The Anonymous Widower

Babies At The Olympics

There was a right-old cat-fight on BBC Breakfast, this morning about whether babies should be allowed in free with their mothers at the Olympics.

I can understand the problem, as what do you do, if you’ve bought tickets and your baby has now arrived.

I am a season ticket holder at Ipswich and I’ve never seen a baby near where I sit at Home matches.  There are a few ladies of child-bearing age around where I sit, and I can remember a few youngsters of about five coming in and being a bit bored.  But babies no, as I suppose if you have one, you leave it at home. Which in Ipswich’s case is probably less than an hour away or so, as most season ticket holders are probably fairly local.

But when it comes to away matches it is rather different. I’ve seen several, often dressed in an Ipswich baby suit.  No-one has been bothered, but then although Ipswich usually take a fair number of supporters, there is often quite a few spare seats, so the stewards don’t mind if an extra one is used for a bag with all the baby things. The local effect probably comes into play too, as you might be an Ipswich fan living in say Bristol and this is your one chance to see the team every season.

I should also say, I’ve never seen a baby behaving as to annoy anybody, but then football is a game of two forty-five minute halves with plenty of time before, in the middle and at the end to attend to the baby.

You could also argue it’s good for the baby, as they get used to being in a crowd.

Remember, too, I’ve been to a lot of horse-race meetings. Babies are generally welcomed and all children under 16 are let in free. However, this may not apply to the biggest of meetings like the Derby, although when I went this year, there were a few prams about in the cheaper enclosure I was in.

But the Olympics will be different, as some events like the athletics are quite long and you wouldn’t want to inflict that on a baby and the people around you.

On a personal note, I would prefer to sit next to a woman with a baby, than say someone eating popcorn or a burger, as I can’t abide the smell of either.

Or they could take a leaf out of horse racing’s book and have a free creche.

January 25, 2012 - Posted by AnonW | News, Sport | Family