I started watching the Dallas Cowboys in third grade with my step-dad. Every Sunday, I would come down to watch the game while he told what a “first down” was or what it meant to get a “touchdown." Sunday afternoons with chips, queso and football became my favorite part of the week.
In the fourth grade, I sat at an assigned table with the boy I was crushing on and always wondered what players he was talking about in college football. So, yes, my first motivation to watch college football was to impress a boy—I was 10 years old. Guilty as charged. However, after watching a couple of games, I found that I disagreed with the teams he liked and the ranks that the teams were receiving in the BCS. Instead of impressing the boy I liked, I was arguing with him about whom I thought should be in the national championship.
As I continued to watch college football, I would look at the BCS rankings week by week in the newspaper. The BCS rankings were something I looked forward to seeing. Over the years I began collecting football cards and even watching ESPN. Now, I know the process of becoming a sports fan seems long and pointless, but I cannot tell you how many girls have told me, “Ugh, I wish I knew something about sports.”
Here are a 11 tips on how to make your break into the world of sports:
1. You go to college. Figure out your team. This one should be easy since most of us attend football games. Besides chugging booze and yelling things everyone else is saying, learn some of the key players’ names. You can do this by simply listening to other people yell their name on a big play or just by asking, “I didn’t see who made that play. Who was it?” If you are driven enough, look up the roster and memorize, but as long as you know the key players, you’re set. Not a lot of people know every single player’s name.
2. Watch ESPN. This is one of the more difficult tasks for girls because some of us would rather watch re-runs of "Gilmore Girls" or "Grey’s Anatomy," but it doesn’t take as much time as you think. Shows like "SportsCenter" are like the news: They go over multiple topics in a small amount of time, then repeat. Initially, I hated when my little brother hogged the TV with ESPN, but if I had my lunch and spent 30 minutes just putting myself through the show, I would know all I needed to know for the day or even week about sports. It can be as simple as listening to the TV in the gym playing ESPN. There are some fun segments too, like “Not Top 10 Plays,” that can be very entertaining. In time, the more you know, the more you want to watch.
3. Get a sports app. Even if you don’t have a team to keep up with, put in your brother’s or dad’s favorite teams along with your college team to receive notifications for. You may not even need to read the entire content of the notification, just the title. For example: “Rangers trade Ian Kinsler.” If you’re in a conversation with your guy friends, you can just say, “I’m just so shocked that Ian Kinsler got traded…” and they’ll just spill all about how upset or happy they are about the situation. You didn’t even have to read the article. ;)
4. Purchase a jersey. We all wear jerseys anyway for fraternity parties and mixers. Instead of asking your guy friends for a random sports jersey and not knowing anything about the player you are reppin’, purchase your own. You can get pink bedazzled ones if that’s your style, but this is a good way to encourage your way into sports. To get a jersey, pick out your favorite player: whether he’s attractive, from your hometown or just someone mainstream like LeBron James that everyone knows. Make sure the player is good enough for you to wear his jersey… otherwise you might be a little embarrassed if you show up to a party with a Brady Quinn jersey and find out he’s currently a free agent and has the reputation of being one of the biggest draft busts of all time. If you get his jersey from his era at Norte Dame, it might be a little more respectable since he was actually good there.
5. Don’t just learn the names of the attractive players. Okay, so Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, Tim Tebow, etc. might be good eye candy, but if you know absolutely nothing else about those players—don’t bother. Nothing is more humiliating than when someone can sense you only like a player for his looks because that just means you aren’t a LEGITIMATE sports fan. It’s also just insulting to all the real girl sports fans out there because your behavior demeans our reputation. We don’t want to be seen as ignorant, so don’t be a sports fan if you’re in it for the looks.
“You like Tim Tebow? Why?”
“He’s so hot!”
“You know he’s been cut from the NFL and works as an analyst now, right?” “He doesn’t play anymore?!”
Yeah… awkward…
6. Learn random facts. You may think guys know everything, but sometimes there are little details they don’t know. Malcolm Butler, who made the game-winning interception in the Super Bowl this year, was actually an undrafted rookie. His first interception of the season was actually in that Super Bowl. He’s from the University of West Alabama and wasn’t even starting the majority of the season. Make sure the facts aren’t gossip or things that everyone knows. We all know that Tom Brady is married to a Victoria’s Secret model… that fact is just not useful in sports conversations.
7. Have someone explain to you how the game works. This is an obvious, but most essential, skill you need. If you don’t know the difference between a first and fourth down or a single and a home run, then everything else is irrelevant. If you’re too embarrassed to learn about the sport from one of your guy friends, ask your dad, your brother, your cousin or YouTube. I learned by sitting on the couch asking my step-dad questions. Guys love to talk about sports, and if you take an interest, they’ll talk to you for hours about how the game works.
8. BE AWARE. Let’s face it, this is college, so no one goes to the football or basketball games completely sober. However, if you’re so drunk that you walk out of the stadium thinking we won when we actually lost, you’re stupid. In their most drunken stupor, boys still know what’s going on in the game. You want to be the drunken one yelling angry things at the refs with them, not the one asking, “What just happened? Did we score?”
9. Learn strategy. If you were to make “how to be a sports fan” a class, this would be upper division. I learned this by playing Madden as a kid, but there are easier ways to learn. This should be the next step after you learn the basics of the game. This comes over time after talking to multiple people and seeing many outcomes. You know you have truly become a sports fan if you reach this level. It’ll start as simple as knowing a basketball player may foul to stop the clock or a football player will run out of bounds to do the same. When you’re really advanced, you might learn what a shotgun formation is or why a defense wants to run a blitz. (Or if it’s second down and you’re half a yard away from the touchdown, you should run the ball. Even Pete Carroll didn’t know that one.)
10. Know a thing or two about other teams besides your favorites. It never hurts to learn a player or two from the other team. Whether it’s watching a game, making a fantasy team or creating a March Madness bracket, it’s impressive if you can name players or recite statistics from outside your bubble.
11. Do NOT bandwagon!!!!!!!! This one makes me cringe. There is absolutely nothing more annoying than a girl or boy liking a mainstream team with no legitimate reason. Don’t “like” a team for that one gorgeous player. Don’t “like” a team because your boy of interest likes them. Don’t “like” a team because the media loves them (*cough* Miami Heat *cough*). Don’t “like” a team because they have cool jerseys. Don’t “like” a team because your best friend loves them. Don’t “like” a team because EVERYONE ELSE LIKES THEM!
If your team sucks, don’t “hate” them or change your team preference. STAY LOYAL!!!! Homegirl, if you like the Miami Heat and you’re from Alaska, or if you like the Seahawks and you’re from Dallas, YOU BETTER HAVE SOME LEGITIMATE REASON TO BACK THAT UP! Example: Although I’m from Texas, I’ve always liked the Michigan Wolverines because my dad went there and I grew up watching the team. I like the tradition of the “Big House” they have and I had tremendous respect for Lloyd Carr’s coaching. Watching Chad Henne and Mario Manningham dominate the field was part of my childhood.
Learning sports is like learning a language: You have to immerse yourself in it and surround yourself with it on a daily basis. It takes time to become fluent, but there are always words or players you won’t know. You can’t study abroad and learn it all, but it’s cheaper to just create your own sports country. You’ll find that after you’ve gone to all this trouble, you’re going to really love the thrill of watching, screaming at the refs behind the screen and feeling that sense of pride when your team makes the playoffs and your crush's doesn't.
