Growing up as one of three daughters to an avid Green Bay Packers fan made me the obnoxious, Miller Lite-drinking football fanatic I am today. I am not, nor will I ever be, the girl that shows up to a Packer game in her green and gold bikini. First of all, ladies, its 12 degrees and snowing in Wisconsin. Second, I'm not at Lambeau to show off my goods on the big screen; I'm there in puffy clothes that make me look like I am two hundred pounds to cheer on the boys of Fall (and stay warm while doing so). You will never catch me in a bedazzled Jordy Nelson jersey that I bought because I think he is "the hottest football player in the NFL". You will also never find me any other place than plopped down in front of my tv on game day in my green and yellow-striped overalls.
Since I was raised in Wisconsin, I was raised to love two things indefinitely, cheese and the Green Bay Packers. From a young age, I knew that Sundays were reserved for Packer parties, purple and yellow were never to be worn together and it is acceptable to wear cheese on my head as an accessory. Along with learning all of the quirky traditions over the years that Packer fans have, I have also learned all the ins and outs of the game of football. It was impossible for me to sneak by without retaining any knowledge of this sport in my adolescent years because of my Dad. He bared only daughters, so my sisters and I were going to learn the fundamentals of football and we were going to like it. It turns out that I am now a replica of this avid Green Bay Packers fan, and there is just no faking this true fandom after being surrounded by the game for the last twenty years.
Although I in no way applaud gender stereotyping, there are plenty of stereotypes surrounding women who are NFL football fans. The main stereotype revolves around women pretending to be die hard fans so they can impress men and other women who actually are die hard fans. Unfortunately, I have seen this stereotype to be true. Some women aspire to be "the cool girl" that is proficient in football jargon, just to impress a guy. If you are a woman and don't have reputable knowledge on the game, it isn't necessary for you to simulate that you do. As Brooklyn Decker said in her article, "A Beginner's Guide to the Super Bowl", "There's nothing wrong with not knowing much about sports as long as you're present and enjoying yourself and the people around you." If I may add, ladies, as long as you bring some booze to pass for the tailgate, the football super fanatics are going to adore you, even if you don't know a thing about football.
On the contrary, it's time that men stop treating knowledgeable women as if they don't belong in the world of sports. Michael Messner, a sociologist at the University of Southern California that studies gender and the sociology of sports stated , "Sports were a male-created homosocial cultural sphere that provided men with psychological separation from the perceived feminization of society while also providing dramatic symbolic proof of the "natural superiority" of men over women." Messner's statement perfectly captures the reasoning behind why some men are unwilling to take women seriously when they are conversing with them about sports. Although football is most commonly played by males, that does not mean it is just a "man's sport".
Womens' interest in NFL football isn't a new concept, but it is becoming increasingly more popular. There is a lucrative market surrounding female fans of the NFL, as they represent the league's fastest-growing demographic in the country. Ebiquity, one of the leading marketing analytics companies, found that the NFL is tailoring their marketing efforts to women because they are currently their largest growing audience with female viewership up 26% since 2009 compared to 18% by men. Women want to be contributing fans to the NFL community, and it's time that everyone lets us.
