Any tips on consoling a young Pats fan?

[BUSTAMOVE]

He will be fine. It is good for him. Losing is a lesson in life that must be taken on some time. I am 60 and got tortured as a kid from the Sox. It made me stronger and appreciate future triumph’s.

Saying that I see a therapist 5 times a week so take it with a grain of salt

 

[VegasGuy]

just tell him that it could be worse.

And maybe show him some footage of the old Patriots before Belichick and Brady showed up

 

[Billsfanonapatsforum]

I have a 9 year old who got into the Patriots pretty hard this year. He went from 0-60 in week 1 and hasn’t stopped since. He gets made fun of in school for being a Pats fan (we don’t live here). He has grown up with the Patriots going to Super Bowls non stop and now it’s his expectation in his 9 years old mind. He literally cried himself to sleep and as a father it’s really hard to tell a 9 year old it’s just a game and not to get so emotionally invested (even though some of you are worse). I tried to tell him if you place your happiness in a sports team you will always be disappointed except for that “1 out of 32” chance they win it all. He’s attached himself to this team and I don’t know how to make him see reason. Do I just let him get over it? Do we spend tomorrow watching New England Super Bowl DVDs? Do I cut him off from the NFL entirely until next year? Any fathers (or mothers) out there got some good tips?

Perspective and context helps. I'm obviously not a Pats fan, I'm a bills fan and have plenty of family, friends, etc. with 2 or more kids who are getting ready to graduate COLLEGE and have seen less playoff games in 20+ than your 9 year old has, I'm not sure he'll understand that but. A lot of new england fans (as the old new england fans have told me recently) have never seen losing of substance. I don't wish the past 20+yrs of buffalo on your kid or anyone's child but maybe if you know some fans of other teams, with kids they can relate to your 9yr old from say a buffalo or jete perspective. He could maybe imagine being a bills fan and the TV announcers showing stats of his QB Tom Brady having more wins in Buffalo than bills themselves... or the 30-3 record or whatever it is.

It would be easy for me to say I hope you and your kid suffer for 20+yrs like most of the league has but really, it's not suppose to be that way and one of the reasons for the re-organization of the league and the salary cap/free agency/etc. I hope he gets to see more Pats success but you gotta explain to him what an extraordinary run they're on and how rare that is, he's just not been able to be a part of most of it so far.

 

[Kontradiction]

Tell him that real life sucks a lot worse than a football loss and that he will get understand when he’s older.

 

[PATSNUTme]

As a father it is a good teaching lesson. First,in life there will be failures and how you deal with them is important. You are not going to win all the time and you learn from the times you fail. And as mentioned on another post, this board has quite a few examples of people who cannot deal with failure.

Secondly, he should understand that in sports, other teams have professional players and professional coaches. Games are won and lost on the field of play, not in the media. That's why they show up for games and put on uniforms.

And last, he should appreciate all the good times that he has enjoyed because neither the good times or the bad times last forever (unless your a Jets fan)

And as a side note, he should never-ever compare the Patriots and Red Sox. But that's just my strong opinion .

 

[PatriotsReign]

Go old school. Whenever I got upset about things I couldn’t control when I was that young, my father would tell me “It’s tough but That’s life in the big city”

 

[Trycked]

Give him the ol' Boomer speech:

When I was your age,
We didn't have Super Bowl parades, we had SnowPlow parades.
We didn't have fancy seats or club suites, we had metal benches and had to sit in 12 feet snow.
We didn't have a quarterback who we proudly called the GOAT, instead we had quarterbacks that we swored for being a goat and we were happy if they threw for more than 100 yards a game.
We didn't have cheerleaders or mascots, we had to rub against other men in 12 feet of snow.

Grumble, fart, then walk away

 

[woolster22]

Get off your soap box, You're sollution is selfish and would have no place in helping the kid out.

Teaching a kid not to invest to much emotionally in a collection of flawed athletes is selfish?

Do go on.

Seems like a good time to talk about heroic figures to me, but I guess thats just selfish.

Disagreement is one thing. Dismissing perfectly reasonable thought processes because it dare be used to illustrate a point about someone you find uncomfortable is actually selfish, if you want to talk about it.

 

[PatsWSB47]

Teaching a kid not to invest to much emotionally in a collection of flawed athletes is selfish?

Do go on.

Seems like a good time to talk about heroic figures to me, but I guess thats just selfish.

Disagreement is one thing. Dismissing perfectly reasonable thought processes because it dare be used to illustrate a point about someone you find uncomfortable is actually selfish, if you want to talk about it.

The selfish part is using this thread as an excuse to go on about your bitterness with Kraft. The kid is distraught over his team being eliminated and you want his mom to open up a discussion on morals and hypocrisy. That wasn't what she asked for....not the place for that. And Im calling BS on the place for heroic figures.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

A kid challenged with adversity will make him stronger.
Parents just need to reinforce that sports is entertainment.
Make sure they see the on field good sportsmanship that exists when the games are over.

Showing him the old days may backfire:

"We used to look like that?! Those are the coolest uniforms I ever saw! Those helmets are AWESOME! Why on Earth did they ever change them?! You old guys are lucky."

 

[neuronet]

just tell him that it could be worse.

And maybe show him some footage of the old Patriots before Belichick and Brady showed up

Show him a picture of some Jets fans.

 

[Roboturner913]

I've been a Saints fan since I was 8 (that would be since the mid 1980's) and I'm mostly OK.

If I can do that and be mostly OK, your kid will be fine. He'll work through it.

My kids are 8 and 5. Legos usually cure just about any emotional ill they may have. LOL. If it's Star Wars Legos - even better

 

[Drunken Cicerone]

Sports are dumb and you still have to go to school on Monday.

Its sad to see adults who treat what’s basically a live action Tv show like life or death.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Teachable moment maybe?

- no team is so great it can’t lose... of course he knows this from “philly special”... but no team s guaranteed a deep playoff run... it’s a hard way to learn this, but there is no easy way

- you feel joy as a fan when you win, but you learn who you are when you lose. If it hurts, you truly are a Pats fan. If it always hurts, you’re a JEST fan.

- no matter what comes next, he’s been part of the greatest success in nfl history. It hurts to see a year end in the WC... but lots of years ended a week earlier. That barely ever happens to NE the last 20 yrs

- finally, this time it looks possible that we’ll look ordinary as early as... ulp... possibly next year. He’s young enough to wait out a drought.... a SB feels more earned if you wait between trips.

but more than anything let him know that losing is part of life, even for NE...

I dunno if any of that is helpful, but I’d prolly be liable if I advised you to tell him to hit other kids

 

[Kontradiction]

Tell him this and say it exactly like McMahon does...

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Tell him how old you were before the Patriots ever won 12 regular season games in any one year. I was 41 then (2003).

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Tell him how old you were before the Patriots ever won 12 regular season games in any one year. I was 41 then (2003).

Tell him this and say it exactly like McMahon does...

In a year or so this will suffice

"I am soooooo sorry your team lost...I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better..."

 

[Hyped]

I love this kid.....

I was the same kid back in 1986..albeit a bit older......I had this cool 8'x6' Patriots wall poster on the wall of my bedroom....and after the Bears steamrolled the Patriots...I got pissed and ripped it down... I now regret that...but my old man had to tell me it was only a game and that the Patriots were massive underdogs.....

There's no way to "de-spoil" this kid...I mean in the last 9 years alone: 1 Stanley Cup, 2 Would Series, and 3 Superbowls....damn.... The only way to "de-spoil" a kid in Boston is to have them live the championship drought we experienced from June '86 through February '02... remember we celebrated Ray Borque's Stanley Cup with the Avs on the front steps of Faneuil Hall!

 

[Drunken Cicerone]

And maybe show him some footage of the old Patriots before Belichick and Brady showed up

That’s child abuse

 

[Dragda]

Encourage him to turn it into an irrational hatred of the Titans like I did with the mid-70s Raiders and mid 80s Bears.