The Stanley Cup is watched in over 170 countries and yet hockey remains one of the least understood sports. Of course, that doesn?t stop even casual viewers from feeling the excitement of hockey. As parents we?re often too engaged in the important stuff to take the time to learn about an activity that?s not a direct part of our lives. But think just how much more a sport can come alive, once you understand its particular code, rules and language. Plus, down the road, when your kid?s playing in the big game of the season, your knowledge of the game will make you their most valuable fan.
For example, it?s easy to see that many teammates do a lot of their talking with special signals. By playing close attention, you can learn a team?s strategy and then begin to appreciate the nuances of the game. Next time you?re watching baseball, just keep your eye on the catcher?s hand signals and you?ll soon get the hang of it.
If you?re lucky, that is. If you?re one of those people who don?t ?get? sports, all the signals just seem to get crossed. For instance, what are those numbers the quarterback yells out during a football game? What do the referee?s hand signs mean? And why do they keep throwing a red flag in the air at your daughter?s soccer game?
More importantly, how do you get your spouse or partner?s attention when the big game?s on?
Maybe it?s time you took a sports-conscious friend out to lunch and learned the lingo.
What special sports codes have relevance to you? Is there a catch phrase you use (like ?time out?) that comes straight from a game? How has understanding sports codes helped you communicate with your family, especially your star team players? Feel free to ?get your game face on? and share your favorite sports codes or expressions with them. Enter your sports codes in the comment field below and we?ll randomly select 25 responders to receive a Code Orange Digital Thermometer.
See Sweepstakes Official Rules
Return to the Code Orange group
Code Orange group Comment Policy
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 12
"be a team player"
"keep your head up"
"you dont always have to win, It is ok to lose"
"you learn from your mistakes"
"you dont always have to be first to win"
Great article! Thanks!
then there is It is always a scream...GET OUT!
And its OUTTA HEEERE!
For a "time out" when hubby is watching a game -- usually turning off the sound works. ;-)
Or if we have errands to run I'd say "we have to run the bases before we can go home!"
Our favorite baseball term: "Strike One!" Usually used when children begin acting like crazed team mascots.
Our favorite hockey term: "Penalty!" Usually used when children begin acting like angry hockey players.
Our favorite football term: "Time Out!" Enough said.
Our favorite basketball term: "Slam Dunk!" When child does a great job on something.
Spouse-attention-getter when a big game's on: "Honey! Pause the DVR a second!"