Paranoid Parents & Paintball 2

[FooTemps]

Hm... I'm looking for more help... You know the drill...

[Dubstar112]

make your parents a deal.. like youll work harder at school if they let you get a pb marker.. ask them what it would take to let you play and have your own marker

try having them talk to other parents who have kids in teh sport

and we could always try to have one of them snail mail convincing thingys :) TRANSLATION= everyone on the board sends a letter addressed your your parents asking politley to let you play!

[Miscue]

Get a job, buy a Mag, hide it under the bed. Haha. (That's kinda what I did actually...) :)

[Puddleglum]

Dude, get your Dad to play with you. My Dad loves it. He doesn't really like my using up money to upgrade but he asks lots of questions(some I can't answer) and he likes the sport. He's just a little worried that is takes too much money. And he's a Lawyer hehe

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by Dubstar112
make your parents a deal.. like youll work harder at school if they let you get a pb marker.. ask them what it would take to let you play and have your own marker

try having them talk to other parents who have kids in teh sport

and we could always try to have one of them snail mail convincing thingys :) TRANSLATION= everyone on the board sends a letter addressed your your parents asking politley to let you play!

Hm... the first one didn't work... I tried it about 4 weeks ago. The second one I can't really find someone's parents who encouraged or allowed their kid to play.

DO THE THIRD OPTION! PM ME FOR THE ADDRESS AND DON'T SEND ME ANTRHAX!!!

[Miscue]

Haha... That would be funny. If a whole bunch of us wrote letters saying it's ok. :)

I'm willing if others do. :)

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by Puddleglum
Dude, get your Dad to play with you. My Dad loves it. He doesn't really like my using up money to upgrade but he asks lots of questions(some I can't answer) and he likes the sport. He's just a little worried that is takes too much money. And he's a Lawyer hehe

My dad is too old to even walk at a fast pace. He's having heart problems right now so he can't. He's also the non physical type that says lots of extreme or rough sports are bad. He says paintball, skateboarding, blading, football, rugby, bmx, motorcross, autocross racing, and hunting is bad.

[Dubstar112]

Originally posted by FooTemps


Hm... the first one didn't work... I tried it about 4 weeks ago. The second one I can't really find someone's parents who encouraged or allowed their kid to play.

DO THE THIRD OPTION! PM ME FOR THE ADDRESS AND DON'T SEND MY ANTRHAX!!!


hmm, i was thinking more along the lines of having a few volunteered members with me too..

so if youd like to help foo out pm him for his addy, and we will agree on the context of the letter when we get a couple more people

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by Miscue
Get a job, buy a Mag, hide it under the bed. Haha. (That's kinda what I did actually...) :)

That was what I was planning to do. I'm planning on buying e_magman's old mag and having him ship it to my friend. Then I'm gonna cover it up by buying a competition RC...

Good idea? NO! but it's a last resort...

[Miscue]

I think this calls for a coordinated effort. Any ideas?

[DrEvil]

competion RC? ....
oh yeah hunting is not bad

[Dubstar112]

Miscue, we should get a couple other people, and all send a message with the same idea... but we dont want any nasty-grams for other people thinking of this!

[WickeDKlowN]

Originally posted by FooTemps

...AND DON'T SEND MY ANTRHAX!!!

How could we send you your anthrax? j/k, i know what you ment.

hmm, that RC car idea sounds good, but if everyone else sends letters, i will.

[FooTemps]

I'll name all the things that didn't work... In order

1. asking nicely
2. sucking up
3. arguing
4. reason
5. second opinion
6. being persistant
7. being nicer
8. arguing harder
9. "screw you I'm going anyways"
10. "WAHH!!! I WANT IT!!! WAHH!!!"
11. trying to get better grades (I have A, A+, A-, B, B+, B-)
12. threatening to take drugs
13. ::sigh:: depression act
14. silent treatment
15. loud treatment
16. smartassness

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by FooTemps
I'll name all the things that didn't work... In order

1. asking nicely
2. sucking up
3. arguing
4. reason
5. second opinion
6. being persistant
7. being nicer
8. arguing harder
9. "screw you I'm going anyways"
10. "WAHH!!! I WANT IT!!! WAHH!!!"
11. trying to get better grades (I have A, A+, A-, B, B+, B-)
12. threatening to take drugs
13. ::sigh:: depression act
14. silent treatment
15. loud treatment
16. smartassness

OH, and I forgot begging... that sould be #4 instead and just bump everything down 1...

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by DrEvil
competion RC? ....
oh yeah hunting is not bad

Competition racing RC car. I meant to say competition.

[RaV3n_Pa1ntba||]

pm tom see if he can like talk to your parents on the phone or mail them or sumtin. Hes an extremely nice guy im sure he is willing to do it, especially considering he would be inheritting another mag owner (more $$$$ j/k but really)

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by RaV3n_Pa1ntba||
pm tom see if he can like talk to your parents on the phone or mail them or sumtin. Hes an extremely nice guy im sure he is willing to do it, especially considering he would be inheritting another mag owner (more $$$$ j/k but really)

Sounds good but I think the only thing that would change their minds is if tom came up to seattle and talked to my parents in person... Maybe a paintball rally in front of my house would work...

I need overwhelming power to convince my parents. I tried family, friends, family friends, fellow players, articles, printouts, and data charts... NONE HAVE WORKED. You know why? They refuse to listen, read, or watch whatever I give to them. I'd have force my parents and that means that maybe 3000 letters from the ao members or a couple teams and/or paintball experts/contributors visit my house would have to show up to MAYBE convince my parents.

[Tunaman]

Originally posted by FooTemps


That was what I was planning to do. I'm planning on buying e_magman's old mag and having him ship it to my friend. Then I'm gonna cover it up by buying a competition RC...

Good idea? NO! but it's a last resort... Don't do it Bro...especially with guns...Earn their repect and wait till its OK to get a gun. You have your whole life adead of you. Don't blow it. I like the Idea of sending your parents a nice letter.:D

[DrEvil]

Originally posted by FooTemps


Competition racing RC car. I meant to say competition.

I got a couple of those, rc10ls and an old Pro10 from the early 90's. superspeedway cars no offroad for meGot alot of trophies hangin up from them.

[X-Plosive]

screw that, Buy it and hide it.

[LittMag]

FooTemps - peace with your parents and getting along with them is more important than paintball. You've dragged this on for how many months now? They don't want you to play, you've tried everything short of going behind their backs.

[FooTemps]

I've never had peace with my parents. It is almost impossible because they were from old world china... They don't understand how things work in the here and now very well. They are very traditionalist while I'm not.

Not to mention that my dad really likes to get me mad for entertainment purposes...

[mag59459]

well i think the silent treatment did it for me, about 6 years ago. That and a 2 page paper on why paintball is safe and why i should play. Of course alls i wanted back then was a good old tigershark and a mask. Cost my angry parents about 60 bucks for christmas, pump lasted for about 3 months then I got an f-4. That was a piece of crp that lasted a little more than 3 months, I've had a mag ever since. Anyway the moral for the story is, try starting small. Ask for a talon and then go ahead an "break" it when you have enough saved up for a good gun. Make the impression that you need a paintball gun to fit in. Its worth a try. And if nothing else works buy a gun and hide it, i've done that for a few friends.

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by mag59459
well i think the silent treatment did it for me, about 6 years ago. That and a 2 page paper on why paintball is safe and why i should play. Of course alls i wanted back then was a good old tigershark and a mask. Cost my angry parents about 60 bucks for christmas, pump lasted for about 3 months then I got an f-4. That was a piece of crp that lasted a little more than 3 months, I've had a mag ever since. Anyway the moral for the story is, try starting small. Ask for a talon and then go ahead an "break" it when you have enough saved up for a good gun. Make the impression that you need a paintball gun to fit in. Its worth a try. And if nothing else works buy a gun and hide it, i've done that for a few friends.

Well, besides the point, I did all those things to let me play more than once every three months...

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by Tunaman
Don't do it Bro...especially with guns...Earn their repect and wait till its OK to get a gun. You have your whole life adead of you. Don't blow it. I like the Idea of sending your parents a nice letter.:D

I tried that for a couple years. That didn't work. They don't respect who I am and that I am not what they want me to be. I don't fit their mold so they are kinda rude to me.

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by cujdik
im lucky my mom is cool about me playing paintball i just told her im getting a paintball gun and shes like ok. my friends mom is just like your parents ive asked her if my friend could play and she still keeps saying no til this day. somewhere one one of the boards there is a post from some insurance company or something showing the staticts that prove paintball is safer than every sport including bowling if it will help i will try to find it

paul

I showed my mom and dad the stats... they didn't read it and told me to stop trying to get into "a stupid game"

[shupore]

well I have a friend who's parents are just like yours, they're also traditional and from china. they dont let him out of the house without them knowing, he has to call his mom to make sure he can play basketball on his driveway. anways, I was the one that got him into paintball and got him hooked. the first time we went, we were planning on going to an amusement park but ended up going paintball, when his parents found out, they were pissed. so he kept on begging for like a 2 months for his dad to just come and watch. when his dad finally came to watch, he saw that he was having alot of fun and that paintball is a pretty safe sport. now his dad buys him almost everything he wants for paintball. hope I helped

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by shupore
well I have a friend who's parents are just like yours, they're also traditional and from china. they dont let him out of the house without them knowing, he has to call his mom to make sure he can play basketball on his driveway. anways, I was the one that got him into paintball and got him hooked. the first time we went, we were planning on going to an amusement park but ended up going paintball, when his parents found out, they were pissed. so he kept on begging for like a 2 months for his dad to just come and watch. when his dad finally came to watch, he saw that he was having alot of fun and that paintball is a pretty safe sport. now his dad buys him almost everything he wants for paintball. hope I helped

I've been trying for almost over a year now. I've done everything imaginable but my parents are far to arrogant to listen to me because I'm not an adult. They think that the image in their head, people running around trying to kill each other with paint, is right and my experience is wrong.

[the JoKeR]

If you're up against culture mixed with an iron-will, best of luck to you. Obviously, you don't want to harm your relationship with your parents over a game. You just might be stuck waiting 'till you're 18 and 'legally' on your own. If you buy it and hide it, and they find out, sounds like you're screwed. Don't risk trashing the relationship with your folks.
As a father of two, I'm just hoping that when my kids get old enough, they'll go with me to play! Hell, I'll even buy their equipment! With my luck, they'll like some easy sport, like rugby.

[FooTemps]

The thing is, I don't want to wait. I probably can't stay interested if I can't play very much.

[FooTemps]

Is anyone gonna pm me about the letters or what?

[Thordic]

Dude, I hate to be the one to say this, but if it hasn't worked by now, I don't think anything will work. If your parents have been unreasonable about listening so far, I don't see them changing thier minds.

I know it sucks, but it seems like you are stuck with it. Either give up and wait till you are 18, or play behind thier backs. Other than that, you are screwed.

As for those guardian signatures on the form, they never check them.

It's your call...

[FooTemps]

I'm not going to use THE LAST DITCH RESORT yet.

I'm gonna try to use overpowering force. Where are some players that are located near seattle, washington that would like to help me out? I'm gonna call a meeting at my house so we can talk to my parents...

[clockworkmiller]

Foo, how old are you? I had the same problem. And I mean the same exact problem. I explained to them how paintballing is safer than driving (they were gung ho buying me a car). I had print outs. I had a 30 minute presentation. None of that worked. So I held a conference with my friends during lunch one day (remember, I was in high school then) and we figured how much money I had, and what I could do. So I spoke to my parents, and they agreed that instead of me buying a gun, they would pay for me to go paintballing twice. I used that money, bought a Spyder TL Plus, and kept it at my friends house. I just recently sold it for a mag.

Trust me, if you have good friends, then this is the way to go. Im now 18 and a proud owner of a mag. Dont be patient, just lie, cheat, and steal your way to a mag.

On the other hand, if your problem is that they dont want you to go paintballing period, then you're gonna have to be a bit more devious.

I suggest telling them you're going to hang out with friends one day. Plan ahead, and get whatever you're gonna wear paintballing over to your friends house a day or two in advance. Walk out wearing shorts and a shirt, so they wont suspect a thing. Then, as long as you dont start sweating bullets, then you're fine. Also, afterwards, take a shower to get dirt and sweat and paint off. A good idea is to tell them you're going swimming/beach. This way you can get away with leaving in the AM for an all day thing.

Good Luck.

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by clockworkmiller
Foo, how old are you? I had the same problem. And I mean the same exact problem. I explained to them how paintballing is safer than driving (they were gung ho buying me a car). I had print outs. I had a 30 minute presentation. None of that worked. So I held a conference with my friends during lunch one day (remember, I was in high school then) and we figured how much money I had, and what I could do. So I spoke to my parents, and they agreed that instead of me buying a gun, they would pay for me to go paintballing twice. I used that money, bought a Spyder TL Plus, and kept it at my friends house. I just recently sold it for a mag.

Trust me, if you have good friends, then this is the way to go. Im now 18 and a proud owner of a mag. Dont be patient, just lie, cheat, and steal your way to a mag.

On the other hand, if your problem is that they dont want you to go paintballing period, then you're gonna have to be a bit more devious.

I suggest telling them you're going to hang out with friends one day. Plan ahead, and get whatever you're gonna wear paintballing over to your friends house a day or two in advance. Walk out wearing shorts and a shirt, so they wont suspect a thing. Then, as long as you dont start sweating bullets, then you're fine. Also, afterwards, take a shower to get dirt and sweat and paint off. A good idea is to tell them you're going swimming/beach. This way you can get away with leaving in the AM for an all day thing.

Good Luck.

Dang.... I will have to use THE LAST DITCH RESORT then? Well, then I guess I'll be out of paintball until spring then. :sigh: (we need a :sigh: smiley) I'm not a dishonest person and I don't want to be on bad terms with my parents.

[Cliffio]

hey foo
this is WAY OT but i didnt know that courage was left handed, thats pretty cool:)
later
Cliff

p.s.- just tell em your gonna play and nothing they can do will stop you:)
wait.... no dont do that

[clockworkmiller]

Well, here's an idea then. Offer to take your parents to the paintball field in your area. Not to play, but to just observer. You'll probably find some friendly tech people to help you out. And you probably can get a couple AO members to decide to go paintballing that day =).

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by clockworkmiller
Well, here's an idea then. Offer to take your parents to the paintball field in your area. Not to play, but to just observer. You'll probably find some friendly tech people to help you out. And you probably can get a couple AO members to decide to go paintballing that day =).

Well, when your parents are as hard headed as mine it's kinda hard to get them to even step in the direction of a paintball field...

[headcase]

might be too late to try this(too close to x-mas, too late in season) But tell your parents the only thing you want for the holidays is for them to come to the field and watch you play for a day. As long as you mean it, usually a little bit of their time is cheaper than whatever gifts you might have gotten.

I've seen it work for a friend.

Later
SSDD

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by headcase
might be too late to try this(too close to x-mas, too late in season) But tell your parents the only thing you want for the holidays is for them to come to the field and watch you play for a day. As long as you mean it, usually a little bit of their time is cheaper than whatever gifts you might have gotten.

I've seen it work for a friend.

Later
SSDD

They said they'd rather have me buy a $600 competition RC than a $275 used automag... What makes them think they would give me that as a gift if they would give me almost $1000 dollars for christmas instead? I wish they would do that for me but they don't understand that paintball is my passion.

[Riot[Z-Grip]]

ummm... FooTemps.... if you haven't noticed, you've got PM.

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by IWannaRiot979
ummm... FooTemps.... if you haven't noticed, you've got PM.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!

Ok, we've got one volunteer to write a letter... who else will join in the "drive to help Alex (me) play paintball"?

I hope you guys can agree on sending the letters all at the same time so it will be easier for me to keep them from being thrown away.

[FooTemps]

up... Please pm me so you can mail a letter and help me out...

[joeyjoe367]

Hey Foo, I think I know where you're comming from. I'm Korean and my parents are pretty strict but not nearly as bad as yours. It actually doesn't even seem to be a matter of "strictness"

If your Mom and Dad won't even acknowledge that you love paintball and want to keep playing, then I think you've got some bigger problems.

My parents are very strict, but I can 'still talk to them, Make deals, etc... In fact, my Dad drove me to my first game of paintball and there he saw that it was nothing more than a game.


BTW, You said you live in Seattle, where do you go when you DO get to play?

[FooTemps]

Where ever my friends take me... Random fields, splat attack, stp(supposed to go), bill & jim's(planning stages)

[joeyjoe367]

Ugh... Bill and Jims... Do yourself a favor and don't even bother.

There's a mandatory rental of guns (ACI Maverick Pumps) and paint is $1 per/10 rnds.

No BYOP either.

Stay @ Splat-attack or STP if you can help it. I play @ Splat-Attack, and I think it's the best in Western washington.

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by joeyjoe367
Ugh... Bill and Jims... Do yourself a favor and don't even bother.

There's a mandatory rental of guns (ACI Maverick Pumps) and paint is $1 per/10 rnds.

No BYOP either.

Stay @ Splat-attack or STP if you can help it. I play @ Splat-Attack, and I think it's the best in Western washington.

Splat attack is the best in my opinion too. bill and jim's is my friends idea, it's closer so his parents are willing to drive.

[Dude]

Okay,

So here is what I did to get a paintball marker.

I did everything that you did excluding numbers nine and 12, because those would have definately backfired. When I was twelve I played paintball with a friend and his dad in 1998 in an indoor place in Maryland. After the first day I loved the game, but my parents said that they wouldn't take me to play.
A month earlier that friend had a birthday party and he wanted to go paintballing and his parents were against the idea. My friend and I set up a mock court and we argued for doing the friend's party at the place in Maryland. We went to try it once and everyone, including the kid's dad, had a lot of fun. My parents, feeling the need to recipricate (sp?), took some frinds and I to play. Then the parents of another friend wanted to take kids to play. Soon we were playing about once every month. Then we started wanting markers. To make a six month story short, I tried almost everything that you did almost every day. In the spring of that year, I found an add for Tippmann model 98's for $150, which was really cheap at the time, and I told my parents that we could ship the gun to our cousin's house, because that was a good place to play. I first asked my parents to let me try the gun once at another field near my house to make sure that it worked and was the one that I wanted. After that, I begged my parents to not send the gun to my cousin's house and they were too tired of arguing to try to defeat my wishes on the long fought over issue.

My method probably will not work for you. I like the ideas suggested so far and I will gladly send emails to your parents saying something like:

Dear Parents of (you name goes here),

Let (your name go here) play paintball and buy a paintball marker. Paintball is a legitament (sp) SPORT, and is not a game that rednecks play to simulate war.

Thanks you for your time.

Oh yeah how old are you? This is important because the younger you are the less likely it is that this plan will succeed.

[RaV3n_Pa1ntba||]

Dear Parents of Alex,

I am have come to concern that you obviously don’t like paintball. As much as you love your son, it seems you don’t give him any say in life. Sooner or later he will be out in college and before you know it on to his own life, him looking back saying wow im so happy im gone.... the way my parents treated me was horrid. Wouldn’t you rather have your son saying, god I love my parents, they helped me when I struggled, supported me when I was down, and give me loaners when I needed money. As I can tell your son seems to be a very eager child and wants to join the paintball world. I started paintball when I was 8 years old, and went to an older friend of mind to play for his birthday. Till I was 11 I played paintball only at birthday parties because of course at the time my parents too didn’t believe I was mature enough yet alone old enough to own a paintball marker. I said whatever, sooner or later I will own one once I prove myself I am worthy to this sport. I’m now 17 years old, and I have owned many paintball markers, went through the bad and the great times of paintball and will not quit. The college that I am going to has a Paintball Club so in two years when I do go off to college I will be enjoying this sport there as well as I am now. From experience I haven’t injured myself in paintball, from my marker, from diving or sliding, nothing. Never the less have I seen any serious injuries unless you consider a twisted ankle or little bruise from sliding. And of course when a paintball hits you, it’s going to hurt, but once you feel that it’s really nothing you get use to it. For the 6 years of serious paintballing I have come to the conclusion that paintballs don’t hurt from tolerances and time, yet alone to say that they wont hurt after 2 or 3 games of your first day of play. I am sure as determined as your son is he went over and over to show you the equipment you were which I am sure HE STRESSED that you wear a mask in which is more durable than your car door. Yet as your son posts on these boards, he goes through hell, he asks for help on whether to convince his parents that this sport is good, and from what I can see he is an honest kid and does not want to lose your respect. But from my aspect it seems that you have no respect for your son, as good parents as you may be and support him, he still needs some fun to spice up his life until he is an adult. Stories to look back at and say wow my life was great, better yet pass on this sport to his children and EVEN play it himself. This sport is very, very safe, not to mention how much exercise you get in one day compared to say a football game. Running, yet alone how much of your mind you use. In life it is said that you most likely only use 10% of your brain, well I come to notice that I think I am using 20 percent of my brain when playing. Planning, strategy, how am I going to win etc. you have to plan ahead, paintball is like chess except better because your getting in shape. Also there has been lot less injuries in paintball less than tennis, BOWLING and even shown in current studies cheerleading. Paintball is one of the best sports there is today, and our community is one of the best, we are trying to make it best, more public based. But by getting more members into our world, we even try to help others so they can experience what we do and to encourage their friends to join and parents. Have I yet to say that I play paintball with my father in which we have developed a great relationship. We have things to talk about etc. My dad loves paintball just as much as me...just toned down a tad. I play paintball once a month with him alone, yet to mention I play 4 times a month myself, with a team. By letting your son into the paintball community your only doing him better, and I am sure he will be safe, majestic, and a terrific paintballer. He also will be the many others "officially" involved in this sport. Unlike other sports that kids his age might be involved in (skateboarding, motocross, hockey, laccrosse etc.) Im sure he will have much more fun with this yet to mention HOW MUCH LESS injuries. I use to skateboard and do all those, as much fun as I had, I always got injured some way or another taking my play away from my sport, paintball. Now my sports are paintball and lacrosse in which I enjoy a lot.
Your son will appreciate you and your decision if it is positive. And he will be welcomed to our community and will only encounter positive achievements, and goals.

I have participated in helping your son to get into paintball. I hope you read this letter, and after talk to your son about it, instead of just turning away, your son is a person too and he should be treated with just as much respect and reverence as he gives to you. By reading this letter you will fully understand your son and what he is going through, which with this knowledge you will acquire you might have a better view of what he wants and how much he wants it.


-Vincent "Raven" Pagnotta (of AO)

[Dude]

Great letter Raven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RaV3n_Pa1ntba||]

yeah i know i worked hard on this...cant wait till temps sees it

[magic55]

my mom wouldn't let us get guns so one of her friends talked her into it and then i got her playing and now i can spend all the money i want on paintball.:D shes so into it now

[FooTemps]

Print the letter out? I like the letter a lot. I don't know if printing it out will work because my parents might think I'm bs'ing it under a different name.

[WickeDKlowN]

well i guess im lucky, because my dad bought me my first few guns, and even tried to pay for half of my first mag. and he dosnt care if i play, and my mom, actually wants me and my cousin to play.

heres an idea, get a stack of 20 or so waivers, offer to get your parents a drink, and when you get it, load it with vodka or something, to get them drunk, and get them to sign all the waivers, and hide them under your bed or something. as for the gun, get it shipped to a friends house, and say your going to the beach or something when you go to play.

[RaV3n_Pa1ntba||]

give me your parents email addresses...or give me your real address i will mail it to you (prefer mail...or show them it on the boards....

[Zo]

theres no way that you could be bsing it because its post marked from NJ..

[RaV3n_Pa1ntba||]

also..if i could trust you , you could get permission from an admid to get me and your ips...and have an admid send an email to you. And show them that there too different ips...because im extremely too lazy to send out a letter as much as i wanna help you. Can you give me your parents email adresses

[FooTemps]

sorry, my parents don't know what an ip is and they don't have email either... you don't have to send a letter right away or anything. Heck, you can send the letter in a week if you want to. You could always type up the letter, print it, then snail mail it to me...

UP! I'd like some more letters from you guys! I don't think this will be enough!

[FooTemps]

UP!

[FooTemps]

Could someone please pm me about sending my parents a letter?

[beachboy016]

Count me in for the letter if we get some more people to do it.

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by beachboy016
Count me in for the letter if we get some more people to do it.

We've got 5 people doing it already... pm me for the address...

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by headcase
might be too late to try this(too close to x-mas, too late in season) But tell your parents the only thing you want for the holidays is for them to come to the field and watch you play for a day. As long as you mean it, usually a little bit of their time is cheaper than whatever gifts you might have gotten.

I've seen it work for a friend.

Later
SSDD

I just tried it. They gave me a weird look then laughed...