COLUMN: The Super Bowl — from a girl perspective
Something that drives me nuts is the impression women aren’t interested in sports.
I haven’t done anything to counter the stereotype, however, so I do feel it imperative to explain how ladies feel (or at least this lady) on the whole athletic topic, especially in light of Sunday’s Super Bowl.
For me, the entertainment value in athletics is hardly about the game — it’s what the game represents. The game is merely the catalyst in which the event surrounds itself.
I hesitate to call myself a sports fan, even though I easily could. I love baseball, like basketball and enjoy football — some of my best memories are accompanied with watching a baseball game on television or at the field, usually accompanied by a male relative or even my mother, who loves the Pistons just as much, if not more, than any guy. And not because the players are “cute,” another frustrating stereotype involving women and athletics. Offer me some tickets to any game and I am there.
I know the rules of all of the major games. I watch them semi-regularly, and even enjoy myself. But without a social aspect to it, sports just do not catch my attention.
Consequently, I’m not a die-hard fan, and I think that’s where the disconnect comes in, and I would think its fair that many women are in the same dilemma.
But the Super Bowl is hardly about the game. What it really is, avid football fan or not — is a party.
The winner of the Super Bowl is insignificant. When I think about my past Super Bowls, it is rare to remember who was on either team, aside from one blowup battle between a girlfriend and I on the Patriots versus the Giants. (The Giants won, by the way — mercifully enough.)
I would challenge an avid fan to be successful in such an event — I would argue is what is memorable is who you were watching the game with and the surrounding party.
The Super Bowl represents everything that makes me enjoy sports — its totally social, incredibly high stakes and the whole thing is surrounded by a party.
I’m not a fan of the Packers or the Steelers, so whichever team claimed their trophy last night is irrelevant. This morning, outside of Green Bay and Pittsburgh, I assure you few give a damn.
What will be discussed at today’s water cooler is the halftime show, that crazy commercial, or that fantastically awesome thing that happened at your gathering.
What’s more, to enjoy the game you don’t need to be an expert in every player or their respective merits or faults. I can go in, ignorantly, and watch and enjoy it just as much as any avid football fan would.
I just don’t have time for all of the hoopla that goes around with being a “true” fan — I don’t (and won’t) play fantasy football, I don’t care about the players, and I didn’t turn on a single game on my own accord this season. I do care about the franchise.
And what gets me irritated is when women are dismissed as disinterested in sports, or watching the games with boredom.
I may be blissfully ignorant on the teams, but I know the sport and the game is entertaining.
And I watched the game last night — happily, as did several other women who were not biting their nails in boredom.
