Should Sports Fans Be More Considerate to Kids?

by SodaHead Sports Posted 2012/04/27 20:00:00

Related Topics: Sports, Michael Kay, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Baseball, MLB, Kid crying, couple catches foul ball, New York, Gold, The Game, Boy, Situation, parents, Egypt, Pictures

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424 votes
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	Yes	263 votes	62%
	No	161 votes	38%

Many of you may have already seen the infamous clip that was featured prominently on Gawker-owned site Deadspin.com. But if you haven't, here's the basic summary. A little boy and his parents are at the New York Yankees at Texas Rangers game the other night. A foul ball flies into the stands. His parents try to catch the ball for their young son. They're unsuccessful. However, the couple sitting next to them manages to snatch the ball. The couple next to the family are two grown adults. They cherish the foul ball like it's gold and the little boy starts crying uncontrollably.

Now think about what you would do in that situation as an adult who had just caught a foul ball at a game right next to a sad and disappointed little boy. Would you give him the foul ball? If you answered yes, you're a better person than the couple that instead posed with the ball and took pictures of it like they had a winning lottery ticket -- right in front of the boy and his family.

Luckily for all the parents watching out there, Yankees announcer Michael Kay got the cameramen to witness the rudeness by the couple and put them on blast for millions of people to see. It's one thing if the couple caught the ball. It's another to completely ignore the kid and act like a foul ball is gold. On top of that, they were caught making out, although we're not sure if that's an FCC violation.

All kidding aside, the Rangers gave the boy a ball after seeing what happened. Most importantly, the kid left the game with a smile on his face. As for his parents? They kept their cool. The couple? They just acted cool while everyone in America laughed at them.

+21

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..::localeye::.. 2012/04/27 20:26:44

No

+32
Teach them young...everyone wins, everything is theirs. BS...let the kid cry.
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More polls by SodaHead Sports

Margaret Jacobson 2012/05/05 18:40:36

Yes

Yhat was a GREAT gesture by YANKEES team........But the family that caught the ball had it.....It is THERE'S............

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Margare... to Margare... 2012/05/05 18:41:32

SORRY WRONG TEAM.............RANGERS

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mm61675 2012/05/01 03:50:12

Yes

if you watch the video, though, it looks like the kid is crying before the ball was even thrown.

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Chris D 2012/04/30 16:58:03

Yes

give the kid the ball!

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FatherLiberty 2012/04/30 16:43:41
bozo 2012/04/30 16:34:39

Yes

inconsiderate self centered jerks living in a small little self absorbed world

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Oblahblah 2012/04/30 16:06:20

No

It is not my job to coddle other parents kids. Where did those parents go wrong since the kid expected it to be given to him? This couple had zero obligation to that child.

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dragon88 2012/04/30 16:05:52

No

+2
No. Kids need to learn life isn't fair. They need to learn from a young age that what doesn't kill them makes them stronger.

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kmay 2012/04/30 15:55:28 (edited)

No

The couple was UNAWARE of why the kid was acting up and didn't know about it till later.

The kid needs to learn he cannot always get what he wants when he wants.

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jacktown kid 2012/04/30 15:27:15

Yes

Yes they should

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Aingean 2012/04/30 14:00:19

Yes

+1
Well sometimes life is unfair the parents need to teach their kid that. If that couple caught it with out pushing and shoving and going over the top of the other family then well that isn't a big deal. But carrying on like a bunch of children while a little boy is that upset is ridiculous.

However I've seen kids be pushed and shoved out of the way to get a ball and THAT is completely wrong and needs to stop. I'd hurt some idiot if they tried to run over my son for a stupid ball.

If it were me? No I wouldn't give the kid the ball if I was at the game I would be with my son and I would give it to him. If a kid near me got that upset I would put it up and not let my son have it until we got out of the stadium, there is no need to rub it in a kids face.

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smitty 2012/04/30 13:43:50

No

+1
I would have gave it to my own kids.

Didn't the kid just get a ball a week or two ago?

The kids parents did the right thing. The dugout did the right thing.

I have had balls hit next me and tried to catch it barehanded only to have someone snatch it away after it fell. Maybe I should have cried a bit.

"the kid left the game with a smile on his face." Yeah he got what he wanted, duh.

Not everyone in America laughed at them. I laughed more at the media coverage and the stupid announcer.

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sweet silver 2012/04/30 13:10:04 (edited)

Yes

XD HELL YEAH BUT NOT BECAUSE OF THE KID GETTING HIT WITH A BASEBALL HE SHOULD LEARN TO DUCK LOL THIS BOY PROBABLY GOT HIT TO YOU DONT SEE HIM CRYING

THAT'S MY BOY LOL

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Ferηαηdσ [Clinton2016] 2012/04/30 12:39:51 (edited)
MikeReale 2012/04/30 08:03:24

Yes

and the home team did the right thing giving him a ball too:)! thats nice to hear

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Oblahblah to MikeReale 2012/04/30 16:10:25

It is the right thing to do? Cry and you will get what you want... great lesson for the kid.

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MikeReale to Oblahblah 2012/05/01 19:46:39
Oblahblah to MikeReale 2012/05/02 17:01:04

Yes he is but isn't that a good starting point? If not, when is a good time to learn crying doesn't get you what you want? 12? 17? 25? 59?

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MikeReale to Oblahblah 2012/05/03 19:07:45

okay maybe 3 is a good starting point, but do you just start cold turkey? Never, theres always exceptions and catching a ball at a baseball game (catching anything at any major venue is quite special) and a magical moment shouldnt be denied to a 3 year old who got so close

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S* 2012/04/30 06:31:45 (edited)

Yes

+1
we could all act a little better.

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lonewolf 2012/04/30 06:15:40

No

+1
but only because he was crying for it. i don't want to feed into more crying fits. if the kid asked me i would give it to him. thats how i was taught.

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Oblahblah to lonewolf 2012/04/30 16:11:59

You're right. If the kid didn't have a crying fit, my opinion would be different too. Especially if he asked nicely :-)

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capoeirakid 2012/04/30 06:12:30

Yes

He was crying because the couple next to his family were being mean to him, not because he didn't get the ball. I'm sure that if they had been nice about it and said something encouraging or comforting, he would have been fine not having the ball. He was smiling when he left because the Rangers were kind enough to give him a baseball. Yes, children should learn that you don't always win in life and you have to be gracious about it, but he wasn't being a sore loser, and he will learn that lesson from the game because he saw the losing team lose and be cool about it. A lot of these answers are saying this kid is a crybaby, but I really don't think it's fair to say something like that about a little kid who you don't even know.

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Josh Stephens 2012/04/30 05:37:37

No

+1
Quit coddling children, making them think they deserve special treatment just for being a child. Yes, the other people were dicks, but they caught the ball. If the kid's daddy loved him, he'd kill the other two people and take the ball.

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ajracestables1 2012/04/30 05:18:52

No

Remember it's just a game, that goes the same for the big "kids" as well as the little kids.

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Lara Biell 2012/04/30 04:38:16

Yes

yep kids should join the sports fan...and sport fans should have considerate on kids

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Curmudgeon 2012/04/30 03:31:19

No

+1
If crying got you everything you ever wanted without working for it, than allot more adults would be doing it for things like cars, paying off their visa cards etc...life's not fair.

If didn't catch it, and your parents paid for your seat learn that not everything is owed to you just for the fact your a crying child.

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kurtanderson1 2012/04/30 02:08:50

No

+2
Sports fans pay good money to go root for their team and let off some steam (rhymes!). If your child is really sensitive and cries if he just misses catching a ball, maybe you should just stay home with him and breast feed until he gets a little older.

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Gothamjedi311 \m/ 2012/04/30 01:52:30

Yes

$Gothamjedi311 \m/$

+1
I've caught a number of foul balls in my day...and I always hand it over to a kid if they are close by. It's just the honorable thing to do. I hated watching that clip on the news. But the kid still needs to learn that crying about something is not how you resolve things. \m/

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TKramar 2012/04/30 01:08:36

No

+2
Kids should behave. You want to catch the ball, you hope it comes to you. Otherwise, you're out of fricking luck. Welcome to the real world.

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Næthan Æterna 2012/04/30 00:55:21

No

+2
I wish I got everything I wanted by crying about it. Life isn't fair, deal with it, kid.

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TruBluTopaz 2012/04/30 00:40:49

Yes

+4
But, this case was taken by a New York City loudmouthed radio jock totally out of context. The couple that was accused of "taking" this toddler's ball did nothing of the sort. They were there celebrating their impending wedding and the ball fell at their feet. Three year olds have no business at sports events like this. Their attention spans are limited, they get hot, they get tired, they get hungry, they can't sit still. Plus, people may go to baseball games their entire lives and never catch a foul or homerun ball. This couple was under NO OBLIGATION to give this child the ball. That being said, I would personally appreciate it if people watched their language and behavior. I don't enjoy hearing f-bombs being hurled at the crowd nor do I like having to deal with the various problems of drunks. So this particular case was misrepresented for which the radio jock should be ASHAMED. Of course I guess the Rangers 16 and 5 start is making the pinstriped heroes a bit grouchy at 12 and 9 which makes it where their radio announcers have to make some lame stories up to keep the crowds interesting.

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NYYankees 2012/04/30 00:40:31

No

+3
if it was me... id give the kid the ball cause i really don't know what i would do with it anyway unless it was really worth something. that being said the parents did fail to catch the ball its not like the couple next to them snatched it out of their hands. kids do need to understand things can't always go their way.

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LeAnn 2012/04/30 00:21:54 (edited)

No

+6
Ok I saw ANOTHER article about this on Yahoo, and 1) The parents of the child said they weren't even mad because they believed the little boy needed to realize that he can't get everything he wanted just by crying and 2) according to the couple who caught the ball, they said that it was their very first Rangers game together, and they were so excited to have caught the ball that they seriously did not notice the boy crying next to them. They said they have kids of their own, would never want to purposefully upset a child, and if they had noticed the upset boy, they would have given him the ball. Now whether you believe them or not, that's up to you, but when I watched the video, to me, it really looks like they don't notice the child.

Besides, "There's no crying in baseball!" ;) j/k

With all THAT aside though, in most situations, then maybe people in general should be more considerate, but in this situation, I really don't think the couple meant any harm.

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Aquariu... to LeAnn 2012/04/30 01:07:57

+2
I agree with you completely that consideration in general is lacking in our society. People have forgotten that courtesy doesn't cost.

And "There's no crying in baseball!"--LMAO!

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Sister Jean 2012/04/30 00:16:24

Yes

+1
yes

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AquariusNX01 2012/04/30 00:03:59 (edited)

No

+3
Personally, I probably would have given the ball to the kid. HOWEVER, life is full of disappointments, and it's not always fair. Nobody owes that kid anything. If I kept carrying on after my mom said, "We tried, it's okay, you're no worse off than when we came here," I'd be on punishment for acting out.

That said, the people who got the ball are jerks for their behavior.

ETA: someone above said that the people who caught the ball were at their first game together, and that they were so excited they didn't even notice the kid. If that's true, then I apologize for the assumption that they were jerks.

Let that be a lesson, SodaHeaders: you can't always believe the pollster.

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Deb 2012/04/30 00:02:21

No

+6
kids need to be taught that they can't have everything they want. I hate this generation of coddled sissies that get "participation" trophies. In life there are winners and losers,and it's also riddled with disappointment. Better they learn early..and umm hello the ball belongs to whoever catches it....This was just a classic case of finders keepers,losers weepers. And no I don't believe thst couple was wrong at all.

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Deb to Deb 2012/04/30 00:13:30

+2
It reminds me of an old 90's saying that I grew up with "this ain't Burger King,you can't always have it your way"

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kobidobidog 2012/04/29 23:32:13 (edited)

Yes

The humans that caught the ball would have done well to have humbled themselves giving the ball to the boy. The humans that gave the boy a ball so he could have a base ball putting a smile on the boys face has the better spirit. The parents of the boy were wise to not get into a confrontation with the insensitive humans that had the foul ball.

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