Getting your woman to understand/enjoy the Patriots

[Tunescribe]

This Thursday's preseason opener also will be my girlfriend's first football game in person, ever. Thankfully (and somewhat surprisingly to me), she's eager to learn about the game and the Patriots about which she knows practically nothing. So, I got her a copy of "Football For Dummies," a Pats pink hat/T-shirt/hoodie, and we've begun the process. Though I'll be attending most of the games with a buddy of mine, I figured it would be wise to get the woman as interested in possible so the upcoming hours in front of the TV -- away games, SNF/MNF, etc. -- go more smoothly. I'm curious how others here have fared with this and what creative suggestions might be offered.

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

You have taken the right steps. You bought her patriots attire and women love clothing. I myself is in somewhat of the same boat as you except my gf understands football bc she used to be a cheerleader, but she has never watched a patriots game so i am trying to get her into it. If i were you i would explain football to her personally instead of a book. It will make her feel that you are smarter bc she doesnt know what the hell will go on. I am right now in the process of teaching my gf the roster of the patriots and I have a Welker jersey for her for the first preseason game

 

[drew4008]

Good luck haha, I've been seeing my girlfriend for almost 2 years and she's not thrilled for her 2nd year of Patriots football to begin lol.

I just let it be known that Sunday (and Monday if it's an MNF game), she needs to let me be!

 

[Tunescribe]

You have taken the right steps. You bought her patriots attire and women love clothing. I myself is in somewhat of the same boat as you except my gf understands football bc she used to be a cheerleader, but she has never watched a patriots game so i am trying to get her into it. If i were you i would explain football to her personally instead of a book. It will make her feel that you are smarter bc she doesnt know what the hell will go on. I am right now in the process of teaching my gf the roster of the patriots and I have a Welker jersey for her for the first preseason game

I certainly plan to explain things to her personally. She has occasional downtime at work so the book has helped with some of the basics. Actually, it's not a bad book, it was written by Joe Theisman. I've figured once she gets the concepts of three separate "squads" on each team (offense, defense and special teams), the basic position groups and four-down concept, that should go a long way. I don't mind explaining stuff, it's actually kind of fun.

 

[JSn]

My wife is into football now. The key was the Patriots TV show, America's Game vids and visiting Gillette.

For her, knowing things about the players lives helped her get more into the game itself.

 

[Garbanza]

...hmmm....as a woman, and an avid Patriots fan (since I was twelve and no thanks to my father - who in no way, shape or form, would be considered a sports fan) I think I resent this thread

Kidding (I think)- the more women learn about football the better.

 

[DarrylS]

My wife is an avid fan, primarily because she is pretty active and enjoys the comraderie & excitement that goes along with the whole game time thing.. after the first SB win we went to Boston for the first huge reception at City Hall Plaza.. we go to TC together.. we have a group with whom we watch games with, and all that socialization is fun.. have been to a couple of games(SRO) which she really enjoyed and will have to say aside from being my best friend, she is a great fan of the Pats..

Make it fun, avoid all of the technicalities.....

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Here's a book that might help (it's written by Holly Robinson Peete, so it's coming from a woman's POV)—although some here might not like the title.

Amazon.com: Get Your Own Damn Beer, I'm Watching the Game!: A…

 

[TBradyOwnsYou]

This Thursday's preseason opener also will be my girlfriend's first football game in person, ever. Thankfully (and somewhat surprisingly to me), she's eager to learn about the game and the Patriots about which she knows practically nothing. So, I got her a copy of "Football For Dummies," a Pats pink hat/T-shirt/hoodie, and we've begun the process. Though I'll be attending most of the games with a buddy of mine, I figured it would be wise to get the woman as interested in possible so the upcoming hours in front of the TV -- away games, SNF/MNF, etc. -- go more smoothly. I'm curious how others here have fared with this and what creative suggestions might be offered.

Wait, you WANT to mix girlfriend and football? You sir are... crazy.
My wife pretends to like football if I ever get caught by her talking about it with friends. She goes from a "what is a football" to "I'm a Colts fan" in .00098 seconds. She determined this because Peyton Manning is one of the only football players she can name, and because she noticed that I tend to throw things when we get beat by the Colts. Other than that she leaves me alone during games, lets me go out with the guys, etc... she's perfect!

Ugh, bringing a girlfriend to a football game... I mean... UGH.
I'd rather be gay. That way I wouldn't have to explain anything, I wouldn't have to worry about having to pull over 40 times to pee on the trip there, I wouldn't wonder if when he left to go buy another beer if he was buying me one too, chest bumps post-TD would elicit less whining, I wouldn't have to explain proper fist-bump etiquette, etc... luckily my wife is content only occasionally attempting to annoy me during football season so I don't have to switch teams (to the Colts that is!)

 

[Sicilian]

This season will be my first with the current girlfriend, and we've already had the talk... during football, I can watch, and she'll grade papers or read or something. I don't need her to be a fan like I am, but she doesn't care that I watch and that's good enough for me.

I've had girlfriends who didn't like football, but tried to learn it and enjoy it for my sake, and it didn't go that well. If you don't really like the game, you either secretly resent the person for making you sit through it, or you start talking about things like you know what's happening (when you really don't, which is annoying). This goes for women and men alike actually.

 

[TheComeback]

My wife is into football now. The key was the Patriots TV show, America's Game vids and visiting Gillette.

For her, knowing things about the players lives helped her get more into the game itself.

Bingo. Women love movies/stories and America's Game is the movie version of the NFL. Comes complete with action, emotion, and great music. I got my ex into football by watching the 2001 Patriots America's Game on NFL Network.

Also, the guy who said buying her some Patriots clothes might work was spot on. And of course actually bringing to a game is always a great idea.

 

[Leave No Doubt]

Talk about pressure Take her to the game, get her her own program so she can look at who's who etc on her own, and for the love of God DON'T constantly "coach her" or quiz her later lol. Relax, have a good time, get into the game, high-five her/hug her after good plays (we like this), and don't be in a bad mood if they lose or look awful or at least don't let it ruin your whole day. Wait til you can sign on here, THEN cry

VERY important: If you don't want her asking you any questions during the game, tell her BEFORE the game. It'll save you aggravation later on. Buying her a shirt is always a nice touch too

I'm lucky in that I grew up in a football/Pats-loving family so I've always gone to games and on Sunday the sounds of a football game on TV are second nature to me. Being a cheerleader helped too but you can't force these things.

Make it a fun day and she'll want to go all the time:rocker:

 

[Tunescribe]

Wait, you WANT to mix girlfriend and football? You sir are... crazy.
My wife pretends to like football if I ever get caught by her talking about it with friends. She goes from a "what is a football" to "I'm a Colts fan" in .00098 seconds. She determined this because Peyton Manning is one of the only football players she can name, and because she noticed that I tend to throw things when we get beat by the Colts. Other than that she leaves me alone during games, lets me go out with the guys, etc... she's perfect!

Ugh, bringing a girlfriend to a football game... I mean... UGH.
I'd rather be gay. That way I wouldn't have to explain anything, I wouldn't have to worry about having to pull over 40 times to pee on the trip there, I wouldn't wonder if when he left to go buy another beer if he was buying me one too, chest bumps post-TD would elicit less whining, I wouldn't have to explain proper fist-bump etiquette, etc... luckily my wife is content only occasionally attempting to annoy me during football season so I don't have to switch teams (to the Colts that is!)

Yes, yes, I understand what you're talking about. (And I did mention that I go to most of the games with my buddy.) I just figured it would help our relationship to get my gal at least semi-interested since I'm a season ticket holder and watch so many other games during the season. We don't live together (yet), so if our together time is going to involve football, I'd rather have her with me than against me, if you know what I mean. So far, she's into exploring what it's all about.

 

[Kontradiction]

I don't think I'm going to change the fact that my girlfriend is a Bucs fan, but I've tried...

1. Have her watch Pats games with me.
2. Had her watch America's Game (all three), as has been mentioned already.
3. Tried convincing her that the Bucs aren't going anywhere and the Pats are.
4. Tried to get her to like them using the fact that Gisele is a fan.
5. Tried to get her to like them by pointing out that Brady is our QB.

None have worked. Now I'm looking at ticket prices for the Halloween game vs. the Vikings next year as well as the Celtics opener (she's a Heat fan too) to go up there for a nice weekend. I've mentioned in another thread that my last full attempt should be taking her to an actual game at Foxboro to make her see that the Pats are the way, the truth, and the light. If that fails then I give up.

So good luck. Hopefully your transition is much more smooth than mine has been.

 

[patriotsdynasty12189]

Two words.....Man Night.

 

[InRodWeRust]

I got my wife hooked on the Patriots after her watching the 2001 super bowl and it's been working out great. We NEVER miss a game and she's into it as much as me. She'll even blow off family related events to watch a game. It's beautiful

The most important part you need to teach her is the 4 down concept. If she can understand that then she can actually follow a game and not think it's some random mess thats going on. The clothing and America's games DVD's should help get her hooked as well

 

[patchick]

To me, the key is to understand that every game (pre-season excluded) has a storyline. It has characters, plots, scheming, counter-scheming, peaks and valleys. If you can set up a particular game by highlighting a handful of key players, matchups and goals, it's a lot easier to get wrapped up in it.

The draft is also an underappreciated draw. What is the NFL draft, after all, but a giant comparison-shopping jamboree? Of course, that requires actually following the draft in detail yourselves, guys.

Whatever the approach, kudos to the men here who actually want to share their interests and passions with the women in their lives. The "share my precious football time with my WIFE? What a nightmare!!!" attitude is pretty depressing.

(BTW, getting women interested in football is a relative cinch. Try getting a math/techie guy interested, now THAT is a challenge!)

 

[Sciz]

(BTW, getting women interested in football is a relative cinch. Try getting a math/techie guy interested, now THAT is a challenge!)

As a math/techie guy who has tried to interest his woman in football, I disagree

The Pats underwear from that one thread was kinda tempting though

 

[Sicilian]

(BTW, getting women interested in football is a relative cinch. Try getting a math/techie guy interested, now THAT is a challenge!)

+1! I know plenty of lady friends who are interested, even if not to a hardcore degree but will take an interest in whether the Pats win or lose. I have guy friends (computer nerds, which admittedly I am too) who just seem adamantly against the sport as a whole.

One of them is clearly just jealous of Tom Brady though. He even drafted him on his Fantasy team 1st overall last year (he plays FF for the social aspect, has no idea what he's doing), just so he could sit him on the bench all season.

 

[patchick]

As a math/techie guy who has tried to interest his woman in football, I disagree

And as a woman who has tried to interest her math/techie guy in football...

Some techies are sports fans, but if they're not, it's pretty hopeless trying to convert them. I have a much easier time getting my mother wrapped up in a Pats game than my husband. (As for my sister, the female mathematician, I wouldn't even bother trying!)