In my attempts to be supportive, I am watching (yet another) basketball game with my boyfriend. March Madness is literally driving me crazy. To keep myself entertained (and maintain what little is left of my sanity), I am googling anything that comes to mind, which includes those sneakers with separate toes, what the weather will be like for the next week, and how to deal with the overload of sporting events that are being crammed down my throat thanks to the NCAA. That is when I found the greatest book ever.
Well, that may be going too far, but it definitely seems like it would be an entertaining read. The Revenge of the Sports Widow: How to Cope With a Sports Fanatic by Kathleen Bridge Barry is just what it sounds like and more. I read an excerpt of the book through Google books and was literally laughing out loud as I saw parallels from my life and the life of a fellow sports fanatic significant other. From the introduction, written by the author's husband while watching a taped basketball game, to the final chapter where the reality that you can't live without the one you love (even if they may seem to love ESPN more than you) simply because the chances of finding a man who isn't a sports fanatic is almost statistically impossible. I guess that is something to think about as my boyfriend cheers on teams for colleges that I've never heard of.
Surviving the madness one game at a time,
Sports Fanatic Girlfriend
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Current resources for sports fanatic relationship advice
I know I should be watching the West Virginia/Kentucky game or discussing the latest NCAA tournament upset with my boyfriend, but I just can't do it anymore. After what seems like a lifetime of basketball games after the first two full days of the tournament, I just can't take it. Instead, I decided to do some research to see what was out there to help me cope with the never ending stream of game highlights. This is what I found...
I was surprised to see that the first site Google pointed me to was not about trying to get out of watching sports but about how sports fanatics can get their significant others to watch sports with them. Take a look here My favorite is probably step 2 where the author encourages sports fanatics to find sports where there is a little eye candy to entice their significant others. I don't think this is too bad an idea... the only reason I know Mark Sanchez is because he is the cutie that keeps me coming back to watch the Jets every week. My sports fanatic boyfriend and I have probably settled somewhere around #9. I will sit and watch the games with him as long I as I can do my own thing whether it's reading the latest Entertainment Weekly, emailing old friends, or getting a head start on work for the week.
The next site was more what I was looking for. A fellow blogger blogs about the pain of being second place to ESPN. My favorite quote from the post is, "You can lead a man to reason, but you can't make him think." A very interesting piece on what seems to be so logical to some but so illogical to others.
eHow offers some advice for maintaining a relationship with a sports fanatic, but it seems to encourage the behavior rather than discourage... the max I am willing to go is acceptance. Thankfully, eHow also offers another post which is more in line with my current situation... how to survive a sports fanatic.
These are definitely not all the ideas... just all that Google would provide me in a few links. Are there other ideas for making it work in the romantic triangle that is you, your sports fanatic, and ESPN?
Hoping there's a cure,
Sports Fanatic Girlfriend
I was surprised to see that the first site Google pointed me to was not about trying to get out of watching sports but about how sports fanatics can get their significant others to watch sports with them. Take a look here My favorite is probably step 2 where the author encourages sports fanatics to find sports where there is a little eye candy to entice their significant others. I don't think this is too bad an idea... the only reason I know Mark Sanchez is because he is the cutie that keeps me coming back to watch the Jets every week. My sports fanatic boyfriend and I have probably settled somewhere around #9. I will sit and watch the games with him as long I as I can do my own thing whether it's reading the latest Entertainment Weekly, emailing old friends, or getting a head start on work for the week.
The next site was more what I was looking for. A fellow blogger blogs about the pain of being second place to ESPN. My favorite quote from the post is, "You can lead a man to reason, but you can't make him think." A very interesting piece on what seems to be so logical to some but so illogical to others.
eHow offers some advice for maintaining a relationship with a sports fanatic, but it seems to encourage the behavior rather than discourage... the max I am willing to go is acceptance. Thankfully, eHow also offers another post which is more in line with my current situation... how to survive a sports fanatic.
These are definitely not all the ideas... just all that Google would provide me in a few links. Are there other ideas for making it work in the romantic triangle that is you, your sports fanatic, and ESPN?
Hoping there's a cure,
Sports Fanatic Girlfriend
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The ESPN ScoreCenter App
This app has single-handedly ruined any chances I had of having an entire, meaningful conversation with my sports fanatic boyfriend. ESPN the channel, along with ESPN2 and ESPNU (and MSG and YES in New York), was bad enough, but now in the middle of a romantic date or even just a walk to the grocery store, the other side of the conversation just stops. I'm not sure what inspires the constant score checking (if the game was that important, we would be at home watching it, wouldn't we?), but it doesn't stop. Sadly, I am actually the one that introduced my boyfriend to the ESPN app. I never knew how much I would regret sharing it with him. I had originally thought it would buy me a little more time when I wanted to stay out later or finish the latest episode of Kim and Kourtney Take New York. Instead, it has become a middle man in my relationship keeping my boyfriend from participating in any conversations he deems to be uninteresting. The app needs to find a way of encouraging sports fanatics to interact with the non-sports world.
Dreading March Madness,
Sports Fanatic Girlfriend
Dreading March Madness,
Sports Fanatic Girlfriend
Thursday, March 10, 2011
I am stuck at a sports bar...
What better way to begin my posts on the life with a sports fanatic than in the middle of a sports bar surrounded by dozens of televisions with every possible sporting event available? I don't think there really is a better way. It was not my original intention to end up at a sports bar or at any type of bar for that matter.
This story begins with a delayed flight. My boyfriend (the sports fanatic) and I are on our way to visit my parents. Upon arriving at the airport, we realized that our flight was not just delayed but four hours delayed. Given that our flight was already pretty late at night, I knew that emotions would be on edge because there is some serious basketball watching at stake.
Since we had time to kill, we began with a leisurely seated dinner. Although it was an airport restaurant trying to be modern and trendy, I could not escape ESPN. Among the many televisions showing an old black and white movie, there were two lone televisions playing the Big East Tournament. Dinner was quiet except for commercial breaks where my boyfriend would mention how upset he was about the delay and how great or not the game was going. Once we finished dinner, we walked around the terminal trying to find something that would entertain us for the remainder of our wait.
Shining like a beacon in the night, the airport sports bar was mesmerizing men throughout the terminal with walls of television screens showing ALL the basketball games simultaneously. My boyfriend looked at me with a smile, and all the worries and frustrations from our delay melted away. We were able to find seats where he could watch ten TVs worth of content and I could people watch (and be relived that he wasn't complaining). He nursed his beer while watching all the games he had expected to be watching (or possibly even missing) on the plane, and I realized that now is the perfect time to begin my life as a blogger.
I've had this idea for a while actually, ever since our first full football season together. I knew my boyfriend liked the Jets and that like most guys he enjoyed sports in general, but I could never have imagined how it would change my life. All of a sudden, my Sundays were taken over. There was always a "good" game on. Sundays were soon joined by Mondays as the season got into full swing. My schedule was being adjusted so we could make it home for the game. I thought to myself that this is crazy, and then I talked to my mom, the wife of a sports fanatic. This wasn't just a one guy phenomenon, and I was surprised that I couldn't find a blog where I could commiserate with other people about how much I don't care about who wins or not on Sunday.
So, this blog is for everyone who finds themselves quoting stats and game highlights because of the sheer quantity of ESPN being viewed in their household. For everyone who would much rather be watching a show involving any of the Kardashian sisters than yet another second half of a college basketball game. For everyone who doesn't think that they can make it through the first week of March Madness, let alone see who makes it to the Final Four. For everyone who wants their life back but loves their sports fanatic too much to let him/her go, this is for you. An outlet to vent, to share your favorite sports facts (if you know them, you might as well share them so the rest of us can sound smart), to post a fabulous dip recipe that might make the baseball game worth watching, and to be surrounded by people just like you.
Welcome!
-Sport Fanatic Girlfriend
This story begins with a delayed flight. My boyfriend (the sports fanatic) and I are on our way to visit my parents. Upon arriving at the airport, we realized that our flight was not just delayed but four hours delayed. Given that our flight was already pretty late at night, I knew that emotions would be on edge because there is some serious basketball watching at stake.
Since we had time to kill, we began with a leisurely seated dinner. Although it was an airport restaurant trying to be modern and trendy, I could not escape ESPN. Among the many televisions showing an old black and white movie, there were two lone televisions playing the Big East Tournament. Dinner was quiet except for commercial breaks where my boyfriend would mention how upset he was about the delay and how great or not the game was going. Once we finished dinner, we walked around the terminal trying to find something that would entertain us for the remainder of our wait.
Shining like a beacon in the night, the airport sports bar was mesmerizing men throughout the terminal with walls of television screens showing ALL the basketball games simultaneously. My boyfriend looked at me with a smile, and all the worries and frustrations from our delay melted away. We were able to find seats where he could watch ten TVs worth of content and I could people watch (and be relived that he wasn't complaining). He nursed his beer while watching all the games he had expected to be watching (or possibly even missing) on the plane, and I realized that now is the perfect time to begin my life as a blogger.
I've had this idea for a while actually, ever since our first full football season together. I knew my boyfriend liked the Jets and that like most guys he enjoyed sports in general, but I could never have imagined how it would change my life. All of a sudden, my Sundays were taken over. There was always a "good" game on. Sundays were soon joined by Mondays as the season got into full swing. My schedule was being adjusted so we could make it home for the game. I thought to myself that this is crazy, and then I talked to my mom, the wife of a sports fanatic. This wasn't just a one guy phenomenon, and I was surprised that I couldn't find a blog where I could commiserate with other people about how much I don't care about who wins or not on Sunday.
So, this blog is for everyone who finds themselves quoting stats and game highlights because of the sheer quantity of ESPN being viewed in their household. For everyone who would much rather be watching a show involving any of the Kardashian sisters than yet another second half of a college basketball game. For everyone who doesn't think that they can make it through the first week of March Madness, let alone see who makes it to the Final Four. For everyone who wants their life back but loves their sports fanatic too much to let him/her go, this is for you. An outlet to vent, to share your favorite sports facts (if you know them, you might as well share them so the rest of us can sound smart), to post a fabulous dip recipe that might make the baseball game worth watching, and to be surrounded by people just like you.
Welcome!
-Sport Fanatic Girlfriend
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