Participation Trophies

[WildcatFan1982]

At the end of the year at the elementary school I went to from 3rd-6th grade I received a “perfect attendance” trophy at the end of the year because I didn’t ever miss a single day of school. It was dumb and they have all been thrown away. They did not contribute or take away from anything I’ve ever done in my life. It’s such a weird subject to pretend is important

I won an award at my 8th grade graduation. I didn’t find out about it until a few days later because nobody went. It was for the best grade in music class. I got the best grade because I brought in a CD once a week and that was extra credit. Although my teacher got really mad when I brought in the Lost Highway soundtrack to play a Nine Inch Nails song

 

[the nail at the foul line]

Agree to mis-agree. People I talk to say they got them decades ago.

This may be a rural urban thing. It was probably the late 80's before participation trophies came to rural areas. I do not know about urban areas. Maybe they existed there long before.

 

[roguemocha]

If participation trophies ruined your kids or whoever else’s masculinity, it wasn’t the trophies at all. You raised a pussy or maybe your kid just wasn’t meant to be a tough guy.

 

[edubbs]

the Owensboro Parks and Recreation department could afford them when I was a kid. Same with my baseball teams. Which btw do Elementary school still have teams? I always played for Highland Elementary but I don't even think they have a baseball field anymore.

Maybe at the rich Southern Little League or Daviess County League. But at the mean streets of Eastern Little League, only 1st and 2nd place got trophies! But we did all get cokes after every game. Circa early 90s.

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

This may be a rural urban thing. It was probably the late 80's before participation trophies came to rural areas. I do not know about urban areas. Maybe they existed there long before.

We’ve only had them in the hood” of our urban areas. Mainly for runner up for shooting sewer rats.

Dammit I follow NailAtTheFL because it’s it’s the right thing to do.

 

[WildcatFan1982]

Maybe at the rich Southern Little League or Daviess County League. But at the mean streets of Eastern Little League, only 1st and 2nd place got trophies! But we did all get cokes after every game. Circa early 90s.

Lol I always loved it when the parents would just buy us drinks at the concession stand instead of bringing a cooler. We’d all make suicides. Which would never fly today

Also I miss post game Pizza Hut parties on Frederica

 

[roguemocha]

Yes I wonder if kids still call them suicides or has that been banned? The amount of sugar was pretty gross though lol, but we were outside ALL day every day of the summer and half the winter running around. Definitely played video games though at night and on bad weather days.

 

[WildcatFan1982]

I know there used to be a snow cone truck that would come through my neighborhood and if you got every flavor it was called ‘Frankenstein’

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

I know there used to be a snow cone truck that would come through my neighborhood and if you got every flavor it was called ‘Frankenstein’

The truck played “Helter Skelter”
- Steven Wright

 

[JDHoss]

This may be a rural urban thing. It was probably the late 80's before participation trophies came to rural areas. I do not know about urban areas. Maybe they existed there long before.

I started playing youth sports in the late 60s right in the middle of Appalachian coal country. We got participation trophies for football and baseball (the only two youth league sports we had), but I can't recall any of us thinking that 5 inch tall piece of plastic was the equivalent of a touching Super Bowl or World Series trophy. I will say that the tears and pearl clutching here by supposedly grown men over this is highly entertaining.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

Just reading a thread on Rupp's Rafters about a player whining because he was scolded by the coach and everyone is saying that the current generation of kids is soft and the whole "participation trophy" generation is weaker than other generations. Am I the only one that blames the people that raised them instead of the kids themselves? I watch videos nightly of parents fighting at youth sports events over whose kid is better, etc. I find it funny that a group of people that raised an entitled generation of kids gets online and complains like it is everyone's fault except for the people that actually raised these kids.

My current medical office job works largely with senior citizens, it's pretty easy to see where younger people learned all these shitty behaviors from.

The problem is that these senior citizens lack all self-awareness to see it in themselves.

The Boomers are on average easily the biggest pieces of shit for patients we have.

 

[the nail at the foul line]

I started playing youth sports in the late 60s right in the middle of Appalachian coal country. We got participation trophies for football and baseball (the only two youth league sports we had), but I can't recall any of us thinking that 5 inch tall piece of plastic was the equivalent of a touching Super Bowl or World Series trophy. I will say that the tears and pearl clutching here by supposedly grown men over this is highly entertaining.

We did not. Of course economy was worse in late 70's.

 

[Nightwish84]

I started playing youth sports in the late 60s right in the middle of Appalachian coal country. We got participation trophies for football and baseball (the only two youth league sports we had), but I can't recall any of us thinking that 5 inch tall piece of plastic was the equivalent of a touching Super Bowl or World Series trophy. I will say that the tears and pearl clutching here by supposedly grown men over this is highly entertaining.

Great point here. While some on boards like this one assume kids don't know any better, the truth is they understand the whole participation trophy thing and don't believe it's an amazing accomplishment they'll cherish for the rest of their lives. Getting some shitty little trophy doesn't make you a weak person and it isn't going to destroy America. Fact is, if a kid didn't get a meaningless trinket trophy, it'd be some parent throwing a fit, not the child. Just like in most videos we see, it's the parents who'll usually act up during a game, not the kids. Usually the kids are standing around looking embarrassed as their parents are throwing fists as if they're in The Warriors.

 

[ace on the river]

Yes it started with those of you born in about 1977.

I noticed it with employees we hired.

Wrong, I know for a fact they been around at least 60 years

 

[megablue]

Wrong, I know for a fact they been around at least 60 years

Agreed, as I posted earlier in this thread.

 

[Bowiewasmyhero]

Great point here. While some on boards like this one assume kids don't know any better, the truth is they understand the whole participation trophy thing and don't believe it's an amazing accomplishment they'll cherish for the rest of their lives. Getting some shitty little trophy doesn't make you a weak person and it isn't going to destroy America. Fact is, if a kid didn't get a meaningless trinket trophy, it'd be some parent throwing a fit, not the child. Just like in most videos we see, it's the parents who'll usually act up during a game, not the kids. Usually the kids are standing around looking embarrassed as their parents are throwing fists as if they're in The Warriors.

my point

 

[PhDcat2018]

Just reading a thread on Rupp's Rafters about a player whining because he was scolded by the coach and everyone is saying that the current generation of kids is soft and the whole "participation trophy" generation is weaker than other generations. Am I the only one that blames the people that raised them instead of the kids themselves? I watch videos nightly of parents fighting at youth sports events over whose kid is better, etc. I find it funny that a group of people that raised an entitled generation of kids gets online and complains like it is everyone's fault except for the people that actually raised these kids.

It's all of the above. Parents, coaches, society, and the kids.. my thoughts?..

 

[VaxxedObamaCat]

Lol I always loved it when the parents would just buy us drinks at the concession stand instead of bringing a cooler. We’d all make suicides. Which would never fly today

Also I miss post game Pizza Hut parties on Frederica

I think we called them Graveyards. Did anyone else call it that