Why is sports generally such a men's thing? I really enjoy watching basketball and football, but none of my girl friends are interested in it. Is it too rough? Maybe it's a woman thing, but I really enjoy the social part of sports. Why do you think that is, that women just aren't that interested and men are?

Men get to be the players and coaches. There isn't room for most women. Why sit around watching all that when you know you'll never be allowed to take part in the same way?

I watch all sports going particularly rugby and football. I have played and watched most sports.i think it’s how you are brought up and if you watch sports at home.

Men get to be the players and coaches. There isn't room for most women. Why sit around watching all that when you know you'll never be allowed to take part in the same way?

 

Yes, I think that part of the reason is that most sports are simply centred so much around men. I think that women need more encouragement to play sports. I think that if women were better represented in sports, then more women would watch them. It probably needs to start at a fairly early age too, with more young women being given the opportunity to play sports and be coached and mentored.

 

Having said that, sport is not the be all and end all, and some people simply are not that interested in it.

i think it’s how you are brought up and if you watch sports at home.

 

I agree with you Laffy. Female athletes most likely grew up in a family where they were sports-oriented. I don't have the mind of girls so I can't say why ladies don't like to play or watch sports more often.

Participation is a big factor, and women's leagues are generally far less popular and advertised than the men's leagues in most cases.

 

Another part of this is culture - The whole "boys will be boys and girls will be girls" aspect where young boys are encouraged to do play sports, while young girls are encouraged to play with dolls and dresses and so on.

Oh come on i'm sorry but man are we back in the 1950's I grew up with two brothers I am now the only one that watches and plays sports. In my life I have played golf, rugby, football, i am a trained netball and basket ball umpire. At university I played American Football which if some of you around know me I am not small so me with all the pads on is a sight to see.

 

I am a massive Arsenal, Green Bay Packer and rugby fan any rugby. I religiously watch sports every week and get withdrawal symptoms when it is summer and the leagues have stopped.

 

I am looking forward to the Ryder cup at the end of the month and am in the middle of watching the rugby championship. I am a hardened Welsh fan which has come to bite me on the butt several times with people on here enjoying me changing my avatar normally to some sort of England rugby punishment. It is what the girl likes and is encouraged to do rather than the boys do sport girls do dolls syndrome.

That's actually what I was saying, if you were able to understand

Totally lost that point then

I think a big part of it is the social aspect. Kind of polarizing, because there's sports bars that have a 99% male crowd. Not many females would feel comfortable going in, but guys will hang out there with their mates.

@FlyyGurl, why don't I watch more sports? Honestly? Because I just don't care enough. When I want to be entertained, I want some kind of narrative. That's why I can get into a heated rivalry game or an international game; the stakes are higher and I just feel like it matters more. I don't even know if that makes sense. Most of the time, it's just watching a bunch of people who are paid a lot of money to move a ball around. Why should I care?

 

In a rivalry game there's a lot of heated history and, quite honestly, I only get into those when I know something about at least one of the teams. With the Olympics or the World Cup or some other big competition, there's more going on than just kicking around a ball. These athletes are giving their all while representing their country and trying to take advantage of an opportunity that comes once every four years. The stakes are higher, the fans more energised, and it's more entertaining. That's why those kinds of events get more viewers than your average game.

 

This is all coming from someone who doesn't really watch sports anymore but loves sports films. Once again, it's the whole narrative thing. They give me a reason to care, a reason to root for someone. I don't get that from watching sports most of the time.

 

I think I'm done rambling now.

@FlyyGurl, why don't I watch more sports? Honestly? Because I just don't care enough. When I want to be entertained, I want some kind of narrative. That's why I can get into a heated rivalry game or an international game; the stakes are higher and I just feel like it matters more. I don't even know if that makes sense. Most of the time, it's just watching a bunch of people who are paid a lot of money to move a ball around. Why should I care?

 

In a rivalry game there's a lot of heated history and, quite honestly, I only get into those when I know something about at least one of the teams. With the Olympics or the World Cup or some other big competition, there's more going on than just kicking around a ball. These athletes are giving their all while representing their country and trying to take advantage of an opportunity that comes once every four years. The stakes are higher, the fans more energised, and it's more entertaining. That's why those kinds of events get more viewers than your average game.

 

This is all coming from someone who doesn't really watch sports anymore but loves sports films. Once again, it's the whole narrative thing. They give me a reason to care, a reason to root for someone. I don't get that from watching sports most of the time.

 

I think I'm done rambling now.

 

But how about rooting for a sports team from your city. Or does your city not have one? I think it's the same thing as what you're saying with rooting for your national sports team. Most sports fans root for a team from their city to represent and show pride.

Maya makes a good point about international games. The stakes are not tall enough for smaller scales, so people won't bother to fake their interest.

 

With women, I think it is related to their social circles. Let's say you have ten female friends. How many of them like to watch sports? How often do you do sports when you hang out? If you are the only one interested or only a small fraction of the group is, you may feel like ignoring that one hobby and go with the flow. That starts in childhood, and it's too late to change when you get to adulthood.

But how about rooting for a sports team from your city. Or does your city not have one? I think it's the same thing as what you're saying with rooting for your national sports team. Most sports fans root for a team from their city to represent and show pride.

 

My city has one, but I'm not from here so I don't have that strong of a tie to it. It also doesn't help that they're not very good either. Even if they were I'd still only probably tune in for big games.