While we were gathering our things at the table, we had a man come up to us and say, "Can I ask you a question as a parent?" And my immediate response was, "If you have a question, please run it through your team's head coach." He said, "I'm just trying to learn the game, and I want to know when you call pushing. How many steps do they get?" This confirmed that my initial reaction was correct, and I repeated that he should talk about it with his team's coach.
It really sucks, because I would be happy to help people learn about lacrosse, but the upside of talking to a guy like this, who was obviously with the team that just lost by 12, is small compared to the potential downside you can run into if the conversation goes south. So the guy went over to talk to his coach, and we finished grabbing our stuff and got out of there.
Upset coach approaching an official after a game, upset parent approaching an official, upset official approaching a coach: I like to say, "Nothing good can come from it."
FWIW, I am pretty sure that the push calls we did and didn't make during the game had no effect on the outcome.
Thoughts?