Harsh Words: Most Montanans Were Not Fans Of Silent Saturday Soccer Games
Well, that experiment (for the most part) didn't go over very well. At least the post 'Silent Saturday' comments would indicate that the vast majority of folks were NOT PLEASED about the request for silence during rec soccer games this past Saturday.
Although this particular Silent Saturday was implemented by Bozeman's SURF, other club teams from across the state who would be playing games in Bozeman made their players and parents aware of the initiative - and those clubs stated that they fully supported it. (The parents, guardians, and family members of players - not so much.)
BTW, this quiet sidelines concept was NOT created in Bozeman. Club teams across the entire country have experimented with it for some time now. If you're not fully understanding what Silent Saturday was all about, here is the verbiage from SURF that was sent out last week:
The sidelines of the games in Bozeman are going to look a little different than normal. We are implementing "Silent Saturday" in an effort to remove parental and fan pressure towards athletes, referee abuse, coach abuse and overall have a more enjoyable game for all of our athletes.
It was stated that there would be no yelling or cheering, and minimal conversation on the sidelines. Even coaches were asked to provide very little coaching. All this in an effort to encourage the players to communicate with EACH OTHER during the game and make their own decisions when it came to making plays. Parents, friends, and other adults were still not thrilled with the 'silent' ask:
- "How dumb!"
- "What kind of insanity of mind control are the authorities using on the kids ??? Shame on parents allowing this to happen."
- "The bottom line is that it's never good policy to marginalize an entire group of people for bad behavior by a few individuals."
- "I'm showing up with an air horn and extreme cheer! I'll sue the s*** out of them if they try to detain or remove me."
- "Ohhh I was hoping for some soccer riots for sure."
- "ppl are waking up to the reality of what is really going on and so change is coming and it will be bigger than small fights at small gatherings."