It seems nowadays that judgment is at an all-time high, and regardless of how you choose to live your life, there will ALWAYS be someone there critiquing you for it.

Whether it’s big or small, we all know that society is a tough crowd sometimes, and in some cases, much tougher on women. That being said, here’s a little insight on why it can be IMMENSELY hard being a girl who loves sports.

Picture this: you’re at your local Taco Mac (because who can resist those T-Mac wings), and it’s Saturday afternoon. Football is on EVERY single TV, and tensions are high. It’s the first time UGA has played Notre Dame since 1980 and all of the guys are going crazy- except, it’s not just guys. It’s you. You are screaming with the best of them, because who ISN’T ready to watch these old rivals fight for the win. You’re enjoying the tension and the close game until this happens:

“Do you even know what’s going on?”

It’s a question I get FAR too often. I have pondered this way too much to still be so far from figuring out why people could possibly think I do not know the game of football. The only thing I can imagine is the fact that I am a girl. Past that, I’m stumped. If you’re a girl who loves sports, you know this is true. It’s an unfair question, yet asked in many different ways, in every single instance where you even speak a word of sports.

My personal favorites I have gotten might shock some people, because how can someone REALLY think they are so vastly superior that they should say things such as these to a girl, just because she likes a sport-

“If you really like football, what is the name of Notre Dame’s coach from 1991?”

First of all, I was not born yet, and second of all, I’m terribly sorry I do not have their entire past coaching staff memorized. BUT, I can tell you that Brian Kelly has done a hell of a lot for the team since his first year in 2009.

“Name three players from the Lions team.”

So sorry, is this football or simple memorization- anyone can answer that whether they like the sport or not.

And of course, my personal favorite…

“You’re a cheerleader, you can’t possibly know what’s going on.”

Ah, yes, back in my high school cheerleading days when one of the players ACTUALLY told me I did not know the sport because...why? Right, because I was partaking in my own sport at that exact moment.

Believe it or not, it IS possible to be a girl and to know, understand, and actually ENJOY sports. Trust me, I don’t have the ESPN app on my phone just to take up space, I do keep up with the stats and most importantly, my teams.

Regardless of whether or not I know as much as my boyfriend does (I’ll never be on his level), I still enjoy and keep up with sports, and speaking for all girls in my position- please stop acting like our gender defines whether or not we are knowledgeable on a topic.