As I was reading chapter 15 in Media Sport about issues regarding audience experience (gender, fanship & marriage), the first thing that jumped out at me was that the authors of the book included a section specific to marriage. I think such an inclusion just goes to show the dramatic social effects that sports viewership and especially fanship/fandom have. The auhors mentioned the "football widow myth," a reference to wives of devoted football fan(atics). This hit home because just last weekend I had an argument with my boyfriend over football Sundays. Not to divulge too much personal information, but our relationship is a pretty good example of relationship/fansom issues. With our busy schedules, Sundays have, for nearly two years, been "our day." However, since the start of this football season, Sundays have become football days and if I don't want to get together with "the guys" to watch the Pats or the Giants or whoever else is playing, I don't see my boyfriend until about 11 pm. His defense, "but I always invite you." My response- "but I hate football!" I do, I'm sorry. I can get excited about any other sport- I'm an avid baseball fan; I enjoy basketball and hockey; I'll even watch golf. I just can't get into football. Ironically, our mutual love for baseball has brought us closer together. We exchange tickets for birthdays and holidays, watch the games together on TV and have long heated debates about things like who the next Yankees manager should be. Football, on the other hand, is not something I expected to come between us. I'm sure lots of confused women wonder how their boyfriends/husbands could seem to be more interested in a sport than them, and without studying fandom I might have been wondering the same thing myself this football season.
I'm linking an article I found from "Christianity Today." I don't normally read this online magazine but it highlights very well some gender differnces in sports viewing between men and women. Also noteworthy is that the article is in a particular section of the e-zine devoted to issues/advice for couples who have recently married. http://www.christianitytoday.com/mp/2003/003/15.12.html
A couple things to note discussed in the chapter that are also discussed in the article- women's fanship is more strongly correlated to learn more about the players and the sport, womens' fanship is more stronly correlated to pre-game preparations (including tuning in early, preparing drinks/food, discussing upcoming games), also the different dimensions of sports viewership can be seen in the article- the husband (and eventually the wife's) fanship, the learning dimension, release dimension, companionship dimension, and filler dimension.
In conclusion, sports viewership definitely does seem to differ between men and women and some of the more popular differences seem to hold true according to this article.
I'm curious, what do you think are the differences between men and women according to sports viewership. Also, have any of you ever encountered a problem either with a significant other or a friend in terms of sports viewing, for example maybe an argument over what game to watch, or maybe what to do on a Sunday? ;)
p.s. sorry for posting late, for some reason i had it in my head that the lead bloggers were supposed to post before noon monday.
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3 comments:
I think Kim makes a great point. Sports, if both people in a relationship are into them could create boundaries or stronger bonds between significant others. You always hear of the girl that wants to hang out and watch a movie but the guy would rather watch the big game with his buddies. The girl can become upset and become mad at her boyfriend or husband. I also think sports can bring people in a relationship together. You can attend sporting events together and have a great time with your boyfriend sharing the love for a team together or seeing what he adores so much about his certain team. Today women have more of a role in fandom than they used to have. Some women are just as into sports as their boyfriend or husband. Like other hobbies or interests that people have in common, sports have become one that many people talk about and take a part of. Unlike Kim, I love football but I am a little unsure that if I was invited to my boyfriends house with all of his drunk buddies, if I would actually attend. There is some sort of special bond some guys share with their favorite teams and it does seem to be something women usually do not take part in without other women present. So then the issue arises, why doesn’t he want to watch the game with me and would rather watch it with his buddies? Haha. Probably because it wouldn’t be as much fun and exciting as 10 of his friends rooting for the same team. I also find it much more entertaining and fun to watch a sport with a fan that likes the same team as you. If you are the only outcast that likes the team that everyone is against, it poses an uncomfortable situation if your team is losing. But with differences aside, I think that sports do bring people together. Whether it is because they like the same team or just enjoy watching any sporting event with their friends, everyone enjoys a good game from time to time.
I think that the difference between men and women as fans is very apparent. For the most part, even when females are avid sports fans, their expression of their fandom is not necessarily as vocal as the male side of it. I definitely speak my mind about my devotion to certain sports teams and/or players, but I feel as if my male friends always have something more to say. And I agree that their devotion can certainly change the outcome of weekend plans. I’m perfectly content catching up on a game after the game has been played. There are few teams that I really enjoy watching professionally, so a Sunday for me doesn’t have to be about football. My male friends on the other hand pick up enough beer and snacks to last the entire day, park the cooler next to their chairs and inhabit their living room for upwards of 10 hours. I suppose I can’t relate to that because for me I feel like there might be something better to do…like maybe even go out and play the sport.
I agree with Nikki. It is pretty apparent how males and females differ in their level of fanship.
Although sometimes, I wonder who the bigger Jets fan is, me or my dad. We have season tickets and he wont go and sit in our seats (located in gods country, aka the upper tier) because hes spoiled and only likes to sit in the lower level. i, on the other hand, will sit anywhere and i dont know if its an age thing or if it really shows i am the bigger fan.
but anyway, from going to jets games for the past 15 years of life, i have noticed the difference in the way males and females behave. the guys are usually all lumped together talking and chatting, and when the female (usually someones girlfriend) attempts to say anything, they ignore her and she ends up feeling not a part of the game.
i think it just depends on the person. some guys would be extremely excited to have a girlfriend who was into his team and loved going to the games because then he could be the envy of all his buddies because hes got a cool girlfriend.
other guys see it as threatening and they dont want their girlfriend hanging out during "guy time".
(sorry for the bad grammer, im posting this off my sidekick as my computer has gone crazy and my internet is not working)
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