Sunday, 09 October 2011
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Teaching Each Other to Love Sports
It's no surprise that men love professional sports. It's also no surprise that an overwhelming amount of women couldn't care less about the topic. Here's the deal: Ladies, it pays to be in the know.My dad is pretty lucky when it comes to my mom. She likes football even more than he does. She loves hockey as much as he does and baseball almost as much as he does. She likes tennis and will watch basketball and golf. I'd say that's an all around win for my dad.
The truth is, though, there are a lot of women who aren't like my mom. For a lot of these women, however, it isn't for lack of trying or for lack of interest. Guys, I'm sure if you asked your girlfriend or wife to watch a game with you they would. Of course, there are plenty of women who aren't interested and there are also plenty of women who are just as into sports if not more so than their boyfriends.
This article is meant specifically for the boyfriends of women who are interested in learning and becoming active fans.
One of my friends at school, Vicki, says she's only slightly into football, but she really tries because her boyfriend played football in high school and is a big fan. Her cousin plays for Princeton. In her own opinion, Vicki doesn't have much of a choice in the fact that football surrounds her. She does, however, have a choice as to whether or not she should try to learn about the sport. About a year or so ago, her boyfriend and his dad sat down with her during a Jets game to teach her some of the basics. They drew out a football field on paper and taught her all about yardages, downs, scoring, and turnovers.
Vicki doesn't really know what's going on when there are flags and penalties: she doesn't know what holding means, but she can follow a game fairly well now. She's happy to sit down with her boyfriend and watch a game. Prior to learning the basics, Vicki's real problem was that she just didn't know what was going on. That made it difficult to care and even more difficult to simply pay attention.
Girls, if you're interested in learning the basics you shouldn't feel stupid asking your SOs-- they'd be happy to teach you and it will give you more things to bond over. Be patient when learning. Your Sundays will be far less enjoyable otherwise.
Guys, you can't force anyone into loving a sport, but if they want to learn there's no reason why you can't teach them. Be patient and it will pay off.
*This post may also be used for sports-loving women who want to teach their SOs. Like I said, not every man loves sports and not every woman doesn't.
How do sports play a role in your relationship? Are you both sports fans? Are any of you fans of rivaling teams?
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About the Author
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- From: TheDailyDane
- About Me: I'm Dane and I'm 20. Follow me on Twitter @danefeldman. I am a huge supporter of long-term relationships. What's the fun in knowing something will end in a week? Stick around for some long-term bloggin'.
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Comments (26)
This is BS, not all men love professional sports.
Anonymous is right for once. Some men like unprofessional sports. My favorite is tongue diving.
i love soccer. espn3 and another site is my bff for soccer. if a boyfriend wants to watch it, awesome. but if he doesnt, he cant complain that i chose to stay home and watch it! =) same goes the other way.
Sports!
@Chibi_Son_Gokou@xanga - Seeing as how you have sworn off dating, most people here want advice from people who date, not from people who think they know what they're talking about but haven't a clue.
@Anonymous - Whatever you say, sugarpants.
@Chibi_Son_Gokou@xanga - You really aren't one to be commenting on other people. You have issues of your own.
I love playing sports but not a huge fan of watching them.
I liked to watch football and baseball when I was growing up, and would cheer for my home teams, but it really wasn't until I started dating my current boyfriend that I REALLY got into it, since he's really into sports as well as the rest of his family. I may not be able to talk about sports on a technical level, but I can still follow games and understand what's going on, and genuinely enjoy myself when I go to games instead of sitting there like the miserable girls who clearly don't want to be there.
I'm not really interested in watching sports, unless it's the Super Bowl. My brother isn't really interested in sports and my dad watches football occasionally. We're kind of a geeky family ;)
That said, I've actually never been interested in a guy who liked sports, but usually found myself attracted to guys who are in the same realm as myself: techies and/or gamers (neither to the hardcore level). I've never actually dated, but when I've hung out with guys I like, I would usually watch their activities quietly and ask questions if I had any :)
To expound upon this idea, I'd like to make a more general addendum to this post-- for more of us who just aren't that allll into sports (there are a lot of us) learning to love just about anything that the other loves. If it's books or a book, different taste in movies, television, or what you do when you go out, finding more and more things you can relate to and talk about can improve a relationship dramatically. Reading a book together, learning to appreciate one another's particular taste in music, all of these things are great, and if you can relate to something they like they will appreciate it so much and it will help your relationship grow profoundly. But being completely without differences is not only impossible but a theoretical disaster. It's about exploring the differences you have in order to learn more about the one you love. If it doesn't end up being your favorite thing, then it will still make you closer by letting you know and understand them better. It's the primarily the communication that results from these things will make you closer and more appreciative of one another.
I'm a guy and I don't watch sports... I play sports, but not a fan of watching. 1) I don't have a TV. 2) my laptop's sound system broke. 3) i'd rather be doing something else like watching a movie or doin hwk, or something more productive. That's just my opinion. And I know just about every other guy watches sports though.
My boyfriend hates watching sports. He works out regularly, swims, plays squash and runs, but watching sports bores him to tears. However, I love watching the tennis, so, yeah. Not all guys love sports, and not all girls hate it.
I LOVE sports... my boyfriend doesn't really care. He tries to be interested in them for me, but he will never be as into them as I am. It's odd that such a huge fan like me would find a guy who doesn't care one bit haha.
His thing is cars... which I don't care much about either.
i'm kinda glad we're both not into sports at all. we have video games!
My second girlfriend played soccer in high school (as did I), but that never really came up in conversation more than once. We would watch football games together and she even bought me a jersey for Valentines Day.
I don't have a requirement that a girlfriend has to like sports. I do have a problem with someone trying to take that away from me. Watching a game is similar to girls having shopping time with friends; spending the time with others just to relax and have fun. It would be great if your partner joins you in watching the game or goes shopping with you, wouldn't it? But if they don't, it's okay. Just don't take away something that makes that person a part of who they are.
@Insomnia_Pickles_XtraTomato@xanga - Woot! Video games!
I don't really care if my SO likes sports or not, provided she leaves me alone to let me enjoy them and doesn't bother me.
However I'm blessed with a girlfriend who likes baseball and loves hockey so I think I'm golden there.
The only sport I follow religiously these days is MMA. My partner loves soccer. I like soccer as well, but I rather play FIFA on my PC than watch a real game.
My husband and I both don't care much about sports, so it's not an issue. But, if he wanted to watch sports on TV or go to a sporting event, I wouldn't have a problem with it. (I could go with, or make other plans.) However, I do not think he will watch any sports. With my limited knowledge of sports, I still know more than him!
I work in a hair salon for guys with a sports theme. I watch sports pretty much all day everyday. I think it's been an interesting experience. I know way more about sports than I ever thought I would. Not even just the good plays and the games themselves, but all the sports drama. When I sit down with my guy friends or my boyfriend I usually know what they're talking about and can follow the conversation. I'm an avid basketball person and always have been, but my boyfriend hates basketball. He likes hockey and baseball. I'm trying to get into football since it seems like the NBA is not going to be around this season :(
i'm a die hard 49ers fan and i once dated a guy who was a die hard raiders fan...football season was the only time we didn't get along. sports play a big role in my life. i love watching football so the guy i marry or fall in love with has to love it too.
My boyfriend is HUGE on football so during football season thats pretty much all I hear about on Sunday. I'm not really into sports but I still sit on the couch with him and watch a game or do my homework in the same room with him while he watches the game because I just like being around him. We have this thing now though where if I watch a game with him, he has to watch one of my girly movies with me or watch a tv show that I love but isn't his thing. Its our way of doing something with the other person to make them happy and being able to share what we like with each other.
Bf doesn't care for sports and neither do I, and that is fine ;)
I don't care much for any sport. For one thing they're so inundated with advertising it wears me out, and then it's 3 hours of commitment week after week.