Column: We shouldn't be applauded for having good luck

Why do we cheer for raffle prize winners? They didn’t do anything to win - it’s luck.

I was at an event recently that had raffle prizes. You would’ve thought we were at Oprah’s “Favorite Things” show the way people were losing their minds. “Up next, the winner of this five dollar Subway gift card is…Bridget McGuire!”

The crowd went wild, except for me. I didn’t deserve the applause, I didn’t do anything. Not to mention, five dollars to Subway is the worst raffle prize I’ve ever heard of. You’re paying tax on your foot-long and there’s no chance you’re making it a meal.

I think we should applaud people when they put effort into work, like running a marathon or passing a test. For example, when I was in 7th grade I got called to the office and was told that the Chicago Bulls were on the phone. The Bulls were calling to congratulate me: the poem I wrote had won the contest! I’d be going to a Bulls game to meet the players and I could bring a parent. I was ecstatic! This was the mid-90s, the Bulls were on fire; however, I had no memory of writing a poem about The Chicago Bulls. It made no sense.

After school I immediately called my dad and asked him to be the parent that takes me to the game. “Oh my God, my poem won!” He screamed.

Apparently, my dad got wind of a Chicago children’s poetry contest and decided to write a quick sonnet and submit it on my behalf, despite the fact I lived in the suburbs, not Chicago.

I felt guilty and said we couldn't go. He disagreed. “Nah, we’re going to this game.” He wanted to meet MJ. He couldn’t get over it though. He kept saying, “Man, I can't believe my poem won.”

Yeah, you, the 50-year-old former English teacher, can't believe you beat out the second graders of Chicago. So, I went to the game with my dad, Robert Frost. I cheered for him though - he put work into that poem. It wasn't a raffle.

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