Learning to Talk About Sports... Forum

[rinkrat19]

I'm a female and a huge hockey fan. Sometimes it has been a great conversational asset, but FWIW there have been times when that has backfired on me. Male colleagues can have a hard time believing that a feminine woman is true fan and the conversation turned more into me "proving" that I am really such a fan.

Another female hockey fan here...I haven't had it backfire on me, although I can definitely see how it could happen with some men (idiots). I can usually shut the more sexist comments down pretty well by mentioning that not only do I watch hockey, I also happen to play on a couple of men's rec teams, and do they play? No? Well, that's a shame. (as patronizingly as possible, of course.)
But I haven't found that necessary very often. Most men are not that stupid.

[Kess]

I'm a female and a huge hockey fan. Sometimes it has been a great conversational asset, but FWIW there have been times when that has backfired on me. Male colleagues can have a hard time believing that a feminine woman is true fan and the conversation turned more into me "proving" that I am really such a fan.

Another female hockey fan here...I haven't had it backfire on me, although I can definitely see how it could happen with some men (idiots). I can usually shut the more sexist comments down pretty well by mentioning that not only do I watch hockey, I also happen to play on a couple of men's rec teams, and do they play? No? Well, that's a shame. (as patronizingly as possible, of course.)
But I haven't found that necessary very often. Most men are not that stupid.

That's true, most find it as a plus. I don't play though, so I can't use that rebuttal lol =/

[kalvano]

If you are male and aren't into sports (either to play or watch) other males will look down on you. I don't care what you say.

This is true. I don't like sports, generally, and you can definitely feel a sort of wall go up when you talk to people and say that.

[thelawyler]

I'm a female and a huge hockey fan. Sometimes it has been a great conversational asset, but FWIW there have been times when that has backfired on me. Male colleagues can have a hard time believing that a feminine woman is true fan and the conversation turned more into me "proving" that I am really such a fan.

They don't actually think you don't know anything about it. They are just flirting.

[tedler]

.

[YehudaBauer]

I haven't read this whole thread, but I would recommend a few things:

1. Follow the sports in one area. If you are from St. Louis, follow all the St. Louis teams. It always throws people off when born and bred NY-ers follow the Yankees and Giants but for some reason like the Heat or the Spurs or the Lakers.
2. Follow football. I'm more of a baseball fan myself, but if you claim to like only one or two sports and neither is football, you will look bad. It's also the easiest to follow. You just have to watch 3 hrs a week (or check the headlines on ESPN for a similar amount of time).
3. Don't force it. Talking about sports is supposed to be fun. You should actually enjoy doing it. If it's a chore to you, you might be looking at from too much of an academic standpoint. Check out barstoolsports.com. They are hilarious, and the way they "cover" sports is somewhat similar to how the average person talks about it.
4. Join a fantasy football league. It will familiarize you with the stats and players. It's also a fun competition.
5. If you don't like the actual game on the field, find something to focus on that isn't the game. Saying, "A-Rod is such a b*tch" is a perfectly legitimate analysis of a Yankee game as long as your reasoning is a little more advanced than "Just 'cause."

This should be an ample start. Also, you might want to listen to sports radio when you're driving around. I freaking love Mike Francesa.

[TaipeiMort]

I haven't read this whole thread, but I would recommend a few things:

1. Follow the sports in one area. If you are from St. Louis, follow all the St. Louis teams. It always throws people off when born and bred NY-ers follow the Yankees and Giants but for some reason like the Heat or the Spurs or the Lakers.
2. Follow football. I'm more of a baseball fan myself, but if you claim to like only one or two sports and neither is football, you will look bad. It's also the easiest to follow. You just have to watch 3 hrs a week (or check the headlines on ESPN for a similar amount of time).
3. Don't force it. Talking about sports is supposed to be fun. You should actually enjoy doing it. If it's a chore to you, you might be looking at from too much of an academic standpoint. Check out barstoolsports.com. They are hilarious, and the way they "cover" sports is somewhat similar to how the average person talks about it.
4. Join a fantasy football league. It will familiarize you with the stats and players. It's also a fun competition.
5. If you don't like the actual game on the field, find something to focus on that isn't the game. Saying, "A-Rod is such a b*tch" is a perfectly legitimate analysis of a Yankee game as long as your reasoning is a little more advanced than "Just 'cause."

This should be an ample start. Also, you might want to listen to sports radio when you're driving around. I freaking love Mike Francesa.

+1

[Ludo!]

OP you should really consider putting the fact that you're a girl in the first post

[TaipeiMort]

OP you should really consider putting the fact that you're a girl in the first post

Also, if you have athletic background/ are gargantuan (in a non-fat way) then you might actually get questions as a girl, even if you only played and don't care about male sports. I have a friend who was a female college basketball player at a blue chip program, and she apparently got tons of serious questions about sports.

[westinghouse60]

Sports is like talking about politics (always new stuff to talk about, lots of people are opinionated about it, etc), only you can come away from a conversation disagreeing with someone and not have them think you're a shithead.

OP: The best way to generate a genuine interest in a sport is to play its fantasy counterpart. I'd highly recommend football, as both the real and fantasy version require the least effort on the part of the fans. I grew up a fan of my hometown NFL team, but fantasy football makes sure you know what's going with all of the league's teams. A number of people I know who would never follow the NFL otherwise got into it via fantasy. I'm sure you have some friends who play, so maybe talk to them about getting into one of their leagues.

+1, even a playing in a free league with random people can help keep you up to date if you don't know anyone who plays.

Also, don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but you might want to try following golf OP. Totally different experience from watching other sports since its not the same view on the screen for 2 hours, and a good number of people follow it.

[mattviphky]

who's winning the match?

[rinkrat19]

who's winning the match?

How many quarters are there in a hockey game?