Thursday, Sept. 21, 2006

Ben's Fuzzy, But Not Bear-Fuzzy


Being a female football fan lends itself to some fairly interesting sociological encounters, especially if there are male football fans in the room. As a life-long gamer and a scientist, I'm well-versed in being involved with hobbies and pursuits that are incredibly male-dominated. My love of football is just another facet of that same testosterone-based jewel.

And yes, I am a girl. Tomboy at heart, sure, and I happily collected insects as a child, but I wear dresses, and jewelry, and perfume, and I love flowers and babies.

And football.

So, anyhow. Back on topic. When the males around me find out that I know my way around a pigskin, there are some layers or levels of discovery and/or acceptance, on their part. (As always, I'm not saying that all men fit this mold. It's just a general trend that I've noticed in my 30+ years of being a football fan.)

Level 1- Casual. This includes casual mentions of football topics that everyone in the country would know, like, "Hey, isn't the Super Bowl this weekend. Should be an interesting game." Now, a comment like that will usually get me a few amused, indulgent glances from the nearby males, as if they're thinking, "Aw, isn't that cute? She probably watches with her husband."

Level 2- Potential Fan. "Hey, who's your favorite team. Mine's the Pittsburgh Steelers." This will usually get me some raised eyebrows, some mild surprise, I think because 1) I know Pittsburgh has an NFL team and 2) it's called the Steelers. And, lately, I get accused of being a bandwagoner because the Steelers are the defending NFL champions, and people think I just like them because they won the Super Bowl.

But, usually, at this level, most guys think I like a certain team because my husband likes them (he doesn't, by the way. He's a Bears fan.), or because I like the color combination of their uniforms (gold and black's not bad, though it's not my favorite combination), or because I just like athletic men in tight pants. Which, don't get me wrong -- there's absolutely nothing wrong with this. And there are some cuties out there on the field, for sure. I tend to like Quarterbacks, since I've always been attracted to a more slender, sleek physique. Though, I'm not so sure that the 6'5", 241 lb. frame of "Big Ben" Roethlisberger could be defined as sleek. Size like that is about as sleek as a black bear. But, compared to, say, Right Tackle Max Starks (6'7", 337 lb.), Ben is pretty svelte.

In summary, I heart Ben. And quarterbacks in general. Though I still heart Troy, and he's a Strong Safety. And heart-ing the guys because they're cute really has no bearing on the fact that I heart football.

Square now? Cool. Moving on.

Level 3- Wow, You Really Are Different. It's about here that most guys start to get a clue that I'm serious. Here's where some guys will actually start to quiz me about football or the Steelers, to see if I actually know stuff. They'll ask if I saw any of the Sunday games, and if I rooted for either team. They'll ask my opinion of said game, to see if I actually saw it and knew what happened. Most of the time, I do watch the televised games, and I'll answer their questions and give my opinion. Mostly, because I like screwing with them, and I love to see the look of dawning comprehension on their faces when they realize that I know my shit. Remember, Aquarius here. Love shock value.

It's also at about this level that the guys involved in this sociological experiement split into two basic groups. They're either put off by a female football fan, dismiss me as an anomoly and are generally uncomfortable around me, or they think it's really cool that they know a woman who can discuss the Steelers of the 70s, and they have a new person with whom they can rehash the latest round of games. These are also the guys who are tickled when I wear my Steelers shirt or my Dan Marino Miami Dolphins jersey (not so much a fan of the Dolphins these days, but I love the Dan. Love him, since the 80s.).

It's those guys, the ones at work who come up to me Monday and Tuesday mornings and say, "Hey, good morning. Did you see the game? What'd you think?" I like. The ones who avoid me are weirdos.

Man, the things a girl has to do to be able to wear her Steelers earrings in public...

saturncat at 10:13 p.m.

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