Kids banned from football playoffs

[Zemo]

Unreal!

http://www.q13fox.com/news/wdaf-kids...,6476700.story

[Hotfoot]

Can't have a dominant team. Have to give everybody a chance and a trophy! What BS!

[Nostalgiabuff]

that's total BS. I smell a lawsuit. Everyone is always so afraid that the underdogs will get their feelings hurt but never have any compunction about hurting the other side.

[toys2cool]

wow what horse crap

[sauce]

HUH!?

This world of ours always finds a way to surprise me!!

I'm going to have to go tweet about this immediately

[Duncan]

I know this won't be popular, but I'm going to argue the other side of this issue, but not this exact situation.

My buddy's son plays in a 5th grade football league. There's one team stacked full of ringers, and not only did they go undefeated, but they always made it a point to shut out their opponents. On one occasion when an opponent did score on them, they got nasty, and their parents got bitter , "Now we're going to score 70 points against you losers!" Moral victory, but I'm not sure it's worth it.

1. If you're on the better team, why play against lesser competition like that? That's not how you improve. It's like when Ohio State plays against the Sisters of the Poor in nonconference games, and then gets spanked by Wisconsin. If you're so desperate for a trophy that you don't want to play against good competition, just go buy yourself a trophy, and stop wasting everyone's time.

2. If you're on the lesser team, why bother showing up? I agree that playing better opponents is how you improve, but playing someone so much better doesn't accomplish that. In my experience, it leads to fights, cheap shots, etc.

I'm of the opinion that in situations like this, the league commissioner should move players around to make the teams more balanced, or move the superior team up to the next higher division.

I don't like being involved in blowouts - even on the winning side. I still play hockey in a rec league, and would much rather lose 4-3 than win 8-0. I was on a ringered-up team one season and we won the championship, but I'm not particularly proud of that accomplishment. However, I cherish the championship I won on a different team, when we beat our main rival in the final in a very close game. It's just more fun to play against equals.

[Zemo]

I respect your opinion and obviously the powers that be in that league had the same one.Imo it's sends a terrible message to all the kids. They are all the same age and at the same stage of maturity, to the other kids it makes them think there's an easy way out and to the good team, it says your great level of performance is going to be penalized.

Some of life's most important lessons are learned when you are a young boy and I think this one is just terrible.

If it was my kid on one of those other teams, I would tell him, you go out and give 100% and as long as you do that, the result, the score don't matter a bit. The fact that you gave it your all is all that matters. Good job son.

[RG]

ok ... that's messed up.

now as for what Duncan said, I can see his point, but (and it's a big BUT) they should have addressed any issues they had about how good the team was long before playoffs ... by the 2nd or 3rd game if they are as good as they sound the powers that be, would have known the other teams didnt' have a chance of winning, and then they could have been bumped up to a different level league, etc. But to wait for the playoffs is just crap. All that says to the other teams playing is "if you cry loud enough, you get your way" Win or lose, those teams knew this team was in their league and they should have sucked it up and played ... and hell, they could have said they were beat by a great team, but now it's a false playoff game and nobody truly wins

[Duncan]

ok ... that's messed up.

now as for what Duncan said, I can see his point, but (and it's a big BUT) they should have addressed any issues they had about how good the team was long before playoffs ... by the 2nd or 3rd game if they are as good as they sound the powers that be, would have known the other teams didnt' have a chance of winning, and then they could have been bumped up to a different level league, etc. But to wait for the playoffs is just crap. All that says to the other teams playing is "if you cry loud enough, you get your way" Win or lose, those teams knew this team was in their league and they should have sucked it up and played ... and hell, they could have said they were beat by a great team, but now it's a false playoff game and nobody truly wins

I totally agree.

[megocrazy]

After years of coaching baseball where the younger divisions refused to keep score because of the adverse affects of being routed in a lopsided score, I stopped coaching.

It's no wonder many teens and young people today can't seem to handle the everyday rigors of life. We install the notion that life is not a competition, and quite frankly if you think that you're living an illusion.

My wife used to constantly complain when I would not let my kids win at games as children. (I mean nothing, memory, chutes & ladders, candyland, nothing). I pushed them to be a go get it, not a wait until someone gives it to you type of person. Today as they approach graduation from college she's finally come around and seen things my way. (Not an easy thing to accomplish...trust me after 22 yrs I know.)

I've watched so many of their friends that had the intelligence and ability, but not the drive, fall short of where they could have been. Some will say things like what's happening, with this team in Seattle, will never reach that point but it's a snow-ball effect that we've started, most commonly in young children's sports and education that are major parts of child development at an early age. Eventually life does start "keeping score" those that aren't ready will get shutout for sure.

[jessica]

That's major suckage. It's not like they did anything illegal...they just played their hearts out.

[Werewolf]

That's ridiculous.

It does our culture, our children and their futures an enormous diservice to continually punish achievement and reward failure. Real life does not give you a trophy for doing poorly. Real life does not give you a shiny gold star for failing a test. Real life keeps score.

We learn just as much, if not more, from our failures than our successes. We learn who we are, what our strengths and weaknesses are, what we do and do not excel at and make us work harder to achieve our goals and pushes us harder to be the best we can be. We learn to accept our failures with grace and dignity and strive to do better as well as appreciate our true wins more.

You crush children by taking that away from them.

[HardyGirl]

Ok, I'm not even a sports fan, but as a teacher, this is just plain CRAP! Why bother putting kids in competitive sports when trying their best and winning is just gonna get them screwed? Poor other teams are gonna get their widdle feelings hurt if they lose, PHOOEY! This namby pamby type of attitude is why people stop letting kids play musical chairs in school, b/c they might lose and get upset. Good grief! I don't let kids win and play "mercy games" w/ them either, b/c what do they learn from that? That everyone is gonna kiss your tush? Definitely the wrong lesson. Another wrong lesson is the one these people are conveying to this team; don't do your best, just keep the peace and be mediocre so the other guy won't get hurt. Sorry, but that's not the way the real world works.

[jwyblejr]

What going to happen to those kids if they want to go pro? You think players in the NBA,NFL,NHL of MLB will go soft on them? You think the commish in each league will hand games to the losers?

[Brazoo]

Years of sucking and loosing at sports has made me the fantastic person I am today!