My wife is older than Pogo, and she still won't sit through an entire game at home. I'm thinking that maybe I should have left both her and the kids at home all these years. I actually dozed off for a few minutes one time while watching a Texas game at home. Granted, my power nap started during a commercial break, but that has me wondering about my own worthiness to attend games.
I'm taking my two year old to the Florida Atlantic game. He went last year to the....who was it?...FIU? Anyway...I don't remember much about the game other than we won, it was hot, we left in the 3rd quarter and my son had a blast. I wouldn't take him to the OU, Tech, or OkSt game but anything that has a direction in it probably a great time to take a toddler.
Again, as long as your kid is not a burden to those around them, go for it. As soon as they become a burden to your neighbors please respect thy neighbor.
And please don't fart in the stands. Even an open air stadium with 100K+ capacity won't dilute that stank. Section 30, you know who you are.
I've held off on responding to this thread this year, but finally I have to put in my 2 cents. Most of you know I am not a fan of children -- don't like 'em, don't have 'em, and have never regretted it. However, my parents brought me to Memorial Stadium when I was very small. I went to DKR's first game as a baby in my mama's arms! Of course, the atmosphere was completely different back then -- it wasn't standard operating procedure to see how much you could drink and still be upright. If people did drink at the games back then, they did so very discreetly. But it was still hot and humid. I went to games all through my childhood, along with my sister. But we loved football even from a young age, and if we ever misbehaved, I certainly cannot remember. And my parents never told stories about our bad behavior at games. Still, having said all that, not every kid is ready for football at age 3, or 4, or 5, or even 6. Even the best behaved kids have a tendency to knock over cokes and (accidentally) kick the backs of the people sitting in front of them. Poorly behaved kids pitch tantrums when daddy won't buy cotton candy and whine about wanting to leave in the second quarter. Poorly behaved kids make the game a miserable experience for everyone unlucky enough to be sitting around them. But I contend that my attendance at football games from an early age contributed to my being such a strong fan, and also to being able to understand football enough to write about it. It was something I shared with my parents, particularly my dad (although my mom did love her some Longhorns and Cowboys). I guess my only suggestion is to try it and see how your kid does. Your kid might turn out like me, able to watch, understand and enjoy football from an early age. Your kid also might turn out to be the brat from hell. Only by trying will you find out. And your kid most definitely needs a ticket. Everyone must have their own ticket.
Well, UTEE, the times I've been kicked in the back by an adult always resulted in an "I'm sorry", and they tried not to do it again. With children, it happens repeatedly and oft-times purposefully, even after their parents told them to stop. I never snap at the child or parent, either, although I'd like to. We've got a family with young children on our row. We get really tired of up and down, up and down, up and down, as these kids and parents go out to the concession stand or restroom, sometimes as many as eight or 10 times IN ONE HALF. It's frustrating.
I completely agree with you, Texanne. These days, everyone wants to do whatever the hell they want to no matter how rude or inconvenient it is for others. I have no problem with well-behaved children in the stadium. I have a lot of problem with disruptions caused by children who are not ready for games. (and frankly, adults, too) My dad took my to HS games at a very young age, to Baylor games from probably 3 on, and to Texas games a couple of years after that. I was very acclimated to the game atmosphere, but my dad didn't want me to be a burden to other fans, so he waited to take me to games with so many fans. Baylor games were easy because he could always move to emptier areas if necessary, and I was a good kid who didn't have A.D.D. Only you know if your child is ready for Texas football, but I would also recommend HS football for a trial-run. I certainly don't begrudge you wanting to make your child a Horn fan at an early age. I hope all goes well.
The issue isn't what kind of kid you have, it's what kind of parent you are. Are you the kind of parent who goes to a restaurant and ignores it when your kids throws **** all over the table/floor, or plays the drum solo from In-A-Gada-Da-Vida with a spoon on the table? Then stay the f**k home. Are you not that kind of parent? Then bring your kid, and enjoy the game...
It also depends where you're sitting. I sit near the aisle in the back row of the NEZ chairbacks. Plenty of room, especially when it'll be half-empty like this week. I only have to disturb one couple to get out and they're really cool (again, up there the aisles are wider). Most people in those sections don't stand up much so there's not a whole lot of blocked views or being stuck in your seat by child-in-lap. With it not being as hot as a midday game I wouldn't worry about the temp, especially if you get a wet paper towel and put it around her neck (that's what I do during the hot games for myself). Also those chairbacks have a club-type area that a lot of people take their kids down to. Those sections are only 11 rows high so it's easy to get in and out and the club area is right below the stands. It's not air-conditioned but it's damn close with the giant fans they have going in there, and there are big screen TV's with the game on so you don't miss anything. I don't have kids yet but I'm pregnant and I plan to use all those amenities to keep myself cool and my kid when it's here. Also my neighbors are going to get used to the frequency a pregnant chick pees!
Texanne- the problem isnt poorly behaved children, it is the poorly behaved parents. how in the f**k can you not notice that your kid has been kicking the back of the seat in front of you for 10 minutes? if you had pulled that crap your parents would have carried you out by your ear. or at least thats what mine would have done! i hear all of the time "well people who dont have children just dont understand!". guess what? you are right. we dont understand that because you got something to swim up stream and land that you have the right to distrub movies, dinners, and yes even football games. i am paying school taxes to educate your spawn; if you cant control them dont take em out in public. damn i feel better. and so do alot of other people who just read this. hook em!
I've never minded kids walking down my row. They're generally gone by halftime anyway. I've never had a kid kick my seat. There is an adult behind me that we've nicknamed "Profanity laced information girl" that I wouldn't miss. I have a newborn. I imagine that her first game game will be one where the weather is pleasant and my wife and I won't mind if we miss half the game. I took my 8 year old niece to the Wyoming game, and she was good. However, she had enough with 5 minutes to go in the 2nd half, so we left. I wasn't going to force her to sit unhappily. Not fair to her or anyone. Going in, I figured it would be that way.
I've been a single father for sixteen years. My ex and I separated right around my son's first birthday. I changed his diapers on the ramps at DKR during a game or two. Children are part of "life". For a football fan, they will be part of "football" also. Just the way it is...
you can always get a drunk dealt with by an usher, try asking a mother to quiet her screaming angel will often cause the same reaction from the mother that you are getting from the child. The mother often goes as far as screaming that her child is not screaming. There is nothing you can do. And UTEE, I get it, there are more adults who misbehave than children at a football game, well guess what? Its an adult environment with a 20-1 adult/teenage or higher ratio, so of course you will have more trouble from them. But again they can be dealt with by security etc. Little angle? not so much the only problem are parents who think that their burden should be pressed upon others because "that life" think of those around you before yourself and your infant who will have no recollection of said event. too many parents expect those who don't have kids to just accept their burdens because the are kids and thats how it goes.
...which is the complete opposite of how parents dealt with this 20 years ago. Kids have been the same forever; the difference today vs. a generation ago parents today feel much more entitled and that the rest of society has an obligation to them, not vice versa...
This happens every year. Why don't we just save all of ourselves a bunch of time and just re-post the thread from last year, or the year before that, or the year before that..? What a beating...people are going to do what they want to do and some people bitching on a message board ain't gonna change that. Bring your kids, don't bring your kids. I don't care, but this thread has got to stop...
If a Mother and Father don't shut their brat up at a game I ask them to please keep it quiet or leave. If they don't I beep the Mothers nose and throw Coke in the Fathers face. I make sure not to make it a souvenir cup of Coke. He's not worth it.
One of the best representations of my sentiment I've seen expressed on this topic: "Children are part of "life". For a football fan, they will be part of "football" also. Just the way it is... " And of course it was followed by someone "wondering" about infant hydration. Children actually survive in most temperate climates of the world without air conditioning. Really! Kids came across this land in covered wagons, teepees, etc., and did pretty well, absent disease. Kids recover/ protect the same way adults do. Retreat to shade in concession area, drink cool beverages (water), wear sunscreen, hats, etc. Held my then 7 1/2 month old daughter in the stands in Pasadena in January '06, and my one year old son in January 10. Yes, they had their own seats. The anti-kids-at-games crowd on these threads always surprises me by their number, but it's really in line with the predominant me first culture among adults in the West, so it probably shouldn't (declining birth rate, etc.). Kids are like accessories to a lot of modern families, to be brought out and shown off when it doesn't interfere with mommy and daddy's enjoyment of the ever expanding realm of adult themed entertainment. I'll keep doing my best to keep college football family friendly....by bringing my well parented (behaved) little orange ones. Hope you guys don't mind too much!
Do you own a ladder tall enough for you to mount that horse, or do you have to get on top of a multi-story building?
A bunch of people wish someone hadn't brought their little fair-haired darling yesterday, including the entire family of the little darling, who left at halftime because he was so bored, hot, sweaty, tired and unhappy. Oh, everyone around him was, too. Including mom and dad. Very small children have the attention span of a pissant. They do not get into TV timeouts. They don't "get" replays. They do not care that it is 3rd & 13. They want to get down and run around, play, pee and eat. So do the adults, but we control it. Well, most of us. Who has $80 to spend on a ticket for a 2-year-old who would be much happier a thousand other places? I simply do not get it. Edited to add: Same goes for concerts, plays and movies not intended for children. They're children, not small adults.
