I am a Nashville Predators hockey fan and Mississippi State football fan, and it is not uncommon for a guy I'm talking with to be astonished by my ability to wax poetically about the strengths and weaknesses of our Bulldogs. It's 2018, not 1950 why is this still something men are surprised by? Rushing yards and fantasy football leagues aren't exactly ladies' brunch banter, but that doesn't mean women aren't tuning in.
Most little girls have been exposed to sports culture from a very young age, just like the cutie featured in this video. (https://www.instagram.com/p/BoC8ezBBETS/?hl=en&tak...) So, even if a girl says she cannot stand sports, she can tell you which team is good and which is just laughable. Basic football knowledge, as it is America's favorite sport, is something that is just absorbed over time through many years of Dad dog cussing the TV during the Iron Bowl or having a brother who plays football.
While football is the most viewed, it's not the only sport women are concerned with. Plenty of women are pulling for their favorite Nascar driver, betting on baseball games, and blessing the heart of that notorious idiot on their favorite hockey team. In an article on Forbes.com titled The Sports Women Watch, writer Tom Van Riper says, "Females account for more than a third of 14 million-plus people that tune into major events like the NBA Finals, World Series, Daytona 500, and Stanley Cup Finals, according to data from Nielsen." Women make up a significant portion of broadcasting views, but the public opinion on how much women actually know about sports is grossly skewed to believe that women couldn't care less about sports.
Sure, we weren't given the resources that boys were for the "so, you think you this sport?" test, but our dedication to learning about it without the baseball cards shines in the bleachers. We get just as spirited as men do, but we show it with meme-able gasps and gawks as opposed to shouting profanities. I concede, most women can't recall some star running back from thirty years ago or some baseball player with a quirky habit, but does that mean we don't know sports well enough to hold our own in the stands?
A message to the men: don't be surprised if you find that the girl you're talking to is a beast on game day, and get rid of the idea that she has to know everything about her team in order to be a fan. And a message to the ladies: flaunt your love for your team and don't let a girl who doesn't like sports extinguish that love.
Ladies can gripe about 45 yard penalties just as well as any man could.
