Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cross country is the worst. They all disappear into the woods and you have no idea what’s going on in there. It’s like standing around at a baggage carousel waiting for your suitcase to emerge.

Hahaha. But they can’t be that long though? It isn’t like you are stuck there waiting for hours. I am convinced swimming is the worst parent-spectator sport

If dance could be considered a sport (I know, I know) that is the absolute worst. You have to wait for your kid to perform a 2-3 minute piece, in between watching 100 other kids performing their pieces - which you could not care less about.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cross country is the worst. They all disappear into the woods and you have no idea what’s going on in there. It’s like standing around at a baggage carousel waiting for your suitcase to emerge.

Hahaha. But they can’t be that long though? It isn’t like you are stuck there waiting for hours. I am convinced swimming is the worst parent-spectator sport

It depends. There’s usually a course walk through that takes around half an hour, and then coaches have to organize their kids and get them to the starting line. At our middle school festival meets they send runners out in waves. #1 runners first, then #2s, and so on down to #7s, then the mob race. Girls, and then boys. Finish times for each race vary from 9-20+ minutes. I’ve been to meets that took nearly 3 hours.

I hear you on swim meets, though. Sitting in a chlorine sauna on hard bleachers doesn’t sound fun. One good thing about cross country is you’re out in the fresh air. But that can also be a bad thing depending on the weather, lol.

Sports in general are boring to me.

Anonymous wrote:Cross country is the worst. They all disappear into the woods and you have no idea what’s going on in there. It’s like standing around at a baggage carousel waiting for your suitcase to emerge.

Hahaha. But they can’t be that long though? It isn’t like you are stuck there waiting for hours. I am convinced swimming is the worst parent-spectator sport

Cross country is the worst. They all disappear into the woods and you have no idea what’s going on in there. It’s like standing around at a baggage carousel waiting for your suitcase to emerge.

Anonymous wrote:Track, Crew, Cross Country and Swimming are about the worst sports to watch. A LONG day for a few minutes. Just go to a few or show up around the time she run and then head back to the car to do work on your phone or pick up dinner and then take her home.

Can we please add gymnastics meets to this list? So long and boring, always a long drive, and hearing the floor music over and over is torture. But my kid says she really wants me there so I go with a smile.

But I love soccer games!

I feel the same way about my kid's sport. The sport shall remain nameless.

Anonymous wrote:I feel you. I like watching my daughter run. Which is about a minute of interest. The 2-4 hours in between her next heat is torture. I hate sitting and doing nothing, it’s just how I am personally. I get tired and irritable especially when it’s hot out.

She doesn't care if "you feel her". She started the thread 6 and a half years ago!

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone like going to kid sporting events? I just wish I could read my kindle without people getting the impression I don't love my children.

I love watching my kids’ tennis tournament. They are exciting and you are watching your own child out there solo and playing for 1-2 hrs at a time for each match.

But I HATED swim meets. Sounds like track in that you are there 3-6 hours and your kid swims for 2 min maybe x3. Plus the natatoriums are 100 degrees and humid and people are packed shoulder to shoulder. No thanks, I was secretly glad they quit

Anonymous wrote:OP, my dd is switching from gymnastics (fun to watch) to track (boring). Wish me luck.

Oh gymnastics! So much waiting for a minute of performance!

Anonymous wrote:Oh god…my kid just signed up for track. The meets are multiple hours long?

Just bring a book or AirPods. OP is overreacting.

Oh god…my kid just signed up for track. The meets are multiple hours long?

I feel you. I like watching my daughter run. Which is about a minute of interest. The 2-4 hours in between her next heat is torture. I hate sitting and doing nothing, it’s just how I am personally. I get tired and irritable especially when it’s hot out.

Anonymous wrote:Wow, my parents came to almost every soccer and softball game from 5th grade to senior. Even stayed for varsity games when I was on JV and sat varsity (in case I got playing time). My parents were far from helicopter parents, but they enjoyed coming and made friends with some of the parents.

Anyway, I am 30 now and I definitely noticed the effort they put in to show up. I think kids care more than you think.

NOT the same. I have a swimmer and another one that plays lacrosse and basketball. We enjoy the lacrosse and basketball games. The process is never longer than a couple of hours and the games are fast and entertaining. My swimmer's meets are 5-7 hours per day for 2 days, where he usually only swims 3-4 events per day. His longest races will last 2:30 minutes, the shortest ones under a minute. So we are actually watching him compete for less than 10 minutes per day out of 5 hours. Again, NOT the same.

Anonymous wrote:This reminds me. We sometimes let the kids believe we watched them (sports, musical performances, etc) but actually we sat in the car or outside, and read or chatted. We were there, and the audience was large enough and far enough away that they couldn't tell. We're bad/good parents.

LOL. I love this. One of my deep, dark secrets is that I did NOT see my DD's awesome goal. I was in the parking lot.