Dear parents & fans: No matter how closely you watch the game, you can’t possibly see it through our eyes.

We’re the ones who scouted the opponent, prepared a game plan, watched gamefilms until the sun came up, spent an hour in the training room after practice on Tuesday with our third-string left guard who may have a concussion, created and revised five practice schedules, helped two kids find new shoulder pads on game day, and then spent three hours on the sidelines in the heat of battle with a marching band blaring in our headphones and three student-managers who can‘t seem to find water bottles during a timeout.

You showed up 10 minutes before kickoff with dinner and a couple of beers under your belt, put your blanket down on the bleachers, and joked to the guy behind you about what these numbskull coaches were gonna do this week to screw things up for the kids.

During the game, you‘ll draw the wrong conclusion about most (or all) of the plays you watch.

You’ll see the other team complete a TD pass and think it was against the cornerback ahead of your kid on the depth chart. "My kid woulda never gave up that TD," you‘ll grouse. "But these coaches won’t give him a chance. They have their favorites." Wrong, champ. It wasn’t the cornerback who blew the coverage. He had flat responsibility in that particular defense against that particular formation and route combination. It was the safety who made the mistake.

You’ll criticize us for calling a screen pass to the short side of the field on that critical third down. But you won’t know that we called it to our weakside because the other team had a four-game tendency of zone blitzing their weakside LB on third and long with the ball on the hashmark and formation to the field. We had every reason to believe they‘d do the same against us. But instead, they played Man, and Will (that would be the weakside LB ... but you knew that) stayed home and tackled our back for a 3-yard loss. It’s not that we didn’t prepare and scout. It’s just that no one can prepare for everything.

We don’t mind being held accountable. But be reasonable and be civil. Calling an unsuccessful play doesn’t make us evil or incompetent. It makes us human. We feel as bad as you do when we make a blunder -- not just for ourselves, but for your kids. We know how hard they work, too!

And speaking of working hard, we’re not exactly twiddling our thumbs on this job. Yes, I know, we’re getting paid. But, really, how much grief would you tolerate for a few grand a year? Threats to your home and family? Physical violence at games? Name-calling within earshot of your wife and 9-year-old daughter in the stands?

I’ve dealt with all of the above. So, yeah, I might get a little edgy when some drunken goon in a hat and hunting vest stumbles up to me after a game and starts questioning my ancestry just because the young soph on our punt coverage team missed a tackle and we lost to our crosstown rival for the third year in a row.

Put yourself in my shoes before you shoot off your mouth. If you can make your criticism in a civil tone and back it up with facts, I’ll probably listen –- provided you launch into your little chat sometime other than right after a tough loss.

But if you think your ticket price entitles you to use me as your dartboard, forget it.