Love for the Game

Is it too early to talk football??

With the ESPY’s airing last night, I can’t help but reflect on my love for sports, football, and the Cowboys (in reverse order).  As a woman, sometimes girly and other times grungy, I often find myself defending my knowledge of the game, players, and organizations.  While I consider those questions fair game, I am always disheartened when my love for sports is reduced to a guise to hang out with or get men.  Actually, it disgusts me.  The men I’ve dated have never liked me because I liked sports- most men are more concerned with looks, personality, and intelligence- all of which I have an abundance of.  Contrarily, my love for sports can be traced back to one man- my father or Daddy, as I call him.  When I was little, I would follow my daddy everywhere.  Wherever he was, is exactly where I wanted to be.  You might say a true Daddy’s girl, but actually more like a Father’s son.  My daddy treated me the only way he knew how and didn’t subject me to gender roles of what I should or shouldn’t do.   So just like he taught me about cars, how to build and fix things, and wash cars, he also taught me how to cook and iron clothes.  My point is that he spent quality time teaching me the things he knew and love- one of which was sports.  And I learned it just like I learned all the other things.

My love for the Cowboys, I guess can be moreover traced back to my family.  We are a beautifully animated, super passionate group of people.  So every Thanksgiving, the men would make their way from the dinner table to den with the television to watch the Cowboys game.  But by halftime the whole family (men, women, and children alike) was in the den cheering, yelling, and coaching our team to victory!

From there, I suppose my love for sports has spilled over into my relationships, as I typically fall for fellow sports fanatics.  In my relationships, I have been exposed to and learned to appreciate every sport covered by ESPN (except race car driving, I still hate it).  But that is just pure coincidence, or is it?  Maybe it is me that innately go for guys who share my love for the game.  I would much rather accept that as truth rather than the former accusation that it is just a ploy to bait men.  As far as I am concerned, men could be using sports to bait women like myself!