By Samantha Garza | Staff Writer
Stereotypically, liking and watching sports has always been a “guy” thing. No one questions a man when he starts to talk about sports or how much he likes watching football. But what happens when a woman says she likes sports?
She automatically becomes a “pick-me girl.”
The term “pick-me girl” stems from a variety of questionable social media trends. The basic definition is a woman who goes out of her way to seem cool to men and to be “not like other girls.”
God forbid you like watching sports just because you like them. No, you have to like watching sports because you want to impress men.
According to a survey by Statista, 45% of women considered themselves casual fans of sports, compared to 42% of men.
I like watching sports. There — I said it. I love to sit down on Sundays with my dad and watch the Dallas Cowboys play. Yes, I like the Cowboys, and I’ve heard all the jokes.
From the time I was little, I have the best memories of me and my dad sitting down on his La-Z-Boy furniture. He would explain football to me and answer all my dumb questions, no matter how annoying they got. He would draw the offense and defense on a piece of paper and give me a rundown of what every player did — multiple times. He would test me on certain things, and he would not stop until I got the hang of it.
Ever since coming to college, I obviously can’t sit down and watch the games with him anymore. But every Sunday or Monday, without fail, my dad and I text each other through the game and comment on it.
“Did you see that play?”
“That was an awful call.”
“He’s a great player.”
I like watching sports — not because I want to impress men, but because it’s something special I share with my dad.
If you are a woman who likes to watch sports just because you like to, then don’t listen to what people have to say. You are not a “pick-me girl” just because you like something that is “not for girls.”
With social media and apps like TikTok, it’s easy to get swept up in “cancel culture.” But before we start to name-call people and label them as something, we should take a step back and think before we speak.
