When I first started the idea for the Sports Gal Pal I originally wanted to focus solely on college athletics. After all I wrote my undergrad thesis on the subject. Yes I really spent over a year of my life researching about all aspects of college sports in America, and got an A on it too.
If you want you can read the full thing by clinking the link. The Thesis that Launched a 1000 Blog posts- well not really but it sounds cool (BTW the real title is “Winning My Religion: Athletics Functioning as Religious Identity in American Secular Universities”)
But for those who think reading a 51 page thesis with footnotes, citations, and charts (well the charts are pretty awesome) sounds dull here is a summary.
Unlike professional sports teams, college sports inspires fans through involvement and connection. Think about it, many of you are college sports fans because you either attended the university, you know someone who attended the university, or you simply like the university. On many levels you are asked to participate- donating money to the scholarship fund, tail gating, the traditions of the individual schools- it doesn’t matter if you held a football in your hand. You are a member of the school- especially if you’re a student or alumni.
Plus college sports predates many professional teams and its not like the Crimson Tide can move to a bigger market like professional teams do- no a majority of schools are in rural, small towns where the Saturday game is the high light of the week.
This was great but not every gal follows only college, the pro leagues especially the NFL have worked hard to include the female fan. Sports in America are a great pastime, but only if you really understand the game. And there are so many aspects to it. Some gals really get into the action of the game, but others love going for the sense of community, and even others go because another fan dragged them. No matter if you have more fantasy teams than your boyfriend or you don’t know the difference between a touchdown or a slam dunk you will find great content here on the Sports Pal Gal.
The other reason is that when I became engaged to my husband I realized I would become a Sunday widow because he loved football… and I wanted to be a good wife a spend time with him doing something he loved to do. I checked out the book “Football for Dummies” and learned the basics football. Then I started to watch media coverage and analyze games. But the real turning point was playing fantasy football after my best friend’s husband needed a filler after someone bailed… and I won that league!
Being a fan doesn’t mean you have to know the difference between a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense or even what Peyton Manning‘s passing yards were last game. I’ll give you a secret most sports fans, guys included, just get highlights and commentary from the talking heads and make their own opinions.
The Sports Gal Pal 
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