tasha7 wrote:Bergkamp-Genius wrote:
I don't know how to put this without sounding like an absolute chauvinist.... which i'm not...you just come across as very insightful regarding football, more so than most of the guys on here who have lived and breathed it all their lives.. and far more so than any woman i've ever met....maybe i've just led a sheltered life..
I shouldn't really bother with this because i know whatever i write with regards this discussion i'm on to a loser..even so..
Can I ask how old you are, Bergkamp-Genius? I don't mean to sound rude, but I'm assuming with that sort of attitude you must be more mature than some of us on the forum.
Yes i'm definitely more mature than some on the forum.. but as you'll find out thats nothing to brag about..i'm also older than some...late thirties about to get later thirties..
Does that fit in with your theory ?
You might have had a point if you were only talking about my mum's generation in the days when there was no sky tv and stadiums were very intimidating places for everyone, but today things are totally different. Football has a universal appeal, to all cultures, races and both genders.
The irony is that now that football has, through the mass media, broadened its appeal to women as much as men, it's become increasingly difficult for anyone of my age, of either gender, to get to see live premiership football because of cost. I've been very lucky to have inherited my grandad's season ticket when I was much younger, so I've seen with my own eyes how the vast majority of the fans remain the same ageing, predmoninantly male generation it's always been.
I post a lot on the Arsenal Facebook group and I get the whole "I thought you were a guy" thing there too. It gets very irritating when guys who couldnt recognise a 4231 from a 433 and have never been to the Emirates, far less grown up with the game from a very early age, think they need to explain the offside rule to me.
I've been going to football matches since i was 6 years old, not just Arsenal.. international football and occasionally to other clubs in close proximity to other places i have lived for periods of time or been to, not just in England but abroad as well so i have 30 years of watching football and it's fanbase evolve.
I grew up in a big sporty family with a lot of women in it both older and younger than me...i've spent quite a bit of time travelling and living in different parts of the world..so i have grown up with, lived with, socialised with,worked with and known quite a few women in my life from varied backgrounds, ages, nationalities, interests and intelligence levels.. so thats where my thoughts on and experience of this issue come from.
I'm sure in your life as a woman who is in to football you know more than a few other women like yourself, it's only natural that you would gravitate towards other women with similar interests, as most guys tend to with other guys, so it's likely your idea of the numbers of women who are highly knowledgeable on the subject is distorted by this.
I'm also fully aware there has been a huge increase in women following, watching, playing and taking an interest in football over the last couple of decades.
But on the whole in my experience, which believe it or not is pretty wide and varied, they are still a minority and in the general population the majority of women still either hate football or have no interest in it and of those who are into it, as with guys, only a percentage of those have the brain or in most cases the inclination to understand or know about the game on a wider and deeper level.
My comments to BT were not an attempt to condescendingly praise her because shes a 'girly' that knows the names of our first 11 or knows the difference between a 4-4-2 and a 4-3-3 i know plenty of women and men with that vast knowledge, it was a genuine compliment at what i think is a deeper insight into the game than the vast majority of women (and most men) that i know or have read that are in to football.
And no i wouldn't have mentioned it if BT was a guy because i know many guys who fit the bill, but i don't know many women who do, so for me it was worthy of a mention, if you or any one else want to take offence to that thats your perogative but i'm not going to lie about my thoughts or experiences in an attempt to be PC or tell you what you want to hear.
Welcome to the forum Tasha
