Sometimes, parents are—despite their children’s best efforts—mortifying. Other times, it’s easier (and more fun) to lean into a parent’s obsession. In one soccer-obsessed man’s life, his family is along for the ride.
TikToker Alyssa Cronin posts content starring her father’s day-to-day (mis)adventures. Under the handle Alyssa & Kickball Dad (@alyssacronin), Cronin has a catalogue of her father’s side-quests. Recently, these focus on his efforts to purchase an oversized display soccer ball at Dick’s Sporting Goods. The ball is a giant replica of the Adidas FIFA World Cup 2026 Trionda Pro Official Match Soccer Ball.
‘It’s Just For Display’
At the beginning of a TikTok that’s garnered over 19.9 million views, three shots of “Kickball Dad” are spliced together. Each one shows the same man asking the employees of a sporting goods store if the display ball is for sale.
“We need one of those. How do we get a giant ball?” he asks. He then speaks to an employee who asks his manager if the store can sell him the prop.
Finally, the answer is, “Yeah, you can buy it.”
Upon getting the answer he was hoping for, Kickball Dad looks a little surprised that his campaign worked. “Let’s get it,” he says.
The Hard Part
He leaves with the ball held high above his head in victory. And offers an aside to the camera person. He says that just as he was leaving the store, another man was seized with envy. “He goes, ‘Are you returning that?'” says Kickball Dad. “‘Because I want to buy it.'”
“I said, ‘No,'” Kickball Dad emphasizes.
Next comes an unexpected challenge: fitting the oversized ball into a sedan-sized vehicle. Kickball Dad tries to jam it in the backseat. It doesn’t quite fit at first. But after adjustments are made, the ball is seat-belted into the vehicle.
Then, Kickball Dad jokingly hands out yellow cards to his kids for not talking him out of his purchase.
In the background, a stranger says, “That thing’s sick.”
Total Football
There are 8,000 comments speculating on everything—from how much the giant orb cost to what the store staff thought of the situation.
“I feel like that had a staff meeting about this. He keeps asking, we have to let him take it,” one TikToker quipped.
A former retail worker weighed in, writing, “Guys, I’ve been on the other side of this, If you keep asking and you’re not a jerk about it, your odds are good. This stuff gets forgotten about after the marketing campaign is over.”
“If life has taught me anything, it’s that everything is just a matter of finding the right person to ask,” a third pointed out.
The Most-Watched Sporting Event In History
Forget the Knicks game, because, according to Sports Illustrated, “The FIFA World Cup is the most-watched sporting event on the planet—nothing else comes close.” In 2022, the final game between Argentina and France garnered about 1.5 billion views. This year, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has likened the matches to having “104 Super Bowls in one month.” He predicts over 6 billion viewers for the games. And 5 million of those fans plan to attend the games in-person.
The World Cup kicks off (pun intended) on June 11 with the matches Mexico vs. South Africa and Korea Republic vs. Czechia. The games can be viewed on Fox. That company has exclusive English-language rights to broadcast the World Cup in the United States.
The Ball Is Home, What Now?
For some readers, the real question might be how did Kickball Dad’s wife receive the news of the new purchase? After he asserts (to the ball) that “we rescued you” and then to the camera, “This is a rescue ball,” she just starts smiling and laughing.
She’s clearly a good sport. No yellow cards for her.
@alyssacronin13 The Kickball Dad World Cup ball saga continues ⚽️ We had to go back for the 2026 Trionda match ball! #worldcup #soccer #fifaworldcup #football #futbol
BroBible reached out to Alyssa & Kickball Dad via TikTok direct message and with a comment on the post.