I recently stumbled upon your article, if that's what we're calling the paragraph and a half of information I found thanks to Twitter. I am appalled by the content of this article for a multitude of reasons including, but not limited to, the fact that I have been a woman watching sports my entire life, that I don't always "need a story line" in order to stay interested in any topic, and that it's assumed women don't care about stats. I am quite impressed that it took you less than 150 words to upset nearly every female who has read this article.
I've been a sports fan my entire life. There was never a time in my life where the men (or any adults in my life, for that matter) ever felt the need to explain to me in small words about the back stories of players for me to be interested. They never treated me any different when watching sports than they would have my brother or any male cousins.
I cannot believe you Teresa, as a woman yourself, were comfortable generalizing women into one tiny specific niche. I cannot believe that any woman would take such a demeaning tone. If you're looking for a better guide on how to get more women interested in sports, try an angle like Sarah takes over at Venus Trapped in Mars.
I think it's incredibly offensive to assume that the only way women will care anything about sports is if a player's wife battled cancer and he took a year off to help her fight. Please do not get me wrong, with the Ray Rice and Aaron Hernandez stories in sports, it's incredibly uplifting to hear about the NFL rallying behind Devon Still and his daughter. I, personally, would also be interested in sports if it was just about athletes working hard to make it as a professional athlete and role model.
It's completely understandable to argue that "not all women are interested in statistics" because they're not. Do you know what is also worth noting? Not all men are interested in statistics either. As a woman who does know statistics, I've "scared men off" with my knowledge and passion for sports. Just don't judge my abilities by the abysmal performance of my fantasy football team. Did I mention that I play in a league with all women?
Would you like to know the best way to talk to a woman about sports? Like she's your equal, because that's what she is. Even if she hasn't been a sports fan her entire life, talking to her like she's a five year old who doesn't understand is not going to get your point across.
Thanks for your time.
Kasey Decker, on behalf of women who are interested in sports everywhere.
Hey, that was over 500 words, so I'm linking up with Becca! Do you feel like you need a player's wife to battle cancer, or some other storyline, for you to be interested in sports?
