Hello. My name is Gabrielle, I am a girl and I love football. The first thing that comes to every male mind when I say this is ‘oh, she must have a thing for the quarterback.’ Well, no. I am a NY Giants fan, no offense to Eli Manning or anything, but he is not my style; I am a NY football Giants fan because they are the epitome of New York City
The Giants embody the spirit of a true New Yorker; they do not let anybody keep them down or hold them back, and just when everyone counts them down and out . . . . BOOM! They go on to win the Super Bowl after everyone had said they wouldn’t even make it to the playoffs. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do like a man in a uniform and all, but sports are sports. A player can be attractive, but when it comes to football I am focused on the game. No one talks to me on Sundays during football and so help me God if you get in the way of my line of sight during playoff seasons.
Football is the only sport I know the ins and outs of; every 'into', every first down, 2-point convervsion, every field goal missed, I am screaming, cheering or sulking with the rest of the [usually male] sports fanatics. I trash talk, I know draft picks [thanks 1iota for hooking me up with tix last year], I’m vaguely familiar with rosters so I can call out the opposing team’s 5th string quarterback because everyone else is injured and he looks scared to death on the field with the real players; I am a fan. But for whatever reason no one ever seems to take me seriously when football season comes around.
For the 49ers v Giants playoffs game this season (2011) I was bartending during the game for a packed bar. It was pretty much a mixed crowd, more men, older, but a lot of young girls sporting jerseys and oo-ing and ahh-ing whenever the ball was thrown. They had no idea what a two-point conversion was, or why you cannot touch someone during a punt return if they are flailing their arms around. It was then I realized that’s probably how people saw me; deer in headlights, blindly following the mass of boys to ‘stand out’ and grab their attention . . . that is, of course, until I started heckling Alex Smith (QB), and screaming at the girls NOT to start singing ‘we’re going to the ship’ before the field goal attempt because HEY! Did you not JUST see the Ravens game (sorry Cundiff) against the Patriots?
Come football season I get very superstitious. I wore the same t-shirt for 3 weeks of the playoffs and kept making the same bets because I thought that was helping my team win week after week. Now did I really think the fate of my team rests on the little details of my daily choices? No. But I did them just in case. Regardless if you’re a bystander just trying to fit in during the only real sport of the winter, or if you’re actually a die hard fan and bleed whatever color it is your team wears (BLUE!!) there is one thing you never ever do . . . and that is call a play before it happens. [you are going to jinx us all are you kidding me?!! Again..sorry Cundiff] Now these girls did not know any better; they were just taken aback by all the action and glory which surrounds football and your hometown team possibly going to the biggest game of the year. However, I still realized that they were just fitting in to the stereotype that I argue with every time I open my mouth about football. I know a little bit about a lot of sports, but football is the only one that no contest I know a lot about. So, men, in the future, hear my plight. Not every girl likes sports just for the athletes. Sure, that’s an additional pro, but some of us actually act just as crazy as you do. [Also, I would like to take this moment to apologize to my junior year roommate. Sorry I broke our TV when I launched a book at it during football season and my team lost. It meant a lot at the time.] So guys, feel free during your favorite sports game to invite a few ladies over. You never know, they might just surprise you and be more into the game than you are.
