I've been watching football with my dad since before I can remember. When I was younger, I had an attitude problem that caused many arguments between him and I. Yet, no matter what we fought over, when the weekend came and football was on, we got along.
In high school, we bonded over Friday Night Football, and every Saturday we'd spend hours watching our favorite college teams. Sunday was, of course, dedicated to the New England Patriots and before I knew it I picked up his habit of screaming at the TV when the Pats weren't doing well. I still do it to this day.
Since I started watching football with my dad, I have fallen in love with it. Even when dad falls asleep before the game is over or is working late and can't watch with me, I still watch (and send him updates throughout the game.) I can talk football all day, but for some reason I'm never taken seriously... Because I'm the girl who likes football.
The stereotype is that when girls watch football, it’s because they’re trying to impress a boy. I do admit I might have been trying to impress my dad with football facts when I was in middle school. But now, at eighteen years old, I’m not trying to impress anybody. Yet, the minute I start talking football, guys look at me like I’m crazy. “You don’t really like football,” they say. When I respond that yes, I actually do, and yes, I watch it every weekend, they ask me to prove it.
“Name seventeen offensive players on the Patriots. Name twenty-three defensive players. Which day, in 1987, did the Patriots lose to the Cleveland Browns? Who is the Browns’ third string quarterback right now?”
They spit off question after question, and I’m not even sure they know they answers to what they’re asking. When I can’t tell them when the Patriots lost to the Browns in 1987, they laugh in my face. “See? I knew you didn’t actually like football.”
Now, in college, this makes it nearly impossible to find someone to watch the game with. Most of my girlfriends think it’s funny to watch me yell at the TV and they don’t understand the pure anger I feel when my team doesn’t do well. My floor is all girls, and trust me when I say they don’t understand when I’m jumping up and down on my twin bed and screaming because we scored a touchdown.
This leaves me to finding guys to watch with. But that won’t work, will it? Because they’ll spend the entire time doubting my love and appreciation for the game and hammer me with questions about the team stats. They act as if I don’t know what’s going on and attempt to explain each aspect of the game to me. No, thank you.
Until I find someone, I will stick to watching alone and yelling at the TV in the comfort of my bed. I will continue to wear my lucky hat, jersey, pants, and socks, and I will sleep in the same big t-shirt after every win, that I always have. I will continue to tweet and retweet all football season (and then some), about my team. I will anxiously await every ESPN update about the status of the players. I will cheer on my team through thick and thin, no matter who doubts my love for the game. I will always be the girl who likes football.
