Here’s your challenge: define the word sport. Is it the straightforward Webster Dictionary definition, “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment”? Or is it the clichéd teenage Urban Dictionary definition “America’s state-sponsored religion”?
When the general public thinks of sports they tend to have the professional leagues (NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA) pop into their heads automatically. But that is how the American brains are programmed.Those sports are specifically made for the public to watch people exert themselves in a way for entertainment. And it’s true, they are enjoying to watch.
So when sports come into picture you either know what you’re talking about or you’re completely clueless. Admit it, you probably have those few friends who know nothing about sports; it’s okay that is what the wonderful channel of ESPN and is for; keeping you informed. And then there are people like us, sports writers, who keep the public informed too via the archaic newspaper. The problem that comes into play here is how judgmental the audience can be when it comes to sports. You have those people who think they are the only ones that know everything about sports and believe they are always right.
Then on the flipside you have the accepting people who don’t have a stick up their butt and know that there are other people out there who can be knowledgeable about sports too.
Yes, I am relating this to the gender gap because I am a female sports writer. Obviously, I get so many weird looks from people when I tell them I am a sports writer because of that reason alone and girls have that “sports clueless” stereotype branded on them. I grew up in a practically all-male family so I know a lot more about sports than most people would think.
Yes I know what holding is and can spot it in football game and yes I know the difference between a curve ball and a knuckle ball so no I don’t like when the public goes all stereotypical when they hear I am a sports writer.
Before the public decides to create stupid social norms, they need to realize that they aren’t the only ones out there who know “everything” and females can also be knowledgeable about sports.
Paige Shallcross is a freshman marine biology major from Chicago, Ill. She can be reached at paige.shallcross@spartans.ut.edu.