I love women as sports fans. I find that they typically have a perspective or take that is different from their male counterparts. This is refreshing, especially for someone who follows the predominantly male sports commentary as closely as I do. Not to mention that if more women watch sports, less men are missing games or fighting to follow their teams. Win win.
However, as with all walks of life, which sport the female fan base prefers varies. Sometimes due to geographical location and what sport is popular in their city. Sometimes it is home grown family tradition. Still, I would like to plead my case to all women who are maybe not pre-biased toward a sport and are open to suggestion.
The game of football, in my eyes, is the ideal sport for any woman looking to delve into the world of athletic competition. The NFL in particular, advertises to women well and has almost as much gear available as there is for men. It also, I feel, has the best looking uniforms of all sports.
I’m not stereotyping, suggesting the fashion side of things would naturally appeal to ladies, but my wife did originally choose her team (Carolina Panthers) based on their look. True story.
I’ve felt this way for a long time, but I wanted to back up my feelings with those of some women who are already fans. I talked to family. Checked out online forums. Even reached out to some of my Twitter followers. The feedback I received was even more eye opening than I had anticipated.
Many men I spoke with suggested baseball was a better fit because the gameplay was easy to follow. Yet, I repeatedly heard the strategy of the game listed as an appealing variable of football. My wife and sister also stated that the unexpected outcome of each play was far more interesting than that of baseball where, for all intents and purposes, one of only a few things can happen with each at bat.
This makes sense for one reason: Women are better in many complex mental situations than men. As wives and mothers, multi-tasking and monitoring various goings-on is commonplace. Lady fans do not need simple gameplay to enjoy a sport. Quite the contrary. They can probably, at times, follow more than we men can.
Women also love drama. I wish there was a better way to state that, but it is really that simple. From the movie preferences to the T.V. show DVR schedule to the everyday dealings with one another. This is not a bad thing. I’m not talking about high school drama, but intriguing, enticing drama is irresistible to much of the nations female population.
No sport has more drama than football, period. The fanfare is insane. Everything is big, bold and probably a little overdone. With the in game injuries, play challenges, and the unpredictable comebacks and collapses, football is littered with drama. Gritty, glitzy, dangerous, exciting, uncontrollably addictive drama.
Now, it’s important to note that many of the reasons that women prefer football are similar to those of men.
On Twitter, @Kim721 listed the importance of each game as a factor for her, stating that the NFL regular season was the equivelent of the NBA playoffs. This was a very good point. When you play 80 or 100 plus games as is the case with baseball and basketball. Lose six straight in either of those and it isn’t all that big a deal. Six straight losses in the NFL puts your season on life support. Each and every game matters so much more because there are so few in comparison.
@MissLisaDC mentioned the crazy plays, pure athleticism and strategy as hitting points for her, but she also talked about rivalries. I like this a lot. I’ve always said that the next most important thing after finding the team that you love is finding the one that you hate. Rivalries are great and are probably most prevalent in college football. Ask an Auburn fan how he feels about the University of Alabama and then take two steps back.
@BreeSison, ABC affiliate WEAR news anchor, said that she enjoys the party atmosphere that goes hand in hand with the sport. I mean really, list a game that leads to more gatherings than the Superbowl. You can’t, because, there isn’t one. It doesn’t end there either. Get-togethers cover the nation every Saturday and Sunday all through the Fall season.
One argument, however, could be the single most important reason for any lady sports fan to begin their career as a football follower.
While discussing this topic with a friend of mine, he mentioned the once-a-week format that all levels of the sport utilize. A light bulb went off. Most women that I know or have spoken to want to enjoy sports but are not interested in being absorbed in them the way many men are. A sport with games on an almost daily basis for most of the calendar year is more of a commitment than they are willing to make to athletics.
Football is compact. The season is shorter and, most importantly, limited to one day a week: Saturday or Sunday depending on whether your watching college or pro. Sure, there are Monday Night games and various other scheduling anomalies, but it is all centered around one singular time of the week.
Not only is this more enjoyable for women because it’s more casual, but it isn’t overwhelming when mixed into their already busy lives.
Really there is no right or wrong. Depending on where you are and what the individual person has grown up with, the old saying “different strokes for different folks” applies. Still, if you are a woman who enjoys competition and has no previously determined favorite or maybe are new to the world of sports fandom and are trying to find your place, your first and likely last stop should be with the oblong ball green covered fields and fully padded players of the game of football.
However, as with all walks of life, which sport the female fan base prefers varies. Sometimes due to geographical location and what sport is popular in their city. Sometimes it is home grown family tradition. Still, I would like to plead my case to all women who are maybe not pre-biased toward a sport and are open to suggestion.
The game of football, in my eyes, is the ideal sport for any woman looking to delve into the world of athletic competition. The NFL in particular, advertises to women well and has almost as much gear available as there is for men. It also, I feel, has the best looking uniforms of all sports.
I’m not stereotyping, suggesting the fashion side of things would naturally appeal to ladies, but my wife did originally choose her team (Carolina Panthers) based on their look. True story.
I’ve felt this way for a long time, but I wanted to back up my feelings with those of some women who are already fans. I talked to family. Checked out online forums. Even reached out to some of my Twitter followers. The feedback I received was even more eye opening than I had anticipated.
Many men I spoke with suggested baseball was a better fit because the gameplay was easy to follow. Yet, I repeatedly heard the strategy of the game listed as an appealing variable of football. My wife and sister also stated that the unexpected outcome of each play was far more interesting than that of baseball where, for all intents and purposes, one of only a few things can happen with each at bat.
This makes sense for one reason: Women are better in many complex mental situations than men. As wives and mothers, multi-tasking and monitoring various goings-on is commonplace. Lady fans do not need simple gameplay to enjoy a sport. Quite the contrary. They can probably, at times, follow more than we men can.
Women also love drama. I wish there was a better way to state that, but it is really that simple. From the movie preferences to the T.V. show DVR schedule to the everyday dealings with one another. This is not a bad thing. I’m not talking about high school drama, but intriguing, enticing drama is irresistible to much of the nations female population.
No sport has more drama than football, period. The fanfare is insane. Everything is big, bold and probably a little overdone. With the in game injuries, play challenges, and the unpredictable comebacks and collapses, football is littered with drama. Gritty, glitzy, dangerous, exciting, uncontrollably addictive drama.
Now, it’s important to note that many of the reasons that women prefer football are similar to those of men.
On Twitter, @Kim721 listed the importance of each game as a factor for her, stating that the NFL regular season was the equivelent of the NBA playoffs. This was a very good point. When you play 80 or 100 plus games as is the case with baseball and basketball. Lose six straight in either of those and it isn’t all that big a deal. Six straight losses in the NFL puts your season on life support. Each and every game matters so much more because there are so few in comparison.
@MissLisaDC mentioned the crazy plays, pure athleticism and strategy as hitting points for her, but she also talked about rivalries. I like this a lot. I’ve always said that the next most important thing after finding the team that you love is finding the one that you hate. Rivalries are great and are probably most prevalent in college football. Ask an Auburn fan how he feels about the University of Alabama and then take two steps back.
@BreeSison, ABC affiliate WEAR news anchor, said that she enjoys the party atmosphere that goes hand in hand with the sport. I mean really, list a game that leads to more gatherings than the Superbowl. You can’t, because, there isn’t one. It doesn’t end there either. Get-togethers cover the nation every Saturday and Sunday all through the Fall season.
One argument, however, could be the single most important reason for any lady sports fan to begin their career as a football follower.
While discussing this topic with a friend of mine, he mentioned the once-a-week format that all levels of the sport utilize. A light bulb went off. Most women that I know or have spoken to want to enjoy sports but are not interested in being absorbed in them the way many men are. A sport with games on an almost daily basis for most of the calendar year is more of a commitment than they are willing to make to athletics.
Football is compact. The season is shorter and, most importantly, limited to one day a week: Saturday or Sunday depending on whether your watching college or pro. Sure, there are Monday Night games and various other scheduling anomalies, but it is all centered around one singular time of the week.
Not only is this more enjoyable for women because it’s more casual, but it isn’t overwhelming when mixed into their already busy lives.
Really there is no right or wrong. Depending on where you are and what the individual person has grown up with, the old saying “different strokes for different folks” applies. Still, if you are a woman who enjoys competition and has no previously determined favorite or maybe are new to the world of sports fandom and are trying to find your place, your first and likely last stop should be with the oblong ball green covered fields and fully padded players of the game of football.
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