Fansided

7 ways to be a better sports fan

By Stu White

Jun 9, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Fans cheer prior to game three of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 9, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Fans cheer prior to game three of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
8 of 8
Next

7) Watch women’s sports

It amuses me in an incredulous, head-shaking way when basketball fans who wax poetic about how the San Antonio Spurs play the best style of basketball — because, these fans babble, the San Antonio Spurs rely on fundamentals and teamwork and crisp passing and non-flashy play — are also often basketball fans who retch at the mere thought of watching a WNBA game because “it’s not exciting.” (Uh, I thought you “enlightened” fans were all about the intricate movement of the ball around the court, not crazy dunks? Shouldn’t the WNBA be right up your alley?)

Look, you don’t have to watch women’s sports, just like how I don’t have to watch Formula One or NASCAR. When you have only so many hours in a day to devote to the consumption of sports, you should watch the sports that you most enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’d just like to offer, however, that variety is the spice of life, and it’s a bit ridiculous how many self-proclaimed “hardcore” sports fans avoid watching women’s sports, then offer flimsy excuses for doing so. (“I’m not interested because I just don’t know enough about them; they don’t receive enough coverage,” is a common one, which is an absurdly, laughably lazy reason to avoid watching women’s sports, because it’s not like there’s this educational tool called the internet or anything…)

From tennis to track to basketball to soccer, there are plenty of phenomenal women excelling in the world of athletics these days, yet many fans stubbornly refuse to care. Granted, if you watch multiple games of the FIFA Women’s World Cup — and, this is important, watch them with an open mind — and still walk away cold, well, that’s fine. At least you gave an effort. But if you refuse to tune in at all because you “know” that you’ll be bored (despite never having watched women’s soccer before, thus lacking any reasoning for your assumed boredom)? That’s weak.

If you’re a basketball fan exclusively, then it’s fine if you aren’t interested in soccer. And if the NFL is the only league that you follow, then it’s fine if you don’t care about baseball. But if you claim to be a sports fan — someone who loves sports in general — and then only watch sports in which men participate, chances are you should engage in a bit of self-examination.

More from Miscellaneous