Dear Tell All: I’m a single dad whose son plays on a Regent Soccer Club team. This fall, a new kid joined our team after moving to Madison from the Twin Cities. He’s considerably better than everybody else and has given the team a nice boost. More significantly for me, his mother is also single, not to mention beautiful and charming. Well, mostly charming. Let me explain.
I struck up a conversation with her on the sidelines early in the season, and we’ve gravitated to each other at every game since then. We have a lot in common and get along great. I’ve been working up the nerve to ask her out, but I have one reservation: She’s a soccer mom with a vengeance.
She’s delightful until a game starts. At that point, she transforms into a demon, screaming at her own son and the other players. Myself, I don’t take the games too seriously — the kids are in elementary school, for God’s sake — but she treats them as life-or-death affairs. She berates the players for making bad passes and failing to stay in their positions. Worst of all, she berates the referees when she believes they’ve made the wrong call. Which is often.
Then, when the game is over, she turns back into a normal person, all sweetness and light. That’s the person I’d like to date.
Should I go for it, or is her demonic soccer-mom persona too much of a warning sign?
Sporting Life
Dear Sporting Life: Go for it. A lot of Americans who lose their minds over sports are perfectly wonderful people the rest of the time. It sounds like your soccer mom is one of those, so why pass up the chance for love over some harmless screaming once or twice a week? Besides, it is annoying when the kids don’t stay in position.
That said, you should definitely be alert to warning signs. If she ever screams at you or your son in a non-sporting context, let her know that she’s forfeited the game.
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