Beginning at the age of five, sports became a major part of who I was. My love started out with soccer, basketball and t-ball, but would easily escalate to something far greater as I got older. If you’re a close friend of mine, then you are well aware of the fact that I can barely go an entire conversation without talking about sports in some form.

But that’s not the point of this article, the point of this article is that no matter how many times conversations I have with people about sports there will always be people who refuse to believe that my love of sports is genuine merely because I’m a female.

Prime example, earlier this year I was in the laundry room of my dorm talking to one of my friends when the conversation turned to football and my disdain for Tom Brady. Now, don’t get me wrong I respect that he is an extremely talented athlete, but that doesn’t mean I have to worship the ground the guy walks on. Anyways, my friend had been talking to a guy when I’d come in and when I voiced my opinion on Brady, he immediately jumped on me requiring me to justify why I felt the way I did.

Of course, I obliged and defended my point thoroughly, but it bothered me that every single time that I tried to justify my point, the guy continued to demand that I give reasoning behind my dislike of Tom Brady. After a solid ten minutes of arguing I was fed up. Had I been a male would I have been given the third degree on why I, personally, can’t stand the Patriots’ king Tom Brady?

That’s just one example of many that I could give you of times I’ve had to prove myself as a sports fan. Honestly, I’m tired of it. You’d think that in today’s culture the idea of female sports fan would be more commonplace, but the reality is that most males can’t fathom the idea of a female understanding the concept of zone defense or man-to-man coverage.

One of my “favorite” things is when I get asked a random factoid about my team of choice–UNC, Yankees, Panthers, etc.–that only the most dedicated of fans would know. I mean who actually expects someone to know the name of the third string defensive tackle that got injured in a game in 1987?

Newsflash: no one! So males, stop trying to sound smart by questioning my knowledge of sports as if this is a frat party where I have to know five brothers to get into. Being a sports fan doesn’t require access, or me to know every single detail about every team in a particular sport.

I could continue on about how it’s ridiculous that majority of the male population believes that because I’m a female my brain can’t possibly comprehend the intricacies of sports, but let’s get one thing straight; I do know the difference between zone and man-to-man defense and I can easily name you at least 20 players on the Carolina Panthers roster (not including Luke Kuechly or Cam Newton). I know more about most sports than most men do. I don’t say that to brag but to merely state a fact.

Look, I get it, sports have always been seen as male territory but folks, let’s get with the times. I shouldn’t have to continue to justify myself as a sports fan. If you need proof that I know what I’m talking about in relation to sports, get to know me. I’m sure within a few conversations you’ll realize that I’m no idiot when it comes to sports and I shouldn’t be treated as such.

Moral of the story: stop assuming because of my gender that my sports intelligence is inferior.

I’m done wasting my breath on this, and the irony is that I shouldn’t have to be saying any of this to begin with, but this is the reality female sports fans are subjected to and I’m tired of it. So here I’ll rest my case next time I say I love sports just know that I mean that I watch, and play sports, for far more than just to see an attractive man throw a ball on my television set.