bauhahaha!!

70 that is one creepy banana

You hit the nail right on the head. It's worse to get a crappy, "I took the easiest, cheapest way out and tried to trick you because I think you're stupid" gift than nothing at all. My parents acted like this all the time, pulling stunts RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME and then denying it and acting like I had a psychiatric problem if I confronted them. This dad wasn't trying to make the kid happy; he was trying to "get out of" gift duty with something cheap that he can now pretend is top notch. I will bet anything that dad is now telling everyone, "I got him an autographed football and he complained about it" but isn't honest enough to admit it's autographed by HIM so he comes off to others as the "hero" and the kid is the ungrateful ass. The dad was better off just giving the unsigned football but he couldn't brag about that to others. This wasn't about the kid getting something he wanted; it was about the dad looking good to others and training the kid to pretend to be thrilled with useless garbage gifts so he won't get branded an ingrate. Look at the comments here, it's working. Most of you fell for it. Only the victims of this scam see through it.

You really are ungrateful. At least OP got a present!! I would have been delighted if I got a football, let alone a signed one. So what? Now I have a football, signed by my loving father. Even better.

believe it or not, most parents really do love their children. times are tough right now. maybe dad couldn't afford anything 'authentic' so he did the best he could? geez... don't be so tough on the guy.

Then why not get him something else if he couldn't afford the authentic thing? If I ask for something my parents can't afford, they explain it to me, not get one thing, fake it being signed, then lie to my face. I'm sure that if it were a plain football, the OP would have been okay, but not being lied to by his father.

it's not that I'm being tough or spoiled. it's just that a situation like this makes me mad. the dad could at least be honest and say that he couldn't afford a present or something. but no, he has to lie and give a present full of lies.

exactly. that's what the dad should've done. that's why I sound ungrateful according to commenter 43. I jus hate it when parents lie about a present saying it's new, when it's just old crap.

Thank you, KVK. Cheap presents are fine if you're not being lied to about them. Why does nobody realize there was no thought behind that, other than the dad thinking OP is stupid?

It's not the fact that this was a cheap gift; it's the fact that he pretended it was something it wasn't and lied to the kid's face AFTER he was caught red-handed. The kid saw him sign it; the jig is up. Why continue to lie? This dad was better off just giving the kid the unsigned football for him to play with or for him to get signed by his favorite player himself instead of trying to trick his kid and then denying it when confronted. It's the fact that his father tried to trick him and then lied when there was clearly no hope of being believed that is hurtful and insulting. It says that the dad doesn't respect the kid enough to be honest and thinks his kid is stupid to boot.

Maybe it was an authentic sig, but it was light and Dad was tracing over it.

you have a point but the fact that dad is denying that anything happened shows that the dad is lying.

The fact that the kid got a gift from his parent that was so personalized, done with his dad's own hands- somehow this act of love is turned into a seedy scam simply because the dad didn't tell the kid the truth about what went into it? When you can't afford the nice things you used to just a few years ago, you might feel in denial that you can't anymore- you certainly don't want to admit that to anyone, especially someone you're supposed to provide for and want to spoil. All you have is the hope that they value your gift as though it were priceless and know that they know you love them. Unfortunately for you, though, your kid might feel scammed and write a FML about it. OP: F your father's life for giving a gift to a kid that can't see the good in a gift and OP, YDI for looking a gift horse in the mouth. Someday, your dad will be dead and he will never give you another gift again. In the meantime, try to be grateful that he remembers what you even like. Lots of kids will never get those gifts- just donate the football to an orphanage, I'm sure they'd appreciate it.

Sometimes parents can only get what they can afford. 