There are many skills you need to have as a father that you never thought you would need. One skill I’ve rarely if ever seen discussed is being skilled in carnival games. 

You go to a fair, carnival, or the Jersey Shore, there are games all over the place with these massive prizes that are bright, vibrant colors intended to catch your child’s eye and make them beg you to win it for them. At this point, your choice is clear – you either deal with the kid who is begging and/or throwing a tantrum over the prize they’ll never use, or you shell out a lot of money trying to win that prize. On a hot and sticky June day, the former really isn’t much of an option. 

Fortunately, for me, I’m really good at carnival games. What was once a useless skill is now of vital importance. Two months ago, it was the ring toss. Today, it was Down a Clown. We’ve all seen some version of it somewhere:  

Note: not the actual game played today. 

Essentially, you get bean bags to try to knock down three clowns. Most fail. Even people who are good at baseball or have decent aim fail. The reason they fail is the big windup. Instead, they need to throw it more like a catcher. Think Paul Lo Duca pitching to David Wright in the 2006 Homerun Derby. 

You just want to have that catcher’s snap throw. The shorter the windup, the less likely you’re going to be off target. 

In any event, I got it first try, and my son was first given an inflatable Yankees bat, which I’m proud to say he didn’t want. Instead, we walked away with an inflatable hammer:

  
It sure was fun blowing that thing up while my brother was trying to deflate it at the same time. It was also fun giving a two year old what really amounted to an inflatable weapon. With that said, happy son means we all had fun!  
Better yet, we didn’t have to see the putrid effort the Mets put up on Sunday. At least now, we have the tool to hammer some fundamentals into them.