Unlikely Packer fan

As if my general sports fascination doesn't raise enough eyebrows, I also happen to be a Packer fan. I'm Persian, Jewish, female, a native New Yorker from the Upper East Side—it always requires explanation. (The short version: old friend from Wisconsin, love of tradition, sucker for the concept of community ownership, obviously Brett Favre, and so on). I have a regulation helmet that I keep at my side when I watch games. I've seen them play twice at the Meadowlands (including the day Michael Strahan had his oft-debated record-breaking sack). And there's even documentary evidence of me wearing a Cheesehead—in front of Giants Stadium no less, a bold move with New York fans around.

I'm still devoted to my hometown teams, and until yesterday, it hasn't been too profound a conflict. But last night as I screamed in relief after the Giants miraculously upset the Cowboys in another nail-biter, I had to come to terms with the fact that I'll actually be rooting *against* my local team going to the Super Bowl. The possibility had been looming for weeks, but the G-men are notorious heartbreakers so it seemed remote. (In the interests of full disclosure, I should mention that it's the fever pitch of emotion caused by the anticipation of this game that prompted me to start channeling my zeal into this blog. In fact, it's likely that the NFL in general, and the packers specifically, will be my focus, at least through February 3rd.)

Now all I can think about is the NFC Championship at historic (and hopefully snowy) Lambeau, how I can scheme to get there, and how I can assuage my guilt over rooting for the Packers. Every argument I come up with, I can counter. It may be Favre's last year, but how many more chances will Strahan have to secure a ring? The Pack's young team has surprised everyone and created a football fairy tale; but the Giants have defied all expectation as well—shouldn't I get behind their unlikely success too? The Pack seems more capable of beating the likely AFC Champs, the Patriots whom I detest; but then again, what about the old adage: "Any given Sunday?"

Maybe I have to just think of it as a bittersweet win/win situation....

Female Sports Fans: First blog entry...EVER.

After years of ditching brunch with friends to watch football and turning up disgracefully late to weddings to catch post-game press conferences on ESPN News, I've gotten used to people's surprise at my priorities. Somehow one can expect—and even accept—those choices from a man, but a woman passing up mimosas and romantic ceremonies for sweaty grown men throwing each other onto the muddy field (or, annoyingly, the immaculate turf), apparently that defies the natural order or things.

We've gotten used to "metrosexuals." We no longer assume that a man who can make a soufflé or identify Manolos is gay. It's not even shocking for straight men to get facials, for crying out loud. In an era that's produced a serious female contender for the White House, why hasn't our perception of female sports fandom evolved?

I'm not just talking about women who tune into some ice skating or even tennis from time to time, and are aware of the latest steroid scandals. I'm talking about women who know what "K" stands for, women who call in sick the day after their team loses, women whose significant others are football widowers. Female viewership for the "big three" has been steadily increasing, and we're always hearing about how advertisers are planning to target fans of both genders. But I do worry that all we'll get out of this apparent trend is more mawkish human interest stories and sentimental player portraits on television, a proliferation of nacho recipe ideas in magazines, and the arrival of douche commercials during the Super Bowl.

Surely there's more to women's fascination with sports than that....