Great Examples of Superfan Parents
So often, we get to read about parents who act like morons at sporting events. I know I’ve written about those kinds of parents, and I’ve certainly seen thousands of keystrokes dedicated to the same. But over the last few weekends, I’ve witnessed first-hand some of the best examples of parents who are “superfans.”
I’m hanging the label superfan on these parents not just because they are fans of a given sport (in this case, swimming), but because they cheer on and genuinely, GENUINELY, wish for, hope for and applaud the success of young athletes who belong to OTHER parents. And they truly feel bad for and try to encourage those athletes who miss the mark for which they were reaching.
My 14-year-old daughter is a competitive swimmer, and she’s been in a bit of a slump for about 12 months. There are some real signs that her “slump” or “funk” may be over, and she’s had three weekends of meets recently in which she’s had some success. Not quite the success she wanted to be having after 12 months of hard work and what she calls “failed swims,” but certainly enough success that she’s feeling hopeful and encouraged and her Dad and I are overjoyed. Throughout her struggles, other swimmers and parents of other swimmers have cheered her on, pumped her up, and all-around encouraged her. It’s been wonderful and it’s meant a lot to us and to her.
The last two weekends, I enjoyed witnessing many of these same parents (plus a few others) do the same for numerous other swimmers within our own club and outside of our club. It was heartwarming. I saw these Moms and Dads hold their breath and then cheer victoriously when swimmer after swimmer achieved their goals. Some of these people were parents of swimmers who’ve already achieved said goal, but some are parents of teens who desperately, DESPERATELY want the same thing for themselves and haven’t gotten there yet. Two Moms in particular were checking times before each race and saying things like, “Okay, cheer for Jane Doe, because she’s only two seconds off. Now, everybody think good thoughts for John Doe, because he’s been trying to get this cut for a year.” Etc. They rallied the fans into the court of whatever kid was in the water. Very cool.
Anyway, I wanted to give a shout-out to all those parents who are doing it right — cheering on their own kids, but also cheering on the kids who are competing right alongside their own kids. And come to think of it: it just so happens that the children of these indivdiuals are doing the same thing down on the deck. Hmmm . . . . . now that’s proof that you’re doing something right, too. Hats off!
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