How to Get Your Woman to Enjoy Football
First, involve your wife/girlfriend (hereafter to be known as ‘your woman’) in the draft. While it is foolish to expect her to be interested for the entire two days, plan on having her watch the first couple of hours with you. I promise, if you present it as a “date”, your woman will do it. Have some lunch or snacks on the coffee table, her favorite drinks on ice and be ready to answer any football/other questions with patience. The goal here is to get her interested in the human interest stories that are shown for the first few picks. These mini outtakes show the football players as human beings and go far in presenting football as something more then grown men beating on each other simply to run with a ball. Rather, they show the young men engaged in charitable activities as well as talking with their families and acting like more than a football player. If this is done correctly, your woman will find herself attached to a certain up and coming football player and somewhat excited when his team is playing. (This ensures at least one football game viewing a weekend – hopefully it’s the team you want to see!)
Second, stress the importance of good food every time you watch a football game. If your woman loves to cook and entertain, encourage her to prepare special football food for the games. Even better, become involved in the preparation yourself – bonding in the kitchen paves the way for a great relationship. There are so many foods that go well with football (think chili or sausage cooked in beer and garlic), it may even be impossible to limit the great meals to the 16 regular season games. Perhaps both you and your woman should start hosting parties that involve food from each of the cities involved in the game you want to watch. By creating a fun atmosphere that encourages men and women to be involved, your woman is less likely to balk at the idea of a football game.
Third, try to generate interest in the college football program that is closest to you. College games tend to be a little more endearing because people feel that the athletes are playing more for a love of the game rather than money. In addition, there tends to be a little less beer spilling fools at college level games. (Important: that does not mean there isn’t any beer, just typically a little less…do not assume that there will be no drinking.) Also, as college players enter the draft, your woman may then become interested in the NFL team that her favorite college player has joined. Again, this may not be the team you like. But, different team interests just may mean a few friendly wagers!
Fourth, ask your woman if she is interested in taking a class geared toward teaching women the game of football. Many communities offer these kinds of classes, as well colleges and universities as part of their marketing program for their football programs. She is more likely to listen to someone who she is not romantically involved with discuss 1st downs and what the difference between an extra point and a field goal is. Understanding what is happening on the field will go along way in your woman’s appreciation of football.
Lastly, be prepared to compromise. Unfortunately, there is no magic formula to make your woman understand your missing an anniversary dinner because there is a football game. There may be times that you must record a game or ask a friend to text message with important updates. Perhaps cutting a deal at the beginning of the season that says you will watch every game of a specific team and then have so many “freebies” to be determined ahead of time. This way, your woman knows what to expect if all of the above ways to get her involved fail miserably.
Football does not have to be a fight between you and your woman, but you both must be willing to open the lines of communication to make it a tradition that you can both enjoy!
