A story about researchers questioning whether dodgeball is an appropiate game for schoolchildren drew hundreds of responses on social media with most of them decrying the research and saying to leave dodgeball alone.

While the Canadian researchers said that dodgeball is not an appropriate game because it often has players single out weak players in the game, and in a violent way, many commenters said that the game was, in fact, fun and did teach a lesson: life isn’t easy and you better be quick to adapt.

Many of the comments fell along a few common thoughts, including: lamenting that society is growing weaker; other generations played dodgeball and turned out ok; the researchers were likely bad at dodgeball; and the game forces weak players to get better.

Here’s a small sampling of the comments supporting the game on Facebook:

Matt Dittman: LOL society is so weak. Anyone who grew up back in the day knows EXACTLY what that ball sounds like when it hits you in the face.

Kris Laser: SNOWFLAKES

David Westendorf: The generation of participation trophies has now gone off the deep end.

Kathy Postol Weber: How ridiculous!!! Loved playing dodgeball as a kid!!! I think it was really fun!! The researchers must have been hit in the face once too many times as a child playing dodgeball!!!

Heather Anderson: Omg get over yourselves…you know why we weren’t shooting each other up, besides the fact that we were actually raised by a stay at home parent, we had releases for our frustration and anger with each other, such as dodge ball! Peter pulls your pigtails and calls you chunky.. come gym class he gonna eat more than his words!!!

Tom Renwick: …as said by researchers who were the first ones knocked out of the Dodgeball games,

Carmen Vito Blundo: There is something so satisfying throwing that red rubber ball at someones face

One user said the game was fun even if she was picked last or near last.

Amanda Bollinger: Really?!? Dodgeball was always huge fun. I was always picked last or near last and out pretty early! I never felt bullied. It was a game for crying out loud What’s next? No red Rover? That targets the little guy too because the smaller person hardly ever can break through the grasp of two people’s hands.…

One user, though did share that they didn’t like the game:

John Sauerzopf: Dodgeball was not fun. From being last picked to first hit, from the stronger kids picking the smaller balls that they could whip at the other kids much harder, to the insanity of allowing the stronger kids to take out their agression on the others, it was not fun. Most of the commenters here need to work much harder at not being morons.

Another user shared that she hates the game:

Tiffany Hickman Nicastro: Agree. I watched about three hours of this and walked four kids down with broken glasses and others were getting teary-eyed from being hit. I hated it. These kids were 13 and 14 years old. There are other games to play.

One commenter blamed the reporter (For the record: The reporter was a middle of the pack player, not usually the first one picked, but not first one out either)

Robert Wightman: Whoever wrote that was always the first kid out

What do you think?

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