Not being dads ourselves, we can make the audacious claim that being a team superfan is a lot like raising a child. You watch them both from their creation (or beginning of the season) and experience highs and lows that make you feel good inside… or want to tie them up in a chair and threaten them. That’s what a Wisconsinite Matthew Kowald did when his kid didn’t want to wear a Packers jersey during last weekend’s Green Bay playoff victory, so he taped the 7-year-old down and put it on him. But the father says that it’s all one big misunderstanding and that it was all a big joke. Ha… ha?

Upset that his 7-year-old son wouldn’t wear a Green Bay Packers jersey during the team’s playoff victory Saturday, [Kowald] restrained the boy for an hour with tape and taped the jersey onto him.

Kowald, contacted later Wednesday by the Portage Daily Register, said the incident started as a joke. His son challenged him by saying he wouldn’t root for the Packers. When he tied the boy up, the youngster was laughing while his wife took pictures, he said.

District Attorney Jane Kohlwey said there wasn’t enough evidence to support felony charges.

“I wouldn’t agree with what he did, but legally a parent can restrain a child,” she said. “I have no proof of emotional damage. … I have to follow the law.

Yeah, no proof. Let’s just wait ‘till he 22 and he snaps and takes hostages at a local Staples during a trip down the tape aisle, or worse yet to the Packer faithful, becomes a Vikings fan.

Dad jailed for making son wear Pack jersey [Sporting News]
Image [simplynutmeg.com]