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Mary Carillo's badminton rant is something every parent understands

All parents can empathize with this nearly four-minute, classic rant about badminton by NBC's Mary Carillo.
/ Source: TODAY

Sure, plenty of parents want to raise the next Simone Biles or Michael Phelps. But the reality is that introducing their children to sports doesn't always go the way they think it will.

Especially when said parents try easing their little ones into the world of athletics with ... badminton.

This is a fact NBC commentator Mary Carillo knows all too well. And during the 2004 Olympic Games, while walking viewers through a seemingly innocuous segment on badminton equipment, she couldn't help but take a little detour to talk about the badminton she knows.

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She starts by discussing the birdie (or, as it's officially known, the "shuttlecock").

"It has a tree-seeking device implanted in it somewhere," her nearly four-minute speech begins, as she compares the birdie she and her children use to the one professionals lob around. "I don't know where, but I've played a lot of badminton with my kids. By the seventh shot, this thing's up in the tree. OK?"

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Carillo explains that her daughter will usually throw her racket up next while trying to get down the birdie. And before long, there's "softballs flying through the air" as the kids get more creative with their ideas for getting the birdie back on the ground. Soon, the tree is filled with sports equipment ... and the next thing Carillo knows, a hose is turned on in an attempt to use water to get everything down.

Now, "badminton's a water sport."

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And to top it all off, "Then, you see Christopher Burr — and it's always Christopher Burr — he takes a Rollerblade, throws it up at the tree. hits your car."

Of course, that's not the end of it.

“Somehow, mothers from all over the neighborhood hear that badminton is being played at Mary’s house. They’re dropping off their kids — they know it’s an all-day affair — they know it’s gonna involve 17 other sports."

Talk about turning a less-talked-about sport into the prime time event of the season. Well done, Carillo.