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Why Can’t I Be A Football Fan?                 Why aren’t women easily accepted into the fold by male football supporters?

7/5/2013

14 Comments

 

A Blog by @goonergurl20

Picture
India – Where everyone’s supposed to be equal according to our laws and there isn’t supposed to be any bias based on caste, religion, or sex.

India is where I live, and India is where I’ve learnt to survive as a female football fan.

I’m sure there are many like me out there, but when it comes to voicing our opinion, apart from ranting on Social Media there’s nothing much we can really boast about.Society is so used to demeaning the status of the Indian woman, that at the end of the day, she forgets who she really is at times.

And when it comes to something like football, which is one of those typical “guy things”, I’ve come to realize that most maleswouldn’t appreciate it if a female challenged his skills or even his knowledge.

So what is it about the male section of our society?Are they jealous? Are they sexist?

To our faces, most men behave extremely sweetly and also pretend to be impressed when we say we follow football. Walk away and one will find them cracking slightly offensive jokes at our expense, which vary right from supporting a particular team to sporting a team’s jersey, and even about the offside rule.

Women have had to put up with some very patronising behaviour at times in the still fairly masculine world of football. We all recall Sky Sports dinosaurs Andy Gray and Richard Keys’ jibes at a female Assistant Referee – ’Do us a favour love, do you even know the off side rule? When male officials get it wrong, it’s because they’re inept. When female officials get it wrong, apparently it’s because they’re women?

Anyone with two eyes, a marginally functioning brain,and enough female friends, knows that women are a significant part of the football community worldwide, and now in India as well.

Women, and I’m speaking on behalf of all the female football fans I know, don’t watch or support a football team just because they have ‘cute players’. Also, supporting a team just because they’re winning trophies isn’t something a woman would do. But having said that, I won’t deny that there are a certain number of ‘plastic fans’. Those numbers, however, would be considerably less if compared with men, so the ‘plasticity’ of fans is common across both sexes.

In my opinion, there are three main types of female football fans:

  1. The ones who love the game, and everything that has got anything to do with it. They’re the ones who won’t miss a single game for anything in the world, and even if they can’t watch the game live at the stadium, they make sure they watch it on TV.
  2. The second type also love their team, however, they’re a little less dedicated (if I may say so). They’ll buy their team’s jerseys, support their team during their ups and downs and keep abreast with everything that’s happening. This section of fans is rather important for they’re the ones blowing up Twitter and Facebook, demanding that games get streamed if not aired live on TV; they’re constantly buzzing on Social Media when it comes to their team and football in general.
  3. And the third type are the ones who’ve jumped on the bandwagon – just because everyone else was doing it! They know who the players are and they definitely know who the hottest players are, but ask them what was their team’s ‘back four’ during a particular game, and they won’t have a clue.
Too many times on Social Media and in person, female fans have been labeled “glory hunters” or “plastic fans”, which is rather uncalled for. I have to say this to all men, with due respect, that women are definitely aware of the “Offside Rule”, thank you very much. We cry when our team loses, cry harder when we win. A player’s injury affects us more than our own and it’s the end of the world when someone leaves our club.

We rant on Twitter not because we want to attract followers, but because it hurts us when our team doesn’t perform well. I don’t see a reason why people think we’re trying to boast about our knowledge of the game when we tweet about it; we just love the sport!

Growing up in India and breaking all the rules when I fell in love with Thierry Henry was the defining moment in my life. Football took precedence over everything else – even friends.

What was the case with me 12 years ago stands true until date.If my team has a bad game, my entire week is ruined. And if my team has a brilliant game, it goes without saying that I’d have a brilliant week.

Football is directly responsible for my state of mind.But no matter how much ever I love my club, and no matter how many tears I shed – not to mention the very colourful language I use during a game – I’ll always have that question mark on my loyalty. Speaking from experience, and I’m sure most girls’ experience, it doesn’t take long for a guy to point fingers and spew venom.

It’s really sad some of things women are told by various people, just because they love a sport.

“You’re fat and that jersey looks ugly on you.”

So if I’m not “sexy” or “hot”, I’m not supposed to wear my team’s jersey? Is that what all female football fans are perceived as? Sex symbols?

Just recently, I received a not-so-comforting tweet – “You’re a girl. What do you understand about football? Go make me a sandwich, *****!”

I laughed it off then, but somewhere inside it stung.Why can’t I have a place for myself in those hundreds and thousands of football fans?Do I need to prove my knowledge and love for the game at every single step?

A Nike campaign comes to mind at this juncture. Sometime during 2010, they released a new video – “Paving The Way” – which had young boys thanking the men’s national team for inspiring them, and surprisingly, it didn’t feature a single girl. The advertisement was subject to some criticism for the same, but the male community was quiet at large.

Just because I am a woman and I live in India, doesn’t mean my place is in the kitchen or inside the four walls of the house. We’re independent and strong women, and if we love a sport, as much as men can ever think of doing (or even more), it’s high time that they made space for us in their world.

We may be emotional goats, but we’re loyal football fans; and at the end of the day, that is exactly what matters.

14 Comments
afrogooner
7/5/2013 12:12:00 am

Whilst I agree with all of the article and have experienced a lot of what has been said, I think that my experience with make football fans has mainly been positive. I tend to find most men are impressed and pleased to hear I support their team or know about football. Sometimes you get the odd comment about being a girl but I think they know deep down that I know my stuff.
I think I've found more negativity among women who don't appreciate football and judge me for doing so. A lot of my female friends see me as abnormal and don't understand my commitment to the club which has sometimes put a strain on friendships.

Reply
You Are My Gooners link
7/5/2013 12:21:57 am

Thanks for taking the time to comment. We wanted an article to prompt debate and we are sure the author @goonergurl20 will reply to the points you made. If it's any help, we do not think you are abnormal !!!

Reply
goonergurl20 link
7/5/2013 12:30:53 am

Hey Afrogooner,
Firstly, thank you for reading the post and commenting :)
Secondly, I know exactly how you feel when it comes to other women who think you're abnormal because you love a sport/team a lot. You should just ignore them. If they can't understand your love for a club, do they really know you? - This is a question I've often asked myself.
Coming to your experience with men - Here in India, things are a little different. Either a girl follows cricket, or she doesn't follow any sport at all. And if by chance, if she does happen to like any other sport, it's just because of the players. I've had a lot of close friends say that to me.
Mind-set of people varies in different places; but as long as we know our stuff, nothing else matters :)

Reply
the gooneratte
7/5/2013 12:41:29 am

Wow, honestly being a goonerette myself you having it hard than me.. been a football fan since early 2000s, grew up with guys so it was an easy transition.
Girls need same respect to pursue their passion in sports as much as guys get. respect is earned though. stand up for your rights, don't let them get to you. enjoy the game. at the end of the day, its all about you. people will always discriminate regardless, its a shame we live in a world full of sexist, racist etc.

be strong! stay goonerish!

Reply
You Are My Gooners link
7/5/2013 12:50:53 am

Thanks for taking the time to comment. We really don't see what the sex of a supporter has to do with anything. There are some very very knowledgeable female Arsenal fans out there who know a lot more than us! All we care about is that they love Arsenal.

Reply
@Dorkkly
7/5/2013 01:28:52 am

Well written, relate-able. I especially loved the line:
'Do I need to prove my knowledge and love for the game at every single step?' .... for fear of being severely judged.

Cheers.

Reply
You Are My Gooners
7/5/2013 02:21:46 am

Glad you enjoyed it. The author is a young Indian female and it is interesting to see that her experience isn't unique. That's really very sad in 2013.

Reply
Kay Bee (of Gooner Girls Podcast) link
7/5/2013 04:03:54 am

I read this amazing article earlier, and would once again - like to give props to the writer.
Does anyone know the churchill ad? with the nodding dog? well, that was me! Agreeing with everything that was mentioned - I was a'nodding.

I remember going to football training with a bunch of blokes (I wanted to be better, stronger, faster etc)...they wouldn't pass me the ball..all because of my gender. It took a week of me chasing my own players to get hold of the ball..eventually - I just started screaming at them. Then...a miracle happened! the ball found it's way to me...I kicked it on ahead of me and sprinted after it (2 touch football rules)..and sent in a delicious (if I do say so myself) cross and it was missed by millimeters. To say I wasn't happy would be an understatement especially as I was hacked down from behind by the guy who eventually caught up with me. After that...the lads started passing to me. The coach would ask me to lead warm ups..he also asked me to devise warm ups and asked me my opinion on starters/subs for matches.

In some ways, though it's a little different here in the UK..I fully understand where the writer is coming from.

Full props to GoonerGurl20 - you'll go far.

Reply
anu link
7/5/2013 04:38:57 am

first off I would like to say good article! as a fellow indian female who grew up falling madly in love with the game, I can most certainly relate to a lot of the things you have written about. but I will also say that by and large I have had more good experiences with guys (in India, the UK and in other places) than bad and that the bad ones were usually with the guys who were jerks even with and to other guys so it was nothing too personal or more often than not related to my gender. the ones that matter have fully accepted me as a fan and respect my knowledge and opinion and it's something that I cherish. others have grown to do the same after initially being skeptical about whether a girl really can be a real fan. and the rest, well dont let them bother you too much, life's too short and they really are not worth it, focus on the ones that are :)

Ps. My Caps key is being a right muppet so apologies for the state of this post!

Reply
You Are My Gooners
7/5/2013 05:49:22 am

Thank you for your kind words. She has written a very thought provoking piece that seems to have hit a note with lots of fans.

Reply
You Are My Gooners
7/5/2013 05:52:18 am

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Lets hope that articles like this makes people think & not judge football knowledge ion the sex of the supporter. There are many female fans who are far more knowledgeable than me & make football more interesting.

Reply
Amanda
12/5/2013 03:16:17 am

I have never thought about writing a blog about women in football, but maybe I should. This piece of writing, was inspiring. I feel in the UK we do have it easier than many around the globe, I've been in football about 35 years and know more about Arsenal then most but I never realised how hard it is for female fans from other countries to be accepted. I am proud to be a Gooner Girl and always will be, I always hold my own in conversations about Arsenal and football and have always been very well respected in my community, as it is most men come and talk to me about football, so I've not experienced what you have. Really enjoyed reading that blog.

Reply
You Are My Gooners
14/5/2013 04:24:25 pm

Glad you enjoyed it. We try and have writers with something interesting to say and she certainly did. The reaction has been positive from so many people. She will be writing more for us. We love our female Arsenal fans!

Reply
Real Madrid Jersey link
14/10/2013 04:33:57 pm

Excellent Blog! I really admire your thinking and the way you have put these information in this post. keeping it doing. God bless you.

Reply



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