Yesterday I was watching a PGF qualifier winners bracket game that was super close all the way until the end. There was a college coach in the stands from one of the 2019 WCWS teams. There could have been other college coaches there but I only saw the one coach from my vantage point. Up to that point one of the teams, from a top So Cal organization, had received two warnings from the plate umpire for outbursts. The umpire called strike 3 on the batter (looking). At best the call was questionable. This was out #3, but that wasn't the end of the game, just the end of that inning. One of the parents responded by shouting "You Suck" to the umpire at the top of his lungs, and then quickly retreated into the crowd behind him. Several more parents grumbled and the batter stood there for quite a but with her hands up and mouth opened, staring at the umpire like he was crazy.
As someone that has missed the mark several times, I would never sit here and proclaim that I am above making an equally foolish mistake, but I was thankful to be able to see and learn from this without having a stake in that game. I do however believe this illustration might help some of us parents see that their is a bigger picture at play that we could be negatively affecting by over-investing our emotions in the little picture.