Dick Van Patten Goes to the Dogs
I grew up watching Dick Van Patten on “Eight is Enough” and so when I moved to Los Angeles and started working with young actors and actresses, I snagged a copy of his book at the store and read it fairly quickly. While a critical review of his book is not really the place here, I found it rather disappointing, since the book’s photos and examples related to his own experiences as a child actor and really were not relevant to what young performers are going through today.
Naturally when I heard his name on Good Morning America today I was intrigued and sat down to see what he was up to. Well, he is up to no good in my opinion.
We have all heard the horror stories of over-zealous parents at youth sports activities, and I saw it firsthand at the Iowa Games this summer. However, Mr. Patten has taken this to an extreme high by sponsoring a 9-year-old baseball team in Thousand Oaks, California.
Not only is Mr. Patten buying sponsoring the team with his new “Natural Balance” pet food company, but he has gone overboard in terms of outfitting the team. According to an article in the LA Daily News, Patten has bought not one but two sets of uniforms for the team (home vs visitors I guess) and has also purchased over $10,000 in pitching machines, fly ball machines and other contraptions designed to help the youngsters win more games. He also hired a professional baseball coach to coach the team to victory.
Today on Good Morning America, Patten exclaimed that baseball is “a war” and he is helping the “men” be the best they can be.
A war? Men? These are 9-year-old boys Mr. Patten.
Patten should know, both from his own experience as a young actor, and from his book, that youth in sports have some of the same concerns as those in the entertainment industry - the requirement to perform. The kids seem to love it because they are learning more, but is this teaching kids the right thing - that money buys success? One of the parents on the Pony league team is none other than Lenny Dykstra (former Mets star who happens to have a kick-ass car wash in my former home of Simi Valley).
Its a shame that Mr. Patten is using these boys as publicity for his pet food company, and is obviously enjoying all the media attention he is getting. His attitude in the interviews I have seen are disgusting - he loves it.
Some of us, though, Mr. Patten are NOT amused. And I certainly will not be purchasing any product you recommend.
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I have to agree here. It’s great that companies sponsor kids teams (I know that companies such as Npower over here in the UK sponsor some kids football (soccer) teams), but it’s a measured approach. A single kit with the sponsor’s name on, some equipment etc maybe, but Van Patten’s sponsorship is most certainly out of proportion, and doesn’t teach what a sport such as that should.
Another thing is there is a crisps (potato chips) company here which exchanges vouchers from theur bags of product for sports equipment for schools. Whilst this is a noble gesture, it was calculated that the number of bags of product required to get the ‘cheapest’ item of equipment was phenomenal. If this isn’t encouraging poor diet, I don’t know what is!