting together this ranking, you need to know that I’ve been to a lot of games in all five sports. This is from my experience and pure opinion. But I think it’s accurate.
#5 Volleyball
I go to volleyball games the most because three of my four kids play or played volleyball. Parents still get crazy but a lot of it is geared towards their own child or the refs. Having a net in between the teams prevents any physical contact which is probably why there’s less craziness in volleyball.
#4 Baseball
I have to admit, this could easily have been number two or three. Even with the limited contact, baseball parents get nuts. It’s probably because every ball that’s pitched is at the mercy of a human being at umpire and when you have a human being in charge there’s always the potential for human error. So, every call is subject to interpretation.
But I’m not even kidding. I once heard a parent tell an umpire that he’ll pay for the ump’s eye doctor appointment. WTH?????
#3 Basketball
I thought about putting basketball higher on the list because I’ve seen some parents go ballistic in the stands. In their defense, have you ever seen the basketball refs here? Lol…just saying.
The thing that magnifies basketball’s craziness is the fact that it’s indoors. Cheering sections get loud, parents start coaching from the sidelines and refs can hear everything that’s being screamed at them. It can get pretty rowdy.
On top of that, it can get very, VERY physical. Players are coached to purposely impede the other team from scoring by slapping at them or blocking their way.
This kind of play results in parents screaming at refs and even worse, they scream at players from other teams.
Like any sport, as the game nears its end, crowds get even more rowdy. One side screams for a foul and the other side yells that the refs are calling too many fouls. With that kind of abuse, why would anyone want to be a referee?
The constant movement in basketball also adds to the emotion especially when referees let athletes play hard, physical basketball. Coaches get frustrated, fans get crazy and when you couple those things with being in an enclosed gym, it can get really wild. Crazy basketball parents, you know who you are.
#2 Football
If you’ve never been to a youth football game you have to attend one. It doesn’t matter what age division you watch, football parents….GET NUTZ!
Football is a contact sport so naturally, there’s always gonna be something to yell about. Parents are screaming at their kids, yelling at the referees and you’ll sometimes even hear them yell at their own team’s coaches!
And let me tell you something, you’ve never seen a mama bear in youth sports until you’ve seen the moms of youth football players. Often times, you’ll hear the voices of women over the voices of coaches (and football coaches are yelling all game long).
Look I know that football parents reading this are going to say, “how can we be number 2?” cause y’all wanna be the craziest but I’ll say this:
There’s no lack of passion when it comes to football parents and they can definitely get crazy.
You could end up number one on someone else’s list and it would be well deserved but when it comes to the craziest parents in youth sports, there is one sport that ranks higher.
#1 Soccer
Of the five sports, I have had the least exposure to this sport. But still more than enough to confidently make soccer number one. And in my opinion, it’s not even close. ????
There’s obviously a lot of cheering in soccer but I’m not even lying when I say that I’ve heard parents say crazy stuff to opponents. Stuff like:
“Whoa buddy go easy, no be getting frisky out there.”
“Coach, control your player or somebody else will.”
I’ve heard parents heckle players from other teams including one parent making passive aggressive comments at a goalie who was about 11 or 12 years old. The team he was cheering for had a kid who was racing towards the goal with the ball and he yelled, “Go, go, go, c’mon you got this score, that goalie can’t defend a mouse hole.”
I was like…WTF? This is a little kid!
Like all the sports, soccer has its positive aspects as well. You see passionate coaches and committed referees so I’m not saying that soccer is a terrible sport to put your child in because it’s a great sport. Kids learn to work as a team, they learn coordination and its great exercise. Just know that there are some parents who take the sport waaaaay more serious than others.
And there you have it. My ranking for the big five youth sports in Hawaii for craziest parents.
Do you agree or disagree? What does your list look like? Vote and Share it in the comments, we’d like to know.
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