Football. Baseball. Hockey. Basketball. You name it; I like it. Seems weird right? I mean a girl who would much rather stay in for a good game or play catch outside with her dad instead of going shopping at the mall on a Saturday is a bit out of the ordinary. But yeah, we exist. Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.
I was born into an athletic family. Mom was the star tennis player for her high school varsity team and dad played baseball all his life, and was pretty dang good at it too. I was even supposed to be named after Cal Ripken, but don't really know what happened there. Growing up, I played every YMCA and Boys & Girls Club team sport you could think of, danced for thirteen years, went to University of Washington football games on Saturdays, played and assistant coached club volleyball, and learned to catch a fly ball by the time I was eight. Now here I am competing for my university's intercollegiate equestrian team. So don't get me wrong when I say sports are life.
The one thing I don't understand is why do women get judged for being sports fans? We can be diehards too. When a girl expresses her interest in a team or player, it's like boys instantly come up with the obscure game of 21 Questions. How in the world are we suppose to know the shoe size of Russell Wilson right off the top of our heads? Sorry, we must not be real fans then. There's also the stereotype that people believe we're in it just for the eye candy. Yes, we think some players are attractive. But that's not the reason why we love the sport. TJ Oshie may be one of the hottest men on Earth, but that legendary Sochi Olympic shootout against Russia is what I really care about.
Now, not all men are skeptical of girls and sports, but there are just enough of them in the world for this to become a bit of an issue. I can't even wear my dad's old Red Sox baseball hat without getting bothered by a couple of guys on campus wondering if I even know anything about the team. Sometimes it almost seems worth it to be a know-it-all just so they can be put in their place. But, boys should never doubt a girls ability to know sports. There will always be those few who will use (or attempt to use) sports knowledge to flirt with the guys. Even though it is humorous to hear some girl say that Channing Tatum's two-point conversion was the play of the night, it's just situations like these that make women lose their credibility furthermore. One day, though, some guy is going to run into a girl, and she's going to know exactly what she's talking about. The mind will be blown.
I'll always be the one to choose a hometown hockey game over dinner and a movie for a date or play some pick-up flag football instead of looking pretty from the sidelines. That's the way I was born and raised, and that's how I'll always be. I love sports too much to ever let them go. So girls, take this advice and go be one of the guys. Put on your favorite jersey, pop a cold one, kick back, and enjoy the game. And boys, thank God he made girls who love sports.
