Why Some Women Don't like Football - Three Theories

Just like millions of other viewers I watched the NFC and AFC championship football games. During the first game, between the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Jets, I received various phone calls and text messages from friends and family. This is typical of a Sunday afternoon. However, while I was busy rooting for the Colts (who won 30-17) I let many of my friends know I would call them after the game ended.

Since most of these calls and text messages were from my female family members and friends, the reply from most was pretty consistent. The main reply was "Why would you watch football?" Or, for those who know me well, if I was not very talkative during the conversation they would say "You must be watching your football games again."

When this activity continued through the second game, between the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings (Saints won 31-28 in overtime) it started to occur to me that I am one of the few ladies I know that actually loves watching football. I know that there are many other women who enjoy football as well as other sports but I started to wonder why many women do not watch. As a result of this I came up with 3 theories.

1) Tradition - I don't know about other ladies who like sports but I get kind of irritated during the holidays when women are expected to cook and clean while the men watch football. I want to watch too. Why can't we share this activity? In my opinion the cooking and cleaning should not just be for the women or just the men. However, traditionally men are the ones who spend hours on end watching their favorite sports.

2) Time away from their man - This theory surrounds the fact that a football game will easily distract a man's attention for about 3 hours. For some women who do not like football this can become an irritating habit because they do not understand why the man is so focused. It can be tough to get someone who is engrossed in a game, to find it important to take out the trash or engage in meaningful conversation.

3) They do not understand the game - When reflecting on when I started to enjoy football I realized it was during high school. I was a part of the high school marching band. Since I was required to be present in the stands for every football game, I began to learn more about the plays and positions. I have been hooked ever since. I have a theory that more women may enjoy the game if they are given the chance to understand it.

While I am sure there are other reasons, these are just a few that occurred to me. Feel free to add your comments regarding whether you agree, disagree, or have other theories.

I have the sneaky suspicion that if a higher number of women become interested in the sports that their significant other enjoys, then perhaps the reciprocal could happen and the couple would end up spending more time together and finding they now have new common interests.

On February 7th you can definitely find me in front of the game and not cooking or cleaning. Of course, I will help set up and stay late to help clean up but during the game please do not bother me in case it is really important. ;)

May the best team win!