Let’s hear it for parents!

“The thrill of victory and …” You remember the opening clip of ABC’s “Wide World of Sports”? One athlete soars as a second, a Slovene ski jumper by the name of Vinko Bogataj, plunges helplessly toward the bottom of the slope.

All the while, broadcaster Jim McKay is heard saying, “Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport! The thrill of victory … and the agony of defeat! The human drama of athletic competition!”

Adjust a few words here and there, and that’s parenthood in a nutshell.

As a kid – a generally unassuming mutt with a penchant for following my older brother down the wrong path and then encouraging my younger brother to follow – I was born with the gift of knowledge. That’s right, I was smarter than my parents … or so I thought.

When my 14-year-old said, “Duhhh,” for the umpteenth time yesterday, the sentiment [surely not the word; my parents would have killed me] took me back to my youth. Suddenly, I realized the curse my parents had pledged when I was a kid: “One day I hope you have a girl and she’s just like you!”

Never in my lifetime have my parents been as smart as they are today. Brilliant, actually. And my learning curve? It’s gone the way of Bogataj’s jump. Just ask my teen.

My parents have made it to the front side of 70. They’ve survived raising three children, including the middle child. They made it through the toast incident that saw the kitchen cabinets go up in flames, teaching me to round corners in the family car under 30 mph, countless sprains and a knee surgery as a result of a pop fly [which I missed, by the way] and they even forgave me for the paint color choice in the bathrooms when we rebuilt their home after Hurricane Katrina.

Yep, they’ve earned the right to grab a lawn chair and a sideline seat to watch me flail about as I try to find my way off the parenthood slope. And that’s where you’ll find them this Father’s Day, watching the human drama … the thrill of victory and, well, you know the rest.