Help Local Student Athlete and Celtics Fan Go to the ESPYs

[Sugarpop3640]

I'd like to respond to some of the posts that have been made.  First of all, I'm not Craig's Dad--I'm his Mom.  If I was able to do so on this forum, I would attach the flyer that we've been handling out locally that includes a description of his accomplishments.  He's active in Pop Warner Football, plays town rec. basketball, and made the Travel Basketball team for Franklin this year for the first time, after trying out for many years and working hard to improve his game.  He's also an Honor Roll student, is in Student Council and just returned form marching in Franklin's Memorial Day Parade with his Midle School Band.  I posted something in this forum as well as one on the Patriots website b/c we're trying to spread the word to New England sports fans that a kid from this area has been nominated for this prestigious award.  He's a fan of all the local sports teams, the Celtics included.  We've made efforts to get local media attention that have been unsuccessful, so we're trying to get the word out in any way that we can.  If some of you think this makes him undeserving, there's nothing I can do abot that. We are hopeful that Pop Warner Fottball will be helping to get the word out this week.  I'm trying to do what I can to help my son.  I think most parents would do the same.  Again, thanks to any of you who have voted for him.  We really do appreciate it.   

[guava_wrench]

I voted for Maddy

She seems to be the most deserving after watching the videos, a kid who paid her dues, playing for bad teams, genuinely loves the sport - she was also much less forced on camera...

Oh and your son didn't say anything about loving basketball - and being your first post, my guess is you went from message board to message board saying, oh vote for my son, he loves the Celtics, oh vote for my son, he loves the Pats, oh vote for my son he loves team tennins's Boston lobsters... I give you credit though, for a 7th grader he's huge, he may have a college career as he hopes, so good luck on that

Pass on Maddy. I can't encourage soccer playing.

[Sugarpop3640]

A couple things I left out of my last post that I'd like people to know.  It's true that Craig didn't mention his love of basketball in his video.  The sponsors of the award contest wanted to highlight athletes from different sports.  Pop Warner is one of the youth sports organizations that partners with ESPN and Kellogg's, and our local Pop Warner team chose Craig as their nominee.  We didn't make the video.  A film crew from Chicago came here in April to do the taping.  There was specific content they wanted, and the video was intended to focus on football.  Craig plays football, basketball and baseball, has played all three sports since he was little, and loves the Red Sox, Celtics and Pats equally.  I also take exception to poster's perception that his Dad is some "overzealous" pushy father.  He didn't post the original topic--I did.  Again, the sponsors of the contest wanted to highlight he father/son bonding through sports angle.  That wasn't our idea, and we weren't thrilled about it.  My husband has volunteered countless hours of his time coaching both basketball and football here in town, is well-liked and well-respected by the kids he has coached, and is one of the kindest men you could hope to meet.  One of the reasons Craig was nominated is that he regularly volunteers to announce games and work the concession stand for the Franklin Chargers, as well as work his hardest during games and practices.  I'm sure all the kids who are competing are deserving in their own right.  I checked this website when we returned from today's Memorial day parade b/c I had received some supportive responses to my post yesterday.  Craig was next to me when I read some of the more recent responses, and I couldn't have been more disheartened.  I expected New England sports fans to be supportive of a local kid competing for an honor like this, and again, wish to thank those of you who are.  The website again is www.espn.com/earnyourstripes.  I know this post is long, and some may not take the time to read it, but I'm upset about the turn this has taken and needed to get this off my chest. 

[SShoreFan 2.0]

I love my son (and daughter) more than anything and if there was something that they wanted more than anything and that they were one of five that had a chance to achieve that something - I'd do the same thing you are doing.

Here's to loving your kids.

[Sugarpop3640]

I love my son (and daughter) more than anything and if there was something that they wanted more than anything and that they were one of five that had a chance to achieve that something - I'd do the same thing you are doing.

Here's to loving your kids.

Thank you!!  I'm feeling like I did something wrong by posting this here when I was only trying to spread the word and get some voter attention for my son.  Your user name suggests you're from the South Shore.  My husband grew up in Weymouth.  And for any skeptics in the crowd--no, I'm not just saying that to try to get a vote.  He's from Weymouth, I grew up in Leominster, and we've lived in Franklin since 1990.  Again, thanks for some kind words.

[cdif911]

oh, now that I know you're his mother, that makes it completely different... (sarcasm duly noted)

[Bahku]

A couple things I left out of my last post that I'd like people to know.  It's true that Craig didn't mention his love of basketball in his video.  The sponsors of the award contest wanted to highlight athletes from different sports.  Pop Warner is one of the youth sports organizations that partners with ESPN and Kellogg's, and our local Pop Warner team chose Craig as their nominee.  We didn't make the video.  A film crew from Chicago came here in April to do the taping.  There was specific content they wanted, and the video was intended to focus on football.  Craig plays football, basketball and baseball, has played all three sports since he was little, and loves the Red Sox, Celtics and Pats equally.  I also take exception to poster's perception that his Dad is some "overzealous" pushy father.  He didn't post the original topic--I did.  Again, the sponsors of the contest wanted to highlight he father/son bonding through sports angle.  That wasn't our idea, and we weren't thrilled about it.  My husband has volunteered countless hours of his time coaching both basketball and football here in town, is well-liked and well-respected by the kids he has coached, and is one of the kindest men you could hope to meet.  One of the reasons Craig was nominated is that he regularly volunteers to announce games and work the concession stand for the Franklin Chargers, as well as work his hardest during games and practices.  I'm sure all the kids who are competing are deserving in their own right.  I checked this website when we returned from today's Memorial day parade b/c I had received some supportive responses to my post yesterday.  Craig was next to me when I read some of the more recent responses, and I couldn't have been more disheartened.  I expected New England sports fans to be supportive of a local kid competing for an honor like this, and again, wish to thank those of you who are.  The website again is www.espn.com/earnyourstripes.  I know this post is long, and some may not take the time to read it, but I'm upset about the turn this has taken and needed to get this off my chest. 

I personally hope you'll try to not get too discouraged from the couple of negative posts here ... there are many caring parents here at CB who will do our best to help your son get this award, and who support New England Youth athletic programs.

Keep in mind that no matter where you go or what you do in this world, there are always a few rotten apples ... but thankfully, they're the exception and not the rule. There can be very few more worthwhile causes than your kids and family, and I pray you are blessed in this awesome effort.

It's amazing to me that some would be so openly counter-productive to such a worthy cause, and then actually want everyone to know about it! Makes you wonder what the motive is behind it, and shows quite clearly that those few negative comments aren't worth taking to heart.

All the best to you and your son ... he's a lucky kid!

Keep your chin up ... he's worth nothing less! 

[SShoreFan 2.0]

A couple things I left out of my last post that I'd like people to know.  It's true that Craig didn't mention his love of basketball in his video.  The sponsors of the award contest wanted to highlight athletes from different sports.  Pop Warner is one of the youth sports organizations that partners with ESPN and Kellogg's, and our local Pop Warner team chose Craig as their nominee.  We didn't make the video.  A film crew from Chicago came here in April to do the taping.  There was specific content they wanted, and the video was intended to focus on football.  Craig plays football, basketball and baseball, has played all three sports since he was little, and loves the Red Sox, Celtics and Pats equally.  I also take exception to poster's perception that his Dad is some "overzealous" pushy father.  He didn't post the original topic--I did.  Again, the sponsors of the contest wanted to highlight he father/son bonding through sports angle.  That wasn't our idea, and we weren't thrilled about it.  My husband has volunteered countless hours of his time coaching both basketball and football here in town, is well-liked and well-respected by the kids he has coached, and is one of the kindest men you could hope to meet.  One of the reasons Craig was nominated is that he regularly volunteers to announce games and work the concession stand for the Franklin Chargers, as well as work his hardest during games and practices.  I'm sure all the kids who are competing are deserving in their own right.  I checked this website when we returned from today's Memorial day parade b/c I had received some supportive responses to my post yesterday.  Craig was next to me when I read some of the more recent responses, and I couldn't have been more disheartened.  I expected New England sports fans to be supportive of a local kid competing for an honor like this, and again, wish to thank those of you who are.  The website again is www.espn.com/earnyourstripes.  I know this post is long, and some may not take the time to read it, but I'm upset about the turn this has taken and needed to get this off my chest. 

I personally hope you'll try to not get too discouraged from the couple of negative posts here ... there are many caring parents here at CB who will do our best to help your son get this award, and who support New England Youth athletic programs.

Keep in mind that no matter where you go or what you do in this world, there are always a few rotten apples ... but thankfully, they're the exception and not the rule. There can be very few more worthwhile causes than your kids and family, and I pray you are blessed in this awesome effort.

It's amazing to me that some would be so openly counter-productive to such a worthy cause, and then actually want everyone to know about it! Makes you wonder what the motive is behind it, and shows quite clearly that those few negative comments aren't worth taking to heart.

All the best to you and your son ... he's a lucky kid!

Keep your chin up ... he's worth nothing less! 

Thanks for writing this -- another great post. 

(sooner or later you'll get tired of my TP's)

[cdif911]

I personally hope you'll try to not get too discouraged from the couple of negative posts here ... there are many caring parents here at CB who will do our best to help your son get this award, and who support New England Youth athletic programs.

Keep in mind that no matter where you go or what you do in this world, there are always a few rotten apples ... but thankfully, they're the exception and not the rule. There can be very few more worthwhile causes than your kids and family, and I pray you are blessed in this awesome effort.

It's amazing to me that some would be so openly counter-productive to such a worthy cause, and then actually want everyone to know about it! Makes you wonder what the motive is behind it, and shows quite clearly that those few negative comments aren't worth taking to heart.

All the best to you and your son ... he's a lucky kid!

Keep your chin up ... he's worth nothing less! 

You're missing the point - essentially this person is begging us to vote for her child b/c we are a part of CB - yet this person has never posted on CB - does she have the right to do this? Absolutely.  Does it annoy me.  Certainly.  It made me annoyed enough to go to the website where I watched all the videos, and the soccer girl really stood out, so I voted for her.  If you do decide to vote, give each kid a chance, don't just vote because a kid is from around here and they have an entitling parent. Vote because you think he/she deserves it (and her son does some great stuff, no doubt, just like the other girl better)

[Bahku]

I personally hope you'll try to not get too discouraged from the couple of negative posts here ... there are many caring parents here at CB who will do our best to help your son get this award, and who support New England Youth athletic programs.

Keep in mind that no matter where you go or what you do in this world, there are always a few rotten apples ... but thankfully, they're the exception and not the rule. There can be very few more worthwhile causes than your kids and family, and I pray you are blessed in this awesome effort.

It's amazing to me that some would be so openly counter-productive to such a worthy cause, and then actually want everyone to know about it! Makes you wonder what the motive is behind it, and shows quite clearly that those few negative comments aren't worth taking to heart.

All the best to you and your son ... he's a lucky kid!

Keep your chin up ... he's worth nothing less! 

You're missing the point - essentially this person is begging us to vote for her child b/c we are a part of CB - yet this person has never posted on CB - does she have the right to do this? Absolutely.  Does it annoy me.  Certainly.  It made me annoyed enough to go to the website where I watched all the videos, and the soccer girl really stood out, so I voted for her.  If you do decide to vote, give each kid a chance, don't just vote because a kid is from around here and they have an entitling parent. Vote because you think he/she deserves it (and her son does some great stuff, no doubt, just like the other girl better)

I think you're missing the point ... this person annoys you because she's asking for help for a worthy cause? What the heck could be more deserving of a local sports web-site's attention or help than our children? And what's so horrible about promoting someone "local"? That's why we're all HERE, for crying-out-loud ... supporting the Celtics, (who are local).

Though I can't for the life of me figure out why this would annoy anybody, so be it ... it annoys you. But here's the real rub for me: If you can't say anything positive, why say anything at all? Especially something worthwhile like this. We can talk about promoting cartoons, and videos, and beer, but not our kids?!? Time to take the high road, and bashing something like this is certainly not something I'd be defending ... or proud about.

[SShoreFan 2.0]

I personally hope you'll try to not get too discouraged from the couple of negative posts here ... there are many caring parents here at CB who will do our best to help your son get this award, and who support New England Youth athletic programs.

Keep in mind that no matter where you go or what you do in this world, there are always a few rotten apples ... but thankfully, they're the exception and not the rule. There can be very few more worthwhile causes than your kids and family, and I pray you are blessed in this awesome effort.

It's amazing to me that some would be so openly counter-productive to such a worthy cause, and then actually want everyone to know about it! Makes you wonder what the motive is behind it, and shows quite clearly that those few negative comments aren't worth taking to heart.

All the best to you and your son ... he's a lucky kid!

Keep your chin up ... he's worth nothing less! 

You're missing the point - essentially this person is begging us to vote for her child b/c we are a part of CB - yet this person has never posted on CB - does she have the right to do this? Absolutely.  Does it annoy me.  Certainly.  It made me annoyed enough to go to the website where I watched all the videos, and the soccer girl really stood out, so I voted for her.  If you do decide to vote, give each kid a chance, don't just vote because a kid is from around here and they have an entitling parent. Vote because you think he/she deserves it (and her son does some great stuff, no doubt, just like the other girl better)

I think you're missing the point ... this person annoys you because she's asking for help for a worthy cause? What the heck could be more deserving of a local sports web-site's attention or help than our children? And what's so horrible about promoting someone "local"? That's why we're all HERE, for crying-out-loud ... supporting the Celtics, (who are local).

Though I can't for the life of me figure out why this would annoy anybody, so be it ... it annoys you. But here's the real rub for me: If you can't say anything positive, why say anything at all? Especially something worthwhile like this. We can talk about promoting cartoons, and videos, and beer, but not our kids?!? Time to take the high road, and bashing something like this is certainly not something I'd be defending ... or proud about.

cdif, you know I have supported your posts many times over, but I think your approach is off on this one.  The high road on this issue is a no-brainer if one has kids -- perhaps a bit more difficult to do so if you are sans kids. 

As a parent we've all sold raffle tickets to friends and strangers to help our kids and we've all bought hoards of "crap" from the countless fundraisers thrust upon us.  It's what we do because nothing in the world is more precious than our children.

I will vote again tomorrow and again the next day -- just as I'd buy the raffle ticket.  It's what we do.

[cdif911]

Though I can't for the life of me figure out why this would annoy anybody, so be it ... it annoys you. But here's the real rub for me: If you can't say anything positive, why say anything at all? Especially something worthwhile like this. We can talk about promoting cartoons, and videos, and beer, but not our kids?!? Time to take the high road, and bashing something like this is certainly not something I'd be defending ... or proud about.

If a random person came on here and made their first post about "check out this website where I earned 100's of dollars and so can you" or even a "vote for Youkalis in the ASG" I think a lot of people would have a problem with it - essentially what is going on here is solicitation. If someone like Redz or SShorefan or Who or even you, or anyone who posted here alot, had our respect and we felt we knew did this, it'd be totally totally different. This is a blatant plea for us from someone who isn't a real part of the community, which makes me be not a huge fan of the ploy.  Now had I thought her son was the most deserving, I would have voted for him, but I felt the girl who I sympathized with (I played on a lot of bad teams before playing for a few good ones) deserved my vote.  If you vote for someone for anything because of where they live or where their from, you're doing yourself and everyone else a disservice.. vote for the kid you think deserves it - don't be a sheep following the flock

[Redz]

Bahku,  Thanks.  I had much the same half-written in the text box then got taken away from the computer by some pesky customers who had the nerve to want to buy some stuff.  Rather than finish typing I figured I'd check and see if you'd taken care of it by then.  And lo and behold you had. 

Well said, and I concur.

[cdif911]

cdif, you know I have supported your posts many times over, but I think your approach is off on this one.  The high road on this issue is a no-brainer if one has kids -- perhaps a bit more difficult to do so if you are sans kids. 

As a parent we've all sold raffle tickets to friends and strangers to help our kids and we've all bought hoards of "crap" from the countless fundraisers thrust upon us.  It's what we do because nothing in the world is more precious than our children.

I will vote again tomorrow and again the next day -- just as I'd buy the raffle ticket.  It's what we do.

I'll admit I have no children, but I do work with them, coach them, all that good stuff.  My problem with this whole thing is the entitlement going on. I've been approached by parents at my work who try to get me to buy stuff their kids are selling.  Do you know how much I hate that?  If a kid comes to me and says can you support whatever it is I'm doing, if I have the cash (or the vote in this case) and I know the kid, know the cause, its a no brainer.  But a parent pushing it is a problem.  Kids these days have everything done for them.  Everything gets handed to them.  The best lesson a kid can learn is how to advocate for himself or herself.  The worst lesson a kid can learn is if I don't do it, Daddy will.  So yes its great to support your kids, every parent should and I'm not faulting the parent for doing that.  Its the approach that bothers me. (and the fact that this is a competition, not a fundraiser, makes me look at all candidates equally, but thats another part of the argument)

[Redz]

cdif, I'll add that all of what you say may be valid, it's just not tactful, in this case, to point it out.  Not a necessary cross to bear.  But, much like the Top 10 beers, to each his/her own. 

as for having the kid "do it himself", I am a believer in this sort of thing too, but in this case it would come across as extremely self-serving. 

One of my rules when hiring kids, is that I immediately rule out a kid if his parent came in to ask for the job for him/her.  It is important for teens to learn to do things for themselves, and it sounds like this kid has a pretty good grip on that, I just don't think this is a case where he could campaign for himself without it being a detriment.  It's got to be Mom, Dad or friends pulling for him in this case.