A Guide for Women Who Love Men Who Love Football

Every September, legions of women view football as a rival for their man’s attention or an excuse to get out of the house. If you have a man who is obsessed with football, but you’ve never had the chance to learn the intricacies of this sometimes confusing sport, maybe it’s time you joined the ranks of the pigskin-obsessed. You and your honey can spend more time together, and who knows? You might even become a football fanatic, too.

Going to the Dark Side

You’ll have plenty of feminine company as you see what all the fuss is about—football is becoming increasingly popular with women. More than twice as many women watched the Super Bowl in 2012 than viewed the Oscars, according to Advertising Age. They weren’t just watching for the commercials, either; female viewer numbers for regular football programming were also high. For example, Sunday Night Football was the number four most-viewed primetime show with women between the ages of 18 and 49 years in 2012.

Get Help From a Friend

If you’ve never learned the rules, football probably looks to you like a bunch of very large men chasing helter-skelter after a ball and then randomly piling up on each other. It’s hard to like something that seems to make no sense, which is why you need to learn the game in order to enjoy it with your guy.

Unfortunately, most people who are really into a game won’t have the patience to walk you through what is happening on the field. To be brutally honest, your questions and comments, especially during critical points in the game, are going to be annoying, even if your guy is usually Mr. Wonderful. Instead of trying to learn the game from your guy, ask a friend who understands the sport to spend an afternoon or two watching football with you, so she can explain what is going on. You’ll have to, of course, choose games that she isn’t particularly interested in or you could end up annoying her as well. Once you learn the game, you might want to order a full season of NFL Sunday ticket through GetDirectTV.org, so you won’t have to miss any games with your guy.

Go to a Sports Bar

If you’ve tried to learn football, but really just can’t muster interest in it, ask your guy if you can watch the games at a sports bar. While this may sound like strange advice, sports bars boast multiple televisions and chances are at least one set may be playing something you would be more interested in viewing. Besides, if you must watch the game, you might as well be able to do it over a  .good meal and some drinks. Ultimately, if he likes to play football, some good cleats for indoor soccer would be an ideal gift.