Explaining Football to a Female Audience
I am re-reading and rethinking a book I read about a year ago. Get Your Own Damn Beer, I’m Watching the Game!: A Woman’s Guide to Loving Pro Football
Holly Robinson Peete explains football to a female audience. She’s addressing women who want to learn football so that they know what the men in their lives are talking about when they watch games. At the time I read it, I wanted a clear, concise guide to the basic principles of football. And I remember feeling a little rattled, and perplexed by her prose.
At the time, I was looking for a clear, concise guide to football. And, while there were certainly well explained elements, I found her prose style off-putting. Digressions about cute mascots, football players’ tight butts, and descriptions of watching football “with your man” bothered me. Her prose was kind of giggly and frivolous. It made me feel like a woman would only be watching football to connect with her husband or her boyfriend- not because the games are fun to watch and understand.
Here is where I sheepishly have to admit that the whole reason that I was reading the book in the first place was… you guessed it… so I could watch football with my boyfriend! So maybe just a touch defensive in my initial grumbling about her giggly prose?
That said- I am gearing up for this year’s fantasy football season as a single woman who became an avid fan over the course of last year. I’m rereading Holly Anderson Peete, and thinking her book isn’t that bad. I still find Girlfriend’s Guide to Football (Girlfriend’s Guide to…)
is a more straightforward read, but Get Your Own Damn Beer isn’t bad as an additional resource.
While we’re on the subject of good writing about football, check out this story my cousin, Michael Reilly wrote for The New Scientist.
Elizabeth – I skimmed through the book, Get Your Own Damn Beer, I’m watching The Game not long ago myself. Not because I needed to learn football; I have been a die-hard football fan for 40+ years. I read it because I was in the process of writing a beginner’s guide to football (have since finished) and wanted to look at other author’s styles. With that said, I agree with your assessment of Holly Anderson Peete’s book. If someone is looking strictly to learn football, without all this extra “cutesy” stuff, this is not the book for them. I don’t think I’m being prejudice when I say that my book is TONS better. It explains the basics of football. PERIOD. It is written for anyone wanting to learn the game. Granted, there are people out there who are learning football to connect with their “significant” others, and I do make mention of that fact. However, the book doesn’t talk down to women. It details the game of football, providing helpful illustrations as well as quizzes at the end of most chapters to test the reader’s knowledge. It explains not only the “what’s”, but the “why’s” of the game. It also provides many examples for the reader to apply what they’ve learned. I welcome you to check out my website http://www.learnprofootball.com and give me your impressions. There are excerpts of each chapter, and you can download Chapter 1 for free. The website has only been up for a little over a month, so I’ll be honest, am trying to make a name for myself. I truly believe this is a well written book and can help many people learn football. If you are interested in the book for yourself, or have any questions or comments, I would be happy to discuss them with you. And if you know of anyone else that might be interested, please pass this information along. Would be much appreciated.
Thanks so much and I hope to hear from you.
Howard Becker
info@learnprofootball.com
http://www.learnprofootball.com