AIBU to be shocked by my 7 yr old DS swearing at a football match?

[london]

MY DH has re-discovered his inner football fan as DS has shown more interest in both playing and watching football. He takes both DS and DD (11) to watch a local premier league team. Yesterday at the game DS shouted 'fuck off' at an unpopular player. This happened during a relatively quiet moment, and apparently everyone around dissolved into laughter. On hearing this I was definitely NOT amused. DH - slightly sobered by my reaction - pointed out he doesn't swear anywhere else - too right he doesn't! Both DC really enjoy going to the football with their dad and I - had you guessed? - don't see the appeal of the game at all. But I really dislike the exposure to such aggressive behaviour - particularly if they start to copy this behaviour as DS did. Any views? How do other people who take their young kids to watch football manage this?

I guess the reassuring thing is that he is able to pitch his language to be appropriate to the situation

I wouldn't be happy about the aggression thing as you say, but to me that is a separate issue from the actual swearing

It sounds like he wanted to fit in with what he heard around him. I wouldn't necessarily be shocked, but I would lay down some groundrules if he wanted to go again and get your DH to reinforce them!

this is why I hate football and do everything in my power to dissuade ds from getting interested.

First of all it's swearing,. then drinking, then fighting. Can't your dh take him fly-fishing instead

it's one of those rights of passage that goes with going to your first match with the old man. nick hornby got it bang on in his description in fever pitch.

Think your DH is at fault here. I would be if my 7yo did that and he has been to several football matches with either me or DH.

oh and as someone who has been in football my whole life, fighting and drinking are not natural progressions from being involved in the game.
i steered away from drinking until later in my teens than most of my mates because i was quite a promising footballer and would have a match on saturday mornings so couldn't be out on the lash straight after school on friday nights.admittedly i drink a fair amount now but it has nothing to do with football and more so to do with the social aspects/the drinking culture in ireland.
as for fighting i think i have been in one fight in my life which i did not choose to get involved in. only scumbags get involved in fighting and thuggery and i would be severely pushed to believe football was the reason for someone turning into such a scumbag.
football is merely the excuse these people use to justify their fighting and if it wasn't football they'd use some other guise.

so, it's at an unpopular player? and then it's at an unpopular school mate..and then one of your family who are 'unpopular' at any given moment.......crush it right now! It just isn't funny.

and all of what theBod said.

DS1 once swore at a footie match, and then realising what he'd said, dived under the chair. (can't remember his age, be about 10 I think).

Doesn't necessarily lead onto drinking and fighting!

Although DH has been known to have fisticuffs now and again.

He's also known to end up in the ground detention room...like yesterday

Thanks for all yr advice. That is why I hate football too, nametaken, altho I can see the beneftis from playing . Not sure flyfishing involves the same level of camaderie (sp?) . I thought about Nick Hornby too, theBod. I think I already knew that getting DH to enforce some ground rules was the answer - but needed the reassurance. THanks!