Over the years, probably because I’ve worked in sports or recreation jobs for most of my life, I’ve acquired a sizable group of female sports fan friends - (FSFF) and acquaintances -(FSFA). They come from various walks of life and ethnic backgrounds and for the most part they are just like their male counter parts:

 They are superstitious. One of my FSFF is a huge New York Mets and New York Rangers fan. Her game watching rituals involve having her mother and sister watch the same game in different rooms in the same apartment while sitting in specific chairs.  She also implores the Rangers’ defensemen to “Skate!! Skate!!”

 They are extremely loyal.  Riss, one of my best friends, grew up in California and is a devout (and bitter) Raider’s fan. Yes, she realizes Aaron Brooks is awful.  She is also aware that the offensive line can’t block. And yes, she knows that the Raiders’ kicker is almost 300 pounds. None of these facts makes her happy.  But she would never think of abandoning Raider Nation. Her beautiful 3 year old twin daughters are already wearing Raider jerseys and I think face paint is next. And don’t dare say the words “tuck rule” around her if you want to live.

 They play fantasy sports.  A fashionista FSFF I met while working at the NBA years ago just beat my team by 3 points in the second round of our fantasy football league.  (And no, it’s not fun to have a “chick-lit” writer talk trash to you. Not fun at all.)  She takes the league very seriously; she even told her boyfriend that she couldn’t drive him to the airport because she had to participate in her fantasy draft.

 “He knew the draft was today! Why would he put me in that position?” she wondered.  

 She made me so proud that day.

 But there are some differences between male sports fans and female sports fans.

They simplify strategy.  One of the guys I grew up with works for a NFL team.  When the two of us talk football the conversation goes something like this:

 Him: “They stayed in the cover-two shell too long. I thought that somewhere on the last drive coach would have called a safety blitz or at least gone to a pressure front look to make him check the ball down”

 Me: “Yea you have to do something different against Peyton Manning. Maybe go with bracket coverage, or a zone blitz, he was way too comfortable”

 Female sports just fans don’t speak this way.  Ever.  They break the game down to its simplest terms. One FSFF said to me, “Why don’t they just make sure Marvin Harrison doesn’t catch the ball? It’s obvious that’s who Peyton likes to throw to.”  This is not to say they females don’t understand strategy.  I know one in particular who loves the Match-Up show on ESPN.  They just don’t see the fuss in making the game more complicated than it needs to be. Why this skill doesn’t translate to shopping is beyond me.

 The players’ lives off the field are very important.  I have a friend who is a die hard Yankee fan and loves Derek Jeter.  Once we were having a random conversation about who Jeter will end up dating next.  I said “maybe he will go for Angelina Jolie once she’s tired of Brad Pitt”.

 She almost lost it.

 “If he dates her I will hate him. I can’t stand her. No, that can never happen”

What this has to do with Jeter’s ability to drive in runs or get on base is beyond me.

But all in all, male and female sports fans are more alike than they are different.  Both think the referees, announcers and sometimes the league as a whole are against their team.  The majority hate both Kobe Bryant and Terrell Owens.  And they both take losses very hard.  A female sports fan that attends the same graduate school I do didn’t watch television or read a newspaper for 3 days after the Yankees lost in the playoffs to the Detroit Tigers.  Because of this, she didn’t know what the weather forecast would be for the next week.

“I don’t want to see anything about the Yankees by accident, it makes my brain hurt.” she said to me in a low tone between puffs of a cigarette.

 Spoken like a true fan.