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What’s more romantic than an evening at the old ballpark? How about some alone time watching Monday Night Football huddled on the couch with a bucket of popcorn watching Dolphins vs. Jets or Cowboys vs. the 49ers. Or Lakers and Celtics Game 7 for all the marbles.
Ladies, get used to answers like these. Sure—there are a lot of guys out there who don’t watch sports, but the majority of us do. We don’t just watch it either, we get involved and become emotionally invested in a team. Our teams become our family. We buy knick-knacks to represent our loyalty such as t-shirts, posters, koozies, license plates, keychains, ornaments and even a sweater for the family dog. We become Monday morning quarterbacks, umpires, referees, coaches, managers, TV commentators and sometimes we think we’re smarter than the players themselves.
It was recently brought to my attention by one of my good friends that a guy like me, who is so heavily invested in sports not only for fun but as a career, has had some major issues with my dating life and my love for sports. So I made it a point to sit down and blog about it hopefully giving men and women some pointers for understanding relationships and sports. Now I know that you are reading this and saying to yourself “who the heck are you to give me advice on dating and sports”. So I went out of my way to get some insider help from some of my sources inside the sporting industry and couples who are friends of mine.
LADIES
Sports are an event where, any day anything is possible. We may see a triple double, a triple play, a cycle, a perfect game, a T.K.O., a Music City Miracle, the play , the flu game, or a 20 inning baseball game. You just NEVER know. Sometimes we just want to grab a cold one and sit down to enjoy a game. In the case of the NFL, there are 16 games in a season. Sixteen three hour blocks in one year. Think about how many times we sit through your family dinners, your gossip hours with your friends and chick flick movies we never wanted to see in the first place. You may be thinking “It’s just a waste of time once it passes you won’t remember it”. You could not be more wrong.
Guys have a database of sports memories stored in their head. I can remember a 1994 playoff game my mom took me and my brother to. It was the Miami Dolphins vs. the Kansas City Chiefs with Joe Montana and we won. I was five years old at the time. If the guy you are dating or interested in is a huge sports fanatic like I and the majority of guys are, then you probably might want to know a little bit about sports or at least fake it.
Whenever I have a bit of interest in a female and she likes sports, its one of the talking points I bring up when talking amongst my guy friends. Jorge Sedano, morning talk show host on 790 The Ticket in Miami, FL says, ” It helps she’s a sports fan too…” when asked about the relationship he and his signifcant other have even though he has so much passion for sports.
GENTLEMEN
Unless you’re dating a female who already loves sports as much as you, DO NOT make it a requirement of your next potential femme fatale to must love sports. It is only a hindrance to your chances of actually finding the one you are meant for. Trust me, I know. If you do have a girlfriend or a date who enjoys watching sports, going to sporting events with you or doesn’t mind enjoying a game with you, make sure to return the favor. Do something cute or romantic and make it unexpected. Buy her flowers and have them delivered. Watch her favorite movie with her after making her favorite dinner. Do something that will be stored in her database of memories.
If you are dating or interested in a female that is not interested in sports do not force the issue. Sometimes there are also certain days or games that your counterpart may not want to watch or do what you want to. Sacrifice is the name of the game and the key to sanity for both parties.
Mike Wallace, Heat Beat Writer for the Miami Herald says, “I guess, over the years, I’ve grown to like more non-sports TV and movies. To make peace, I’ve grown to watch, for a little while at least, what the wife and kids like to watch. That means a few ‘Lifetime’ movies here and there as well as plenty of Disney channel on occasion”.
To check out more from the author, and articles similar to this go to: The Sports Cohorts
