A column assigned for me to write for my school paper. Whatever.
We all know by now that the fiancée of Tampa Bay Rays star Matt Joyce is an intern in our guidance office. I found out sitting in Mrs. Dupre’s office with three other guys. I lit up -- the Tampa native right fielder is probably my favorite Ray.
“Oh yeah, of course you like baseball now,” one of the boys says, after seeing my reaction. The others laugh.
I roll my eyes.
What they don’t know is I could tell you his batting average from his time with the Rays last season (.241), that he bats left-handed, boasts 10 home runs and a 40 RBI.
This assuming prejudice happens. A lot.
I would ask who’s tired of seeing Barbie-wants-to-be-a-journalist onscreen at ESPN, but I know that only about 0.4 in 10 females -- the gender that might agree with me -- will actually be reading this sentence under that intimidating “sports” heading up there.
But guys? They don’t seem to care too much how accurate or professional women in the sports realm are, though, so long as her blazer is tight and her blouse low.
When men do care, though, it’s shown by dismissing females’ analysis or input in sports-related conversations. See: above.
But then again, I almost don’t want to blame the male kind for these stereotypes. Seems to me that it is too often that girls suddenly “looooooove” football as soon as the quarterback waltzes into hearing distance range. And we’ve all seen chicks ask the cute baseball player from seventh period how many “goals” he made at last night’s game. Come on, ladies.
I look up to reporters and analysts like Erin Andrews of ESPN. She knows her stuff and she’s classy, yet she still gets a lot of criticism for being just a pretty face. And even women who aren’t as, err, well-endowed are treated in the same way. Even in an era in which decent female reporters are starting to populate sidelines and a few sports shows’ anchors are women, we’re still judged as a gender in the sports industry.
Yeah, I’m aware that pretty much every guy has probably stopped reading by now, dismissing this as another cry for equality. I don’t care about “equality,” really. I just want the male kind to know that we can do it just as well as they can. Maybe even better in some cases.
But the point I really want to drive home is two-sided.
Girls: don’t fain so much interest in a sport of which even the basics confuse you, or act like an expert in a realm you won’t care about after your relationship becomes Facebook-unofficial. Do, however, have interest in your guy’s on-field performance and learn about his passion. Guaranteed that you’ll get major awesome points in his book.
Bros: be open-minded to the female perspective on sports. Let that girl who regularly wears Buccaneers t-shirts into your conversation about Josh Freeman and where the Bucs are headed this upcoming season. Listen to the points your female friends might make about the Lightning’s turn-around season. You might just learn something you didn’t think of before. It’s all in the perspective -- and us girls, in plenty of cases, we’ve got something new to add to the conversation if guys would really listen.
