When you need to rant...

[Drtooth]

Two things have been bugging me lately.

I'm sure some of you have heard about that Football player who made his kids give up their participation trophies. Now I don't want to have this whole debate about how stupid these things are and that no one likes them, but side rant, the ones that rant about it being another sign of how the younger generation is "entitled" are usually Baby Boomers, i.e. the most freaking entitled people of all freaking time. But my main, driving point is this:

If we want to teach kids real life lessons, you don't give trophies for just showing up. No. You don't even give it to the team who wins. If you want that real gut punch of reality, you give the trophy specifically to the most untalented, worst player...maybe even the benchwarmer. Then you say "guess what kids? Hard work don't mean nothing because some idiot managed to be really really lucky in life." You want to give kids a sense of reality, tell them they can only succeed if they were already destined to be successful out of using their parents money or just plain good old dumb luck, and most people who struggle their way through life will work themselves hard into debt. If we're going to give them the life's unfair speech, give them the reason why it's unfair, okay?

Secondly, with all the controversy surrounding Jared from Subway, I keep hearing how he was a fallen hero. WHAT?! How the heck was he a hero in the first place? He was a guy that lost weight that a corporation used to sell their awful microwaved subs. I agree completely with what South Park said here. The company manipulated and simplified his story giving false hope to other fat people so they would be bamboozled into thinking their food is diet food. At best, they're the slightly healthier alternative to fast food, and as offensive as some of their commercials on that subject matter is (slightly out of shape people breaking hammocks with their "tremendous weight") at least those were honest... if you ignore the nitrates, that is. There are people who lost more weight through more grueling means. Heck, those who can endure what Biggest Loser does to them (having jerks yell at them on national television, having the footage be manipulated to make them look bad, wearing ugly clothes and going shirtless on exhibition, and overall dealing with the exploitive nature)... those are bigger freaking heroes to me. Not some guy that ate the lowest calorie thing on the menu.

 

[charlietheowl]

Two things have been bugging me lately.

I'm sure some of you have heard about that Football player who made his kids give up their participation trophies. Now I don't want to have this whole debate about how stupid these things are and that no one likes them, but side rant, the ones that rant about it being another sign of how the younger generation is "entitled" are usually Baby Boomers, i.e. the most freaking entitled people of all freaking time. But my main, driving point is this:

If we want to teach kids real life lessons, you don't give trophies for just showing up. No. You don't even give it to the team who wins. If you want that real gut punch of reality, you give the trophy specifically to the most untalented, worst player...maybe even the benchwarmer. Then you say "guess what kids? Hard work don't mean nothing because some idiot managed to be really really lucky in life." You want to give kids a sense of reality, tell them they can only succeed if they were already destined to be successful out of using their parents money or just plain good old dumb luck, and most people who struggle their way through life will work themselves hard into debt. If we're going to give them the life's unfair speech, give them the reason why it's unfair, okay?

I think the whole participation trophy thing is blown out of proportion, because let's face it, they're given to the kids who are only there because their parents signed them up for it. The stereotypical kid who's missing line drives in the outfield because they're staring at ants in the grass. Might as well give them something so they don't feel like their time is completely wasted. The kids who want to be stars aren't going to care about the participation trophy, they're going to push themselves no matter what.

Also, this outrage is probably coming from people who view youth sports as a future meal ticket, that they'll be able to retire off of little Jimmy once he gets drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers. It's that attitude which pushes kids towards having to play all year-round, transferring schools for better competition, basically ignoring all the things that kids should get to have in their lives for sports. Pushing your kids like that increases the chance they'll end up like Todd Marinovich compared to Peyton Manning.

 

[Drtooth]

My feeling on participation trophies is this.

Peewee sports are a scam. I dunno about other states, but over here not only do parents have to pay a fortune, but they also force the kids to beg for money to support the team. PeeWee baseball, anyway. That's disgusting. At the end of the day, it's all money corrupting kid's sports. If the parents are paying that freaking much for something that can't even subside on parents money, darn straight everyone involved should get a cheap $5 chunk of plastic.

As for the principle of the thing? Well, we're basically talking about Social Darwinism vs over political correctness (even though that's not even the term). Both suck. There's no middle with this. But then again, do we really want to give kids hard truths at a young age? There's a reason Sesame Street says stuff about sharing and getting along with people. Would you let your kids watch a show that says "every man for themselves, and crush everyone you can to get to the top, or even just for fun?" Of course you wouldn't. As an adult, I've always been conflicted by the "Everyone is special" paradox. It comes down to you're either giving your kids delusions of grandeur that may blow up spectacularly, or say they're doomed to a life of mediocrity and at best they're going to be a cog in the machine and should be darn grateful about it, leading them to not try very hard. That's life's harshest lesson that the world doesn't give a crap about your dreams, and sometimes luck and/or connections are indeed more valued than hard work and wanting it. Untalented hacks get ahead while those who work hard essentially work hard to master a hobby. hence why I say that the worst kid on the losing team should get a trophy on the merits of "Whomp whomp whomp whomp...Whooooooommmmmmpp."

Also, this outrage is probably coming from people who view youth sports as a future meal ticket, that they'll be able to retire off of little Jimmy once he gets drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers. It's that attitude which pushes kids towards having to play all year-round, transferring schools for better competition, basically ignoring all the things that kids should get to have in their lives for sports.

While I'd say part of the outrage comes from angry people over 40 years old who sit around listening to Limbaugh and Fox News to make sure they're outraged over some petty crap (more on those later), I'd wager that's a big part of the problem too. Face it. Even if at the end of the day it's about hard work and striving towards a goal, making kid's sports that important takes the fun and fitness out of the sport. Parents are to blame, coaches too. At the end of the day, I don't know what the precise odds are, but it's safe to say that your kid being a pro-athlete has a chance of winning the lottery 3 times in a single day off of 3 tickets while getting struck by lightning specifically on your left hand pinky finger while tripping over an exact replica of the Taj Mahal made entirely out of H keys from various keyboards. This is just something they're doing for fun, and if somehow they fit that chance of being a pro-athlete... then is the time to push them past their limits. Just be glad ol' Tyler isn't 300 pounds and shouting racial slurs over Halo games.

As for the oft told story of some conservative blogger/radio host/pundit cherry picking idiotic local stories, throwing the term "PC" around to outrage entitled Baby Boomers over nothing because it's a sign that the world is changing (because they're getting older)...yeah... I hate that soooo much. Those who complain the most about entitlements are the most entitled, self absorbed farts there are. Their catchphrase is always "I don't want MY taxes to go to [insert outrage]." As if their specific money that they earned is more important than anyone else's earned money. My favorite? When they whine about how the media only caters to the younger people when..heh...they were young and catered to once. Everyone has to have a turn, we all have to live together. There are bigger, more important things that actually affect people, but these kind of entitled "entitlement is evil because I don't have it anymore" people feel that it's more important to be angry over things they have no control over and don't affect them in the slightest. And that's why everything is a mess.

 

[CensoredAlso]

If you want that real gut punch of reality, you give the trophy specifically to the most untalented, worst player...maybe even the benchwarmer. Then you say "guess what kids? Hard work don't mean nothing because some idiot managed to be really really lucky in life."

Very, very true.

Secondly, with all the controversy surrounding Jared from Subway, I keep hearing how he was a fallen hero. WHAT?! How the heck was he a hero in the first place? He was a guy that lost weight that a corporation used to sell their awful microwaved subs.

Our culture is obsessed with the losing weight thing to the point where it's become a religion. Now, I am trying to eat healthier. Which means I stopped going to Subway, lol. Nothing but calories and sodium. I still go to McDonald's occasionally, at least they're honest! And at least their mascot is a fictional character and not some random guy they clearly should have vetted better, heh.

 

[Drtooth]

Our culture is obsessed with the losing weight thing to the point where it's become a religion. Now, I am trying to eat healthier. Which means I stopped going to Subway, lol. Nothing but calories and sodium. I still go to McDonald's occasionally, at least they're honest! And at least their mascot is a fictional character and not some random guy they clearly should have vetted better, heh.

Subway ticks me off. If they aren't shoving Jared in our faces (which they no longer do as a result, and also...that came out wrong), they're doing those obnoxious "if you eat fast food once, you'll automatically turn into a World Record Holder for fattest piece of garbage ever" ads. And frankly, they're not even that good as a sub shop. It's not like in the mid-Western parts of the country where they can't get a good seafood restaurant and have to deal with Red Lobster or where the only Italian place is...ugh...Olive Garden (which is as bad as everyone says). There are sub places everywhere and they don't microwave the bread. Still, using him as a tool to sell a quicky weight loss plan by eating luncheon meat, which may not have as much fat as fried food but has a crapload of preservatives, nitrates and sodium anyway, was pretty much false advertising. They totally got what they deserved here.

And it's a shame. They had a great campaign with comedian Jon Lovitz.

Why can't they make fun commercials instead of one that are insulting and untrue?

 

[charlietheowl]

Face it. Even if at the end of the day it's about hard work and striving towards a goal, making kid's sports that important takes the fun and fitness out of the sport. Parents are to blame, coaches too. At the end of the day, I don't know what the precise odds are, but it's safe to say that your kid being a pro-athlete has a chance of winning the lottery 3 times in a single day off of 3 tickets while getting struck by lightning specifically on your left hand pinky finger while tripping over an exact replica of the Taj Mahal made entirely out of H keys from various keyboards. This is just something they're doing for fun, and if somehow they fit that chance of being a pro-athlete... then is the time to push them past their limits. Just be glad ol' Tyler isn't 300 pounds and shouting racial slurs over Halo games.

I saw a show on ESPN a few months ago about how some parents are beginning to hold their kids back a year in order for them to gain an advantage over kids in sports. That's insane and can't be healthy emotionally for the kids. They have to adjust to a new social group, deal with the social stigma that comes from being held back (fair or not), all just so they can beat up on kids younger than them. Parents blind themselves without thinking about what's good for their kids.

 

[mr3urious]

It's crap like that that gives kids more of a reason to coop themselves up in their room with their video games all day, if they haven't already.

 

[fuzzygobo]

Somewhere buried in there underneath parents manipulating their kids to compete better in sports ( to satisfy parents' selfish desires more than a kid's desire to play), trophy PeeWee leagues where you have scoreless games where everybody participates and goes home with a trophy (no competition, no kids feeling left out, no disappointment for the losing team- all of these attributes are going to prepare them for the realties of life, right?) and isolating yourself with your X-box (you might get really sharp at your games, at the expense of social interaction, attention span, and sleep).

Somewhere in there originally might have been a kid's desire to play a sport with his pals. Let them go back to the parks, gyms, vacant lots, closed-off streets, without any parental interference and see what happens.
They might actually find the joy that made them want to play in the first place. Team lost today? No sweat. Tomorrow's another day. No pressure. No parents. No coaches. No crowds.

What's the worst that could happen if things were that simple?

 

[Drtooth]

I saw a show on ESPN a few months ago about how some parents are beginning to hold their kids back a year in order for them to gain an advantage over kids in sports. That's insane and can't be healthy emotionally for the kids. They have to adjust to a new social group, deal with the social stigma that comes from being held back (fair or not), all just so they can beat up on kids younger than them. Parents blind themselves without thinking about what's good for their kids.

Somewhere buried in there underneath parents manipulating their kids to compete better in sports ( to satisfy parents' selfish desires more than a kid's desire to play), trophy PeeWee leagues where you have scoreless games where everybody participates and goes home with a trophy (no competition, no kids feeling left out, no disappointment for the losing team- all of these attributes are going to prepare them for the realties of life, right?) and isolating yourself with your X-box (you might get really sharp at your games, at the expense of social interaction, attention span, and sleep).

By all means both sides on this are freaking terrible. There's nothing wrong with healthy competition. Rivalries in sports (no matter what scope they are) are supposed to be fun, but everyone takes them too seriously. And while there are bad levels of fandom here, nothing compares to the International Soccer fans. And that's...soccer. That sort of thing is bad enough on the professional level, but when it comes to kid's sports? That's monstrous. I mean, the nasty behavior some of the parents have? You almost would rather the scoreless "everyone gets a trophy" variant.

Once again, there's a nice middle ground no one wants to bother with. Healthy competition. And you know what? I've had a rant about this in my back pocket for years. As long as we're talking kid's sports, there's something vitally missing.

A freaking decent American sports cartoon. Nope. We get crap like ProStars and NFL Guardians of the Rush Zone. Sports anime are a staple of Japanese programming. From Speed Racer to Ultimate Muscle to stuff we didn't get. Why does this sound so important, you ask? They all have the same recurring theme. Respect of the rival as a worthy competitor. Even when the other team actually is pure evil, there's respect. I mean, best place a kid can get that lesson is Pokemon, mainly because those are tried and true, if cliched, moral undertones. Strive to be the best, but respect your opponent in hopes that you both improve and look forward to that rematch.

Seriously. Screw participation trophies. If you want every kid to feel welcome yet give them a sense of accomplishment, you tell them to strive to be the best, applaud the effort, respect their opponents, and keep the competition friendly. No everyone gets an award, no "if you lose, you're out of the family." The middle.

 

[fuzzygobo]

Subway ticks me off. If they aren't shoving Jared in our faces (which they no longer do as a result, and also...that came out wrong), they're doing those obnoxious "if you eat fast food once, you'll automatically turn into a World Record Holder for fattest piece of garbage ever" ads. And frankly, they're not even that good as a sub shop. It's not like in the mid-Western parts of the country where they can't get a good seafood restaurant and have to deal with Red Lobster or where the only Italian place is...ugh...Olive Garden (which is as bad as everyone says). There are sub places everywhere and they don't microwave the bread. Still, using him as a tool to sell a quicky weight loss plan by eating luncheon meat, which may not have as much fat as fried food but has a crapload of preservatives, nitrates and sodium anyway, was pretty much false advertising. They totally got what they deserved here.

And it's a shame. They had a great campaign with comedian Jon Lovitz.

Why can't they make fun commercials instead of one that are insulting and untrue?

I worked at Subway from 2002 to '09. I never shoved the propoganda down people's throats of "Be like Jared, live on Subway and watch the pounds melt off". I DID feel good that at least, with Burger King a few doors down, we were offering a healthier alternative (salad or wraps, baked chips, iced tea or seltzer) as opposed to a greasebomb Whopper, fries and Coke.

The only time we microwaved bread was until 2005- and I hated that. It makes the bread soggy, hard to cut, and your sandwich doesn't hold up. We got the toaster ovens through a deal with Coke. Prior to '05, we carried Pepsi. Coke came in and bought us the ovens on the condition they became our exclusive vendor. I actually like dealing with Pepsi better. They offered flavors you couldn't even get in the stores. Once Coke came in, we were stuck with a more limited number of options, and they didn't always deliver on time, and they constantly screwed up orders. Not the best deal, but I had no say in the matter.

The only other healthy option was the health food cafe a few doors down from BK. You could go nuts on bean sprouts and tofu. Only downside, you didn't get the little plastic action figures.