Give me a break. I know my football. I'm not a t-shirt wearer and I'm not a jump-on-the-band-wagon fan either. When I tell people that my newest novel, Win...Win is a tale of love in the world of semi-professional football, I get odd looks. Then I get challenged by men. It's a challenge that they lose.
First of all, a true fan knows the game and the history of the sport. I have discovered that some men only know the game, but not its history. One day, my physical trainer, who also serves as a sports announcer for our area's two-time defending national champions The Monroe County Sting, asked me who was my football team. I replied that: "I was a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan." He asked: "Why Dallas?" He assumed I was a t-shirt wearer.
When I replied why; you should have seen the look on his face. I told him how I watched games with my dad (then a Steelers fan) and we argued over plays. I told him that I didn't like how Dallas got rid of then Head Coach Tom Landry and I gave them credit for letting running back Emmitt Smith retire as a Cowboy. My love of the Cowboys developed from their defensive line of Ed "Too Tall" Jones, and captain Randy White and their offensive threats: Drew Pearson, Thomas "Hollywood " Henderson, Preston Pearson, and Billy Joe Dupree. Later on, they added Darryl "Moose" Johnston, Michael Irving, and Rod Woodson, a Purdue alum and someone I knew, and of course, Troy Aikman. He had never heard of defensive captain Randy White, who happens to be White. His team: Miami. I reminded him that my team has won four Super Bowls. Game over. Winner: Marsha.
See, I'm a former high school athlete. I was captain of my field hockey team (the first black one at that) and I received all-county honors. Plus, I played girls flag football my junior and senior year in high school. My teams won our championships.
At the last Sting home championship play-off game, men stared at me as I was telling the General Manager (who was in Atlanta for the birth of his first child) what was happening in the last two minutes of the game and how the game could be protested if the team lost because of a holding penalty and the fact that too much time was put back on the clock. I heard one of them whisper, "She knows football and she's cute."
I have a few girlfriends that know the game better than some men. In college, a girlfriend from Boston (Lori) was a huge hockey fan. We became instant friends. On a summer trip, I visited her and she has a HUGE passion for hockey legend Bobby Orr. We traveled to meet him at a book signing and I took a photo of the two of them. It's her most precious item.
Men seem to think that Monday Night football is an all-male exclusive club; it's not. These teams have female fans. And yes, some of them do know football. If you're a Buffalo Bills fan, I'm sorry. If you are a Giants fan, I'll pray for you. As far as Detroit is concerned, there's always next year.
Anytime a man asks me,"What I know about football?" I just roll my eyes.
Posted By: Marsha Jones
Thursday, November 19th 2009 at 8:40AM
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