Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend
Earlier today, Mark linked to Diamondgirl55's blog on Twitter. I'm a slacker to the max, and I always forget to actually comment on people's blogs. Which means I forget to read them sometimes. I feel bad. I apologize. I'll start again soon. Back to the topic at hand.
Recently, Diamondgirl55 wrote a blog called "Major League Studlies ♥". She mentioned that when she first started her blog, a guy commented on one of her entries that she was writing her blog to get male attention, how she doesn't know baseball, etc. etc. It reminded me that I have to deal with this kind of thing offline all the time. And I'm sure many of the female MLBloggers do too. So I was inspired to write my own entry on the same topic.
I can talk baseball about as well as any man. Actually, I can talk baseball and football about as well as any man. I have a fan profile on ESPN because I did that Streak for the Cash thing for a while and then started fantasy baseball with some MLBloggers. But I actually get on there and talk sports with a bunch of people. Yeah, I've been hit on by a few pervs, but it comes with the territory. But the people I talk to most often really know their sports. And I can engage in a d*mn good conversation with them and hold my own. I rattle off stats like no other.
I've been out at a bar with my friends or my dad and his friends or whatever, and sports will occasionally become a topic of conversation within the group or with other random people. And there I am again, holding my own, making valid and factual arguments and backing them up with stats and general observations about the game as a whole.
My expertise is obviously White Sox baseball, but the fact that I can hold my own in a conversation about any team, any player, whatever means I know my sh*t. The fact that I continually get put down because I'm a girl is ridiculous.
Diamondgirl also made another point that is so true. The guy who commented on her blog said females only love baseball because of the tight uniforms and players. She said it's not unprofessional to like what we look at. She mentions cheerleaders and that guys stare at them too.
So why can't I sit there and stare at AJ Pierzynski, John Danks, Gordon Beckham, and other ridiculously hot baseball players? If men can ogle cheerleaders and female athletes, why can't I drool over my boys? I'm gonna continue with my chick comments, and if people don't like it, they can stop reading my blog. But they'll miss out on some great baseball commentary.
The last thing that guy mentioned in Diamondgirl's blog was that females only learn baseball to get a guy's attention. Which she promptly disputed.
When I go to a game, I always sit as close to the field as I can for a few reasons. 1) I can see the game better. 2) I want autographs. 3) Closer to the field = better pictures. I could pay, like, $20 and get cheap seats, but I shell out more money so I can see my players better, not because I want male attention...unless it's from my players. When I go to a game, I almost always wear the same thing: a jersey with either a Sox tee or black tank top under it, jeans, gym shoes, some makeup, and a Sox hat. I wear makeup because I don't wanna look like crap if I get to talk to a player. And it's not the same makeup I wear when I go to a club or something. Foundation and concealer because I have acne, sometimes eyeliner, and mascara. I don't wear it because I want some guy in the seats to hit on me. I don't learn everything I can about my team and players because I'm looking for a boyfriend. I don't learn about other teams and players because I want some guy to talk to me. I learn it for me. I learn it because I don't wanna sit in the stands like the stereotypical chick who's there for male attention. I AM NOT THAT GIRL!
I love MLBlogs for many reasons. One of them is the fact that most of the people here know I'm not that girl. And they put up with my tendency to swoon over players because they know I know my sh*t. I love you guys for that. Seriously. Don't ever change.
Final Musings
My friend Amy curled my hair with a straightener last night. My hair is naturally stick straight. Doesn't hold a curl with product in it, doesn't hold a curl without product in it. It holds for, like, five minutes and falls flat. But yesterday, it held! I slept on it, woke up this morning...STILL CURLY! I know how I'm curling my hair forever now.
I watched the Sox-Tigers game. Hawk wasn't in the booth tonight, and it was weird for me. Although Steve Stone and Mike Huff aren't bad. I do miss Hawk because he amuses me.
I saw some White Sox tweets before the game about the Sox having an elimination number of one. Technically true, but they were out of it when the Tigers won yesterday. How you ask? Well, I shall tell you. Quoting gjdodger at WSI who put it incredibly simply, "Four of Detroit's games are against the Twins. If they lose all their games, Minnesota wins at least 83. The best the Sox can do is 82."
I've decided who I want to win the AL Central. I have a strange reason for why I want this. I want the Twins to win because they've had Joe Crede this season, and I adore Joe.
Photo credits: stilettosetsports.com; Andy Jezierski; rockriverfootball.com; Jen Jezierski
Recently, Diamondgirl55 wrote a blog called "Major League Studlies ♥". She mentioned that when she first started her blog, a guy commented on one of her entries that she was writing her blog to get male attention, how she doesn't know baseball, etc. etc. It reminded me that I have to deal with this kind of thing offline all the time. And I'm sure many of the female MLBloggers do too. So I was inspired to write my own entry on the same topic.
I can talk baseball about as well as any man. Actually, I can talk baseball and football about as well as any man. I have a fan profile on ESPN because I did that Streak for the Cash thing for a while and then started fantasy baseball with some MLBloggers. But I actually get on there and talk sports with a bunch of people. Yeah, I've been hit on by a few pervs, but it comes with the territory. But the people I talk to most often really know their sports. And I can engage in a d*mn good conversation with them and hold my own. I rattle off stats like no other.I've been out at a bar with my friends or my dad and his friends or whatever, and sports will occasionally become a topic of conversation within the group or with other random people. And there I am again, holding my own, making valid and factual arguments and backing them up with stats and general observations about the game as a whole.
My expertise is obviously White Sox baseball, but the fact that I can hold my own in a conversation about any team, any player, whatever means I know my sh*t. The fact that I continually get put down because I'm a girl is ridiculous.
Diamondgirl also made another point that is so true. The guy who commented on her blog said females only love baseball because of the tight uniforms and players. She said it's not unprofessional to like what we look at. She mentions cheerleaders and that guys stare at them too.
I was a cheerleader in high school. This is what we wore.
Yes, that's me.
Yes, that's me.
This is what a professional cheerleader wears.
There's no reason I can think of that professional cheerleaders need to wear next to nothing other than for fans' viewing pleasure. Professional cheerleaders are more dancers than they are cheerleaders, as I don't see those girls lifting each other in the air. But other than that, I basically did the same thing they do for half of my life. Yet I was covered up. And if you're a man and say you DON'T look at the cheerleaders, I think you're lying to me.
So why can't I sit there and stare at AJ Pierzynski, John Danks, Gordon Beckham, and other ridiculously hot baseball players? If men can ogle cheerleaders and female athletes, why can't I drool over my boys? I'm gonna continue with my chick comments, and if people don't like it, they can stop reading my blog. But they'll miss out on some great baseball commentary.The last thing that guy mentioned in Diamondgirl's blog was that females only learn baseball to get a guy's attention. Which she promptly disputed.
When I go to a game, I always sit as close to the field as I can for a few reasons. 1) I can see the game better. 2) I want autographs. 3) Closer to the field = better pictures. I could pay, like, $20 and get cheap seats, but I shell out more money so I can see my players better, not because I want male attention...unless it's from my players. When I go to a game, I almost always wear the same thing: a jersey with either a Sox tee or black tank top under it, jeans, gym shoes, some makeup, and a Sox hat. I wear makeup because I don't wanna look like crap if I get to talk to a player. And it's not the same makeup I wear when I go to a club or something. Foundation and concealer because I have acne, sometimes eyeliner, and mascara. I don't wear it because I want some guy in the seats to hit on me. I don't learn everything I can about my team and players because I'm looking for a boyfriend. I don't learn about other teams and players because I want some guy to talk to me. I learn it for me. I learn it because I don't wanna sit in the stands like the stereotypical chick who's there for male attention. I AM NOT THAT GIRL!
I love MLBlogs for many reasons. One of them is the fact that most of the people here know I'm not that girl. And they put up with my tendency to swoon over players because they know I know my sh*t. I love you guys for that. Seriously. Don't ever change.
Final Musings
My friend Amy curled my hair with a straightener last night. My hair is naturally stick straight. Doesn't hold a curl with product in it, doesn't hold a curl without product in it. It holds for, like, five minutes and falls flat. But yesterday, it held! I slept on it, woke up this morning...STILL CURLY! I know how I'm curling my hair forever now.
I watched the Sox-Tigers game. Hawk wasn't in the booth tonight, and it was weird for me. Although Steve Stone and Mike Huff aren't bad. I do miss Hawk because he amuses me.
I saw some White Sox tweets before the game about the Sox having an elimination number of one. Technically true, but they were out of it when the Tigers won yesterday. How you ask? Well, I shall tell you. Quoting gjdodger at WSI who put it incredibly simply, "Four of Detroit's games are against the Twins. If they lose all their games, Minnesota wins at least 83. The best the Sox can do is 82."
I've decided who I want to win the AL Central. I have a strange reason for why I want this. I want the Twins to win because they've had Joe Crede this season, and I adore Joe.
Photo credits: stilettosetsports.com; Andy Jezierski; rockriverfootball.com; Jen Jezierski
Jen, great post! (As usual.)
I've had a similar situation. Few guys I know in my school dissed me by literally yelling at my face that girly girls like me ('cause I wear heels and makeup) have no clue about baseball. I proved them wrong by talking about the Padres and baseball in general for two straight minutes, in heels. They shut their mouths and walked away :)
I love my Padres. They are gorgeous, cute and most importantly, HOT. Go ahead and love your boys and forget those haters. You go girl!
http://hyunyoung.mlblogs.com
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Being older that a lot of the other female bloggers - I do find it a bit "embarrassing" the way a number of female bloggers "gush and swoon" over how some of the players look. (I have read some comments that made me think that if they were my daughter I would be sitting her down for a long and VERY serious talk.) Women will get respect as sports fans when we don't "gush" over how a guy looks or proclaim that they make us feel "all tingly inside". Yes - guys might look at the cheerleaders at the game BUT when they talk about football games - how often does what the cheerleaders look like come up? Not often. Maybe we women would be wise to take that to heart. I respect a player for his ability on the field. I could careless what they look like. Maybe if we women wrote fewer "cuties" article we would get that respect we long for. Just this woman's opinion.
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
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Hyunyoung - being able to stand your ground and know what you're talking about is awesome! I love when I can prove people wrong!
Julia - I completely understand where you're coming from. Which is why I tend to keep my comments to a minimum now. It's changed a lot since I started my blog. And it might be a generational thing too. Cuz cheerleaders come up a lot when I talk football with some of my guy friends. More often than not, I keep my chick comments to a minimum because I want to be taken seriously by everyone, but sometimes they slip. :) I can't help it hahaha!
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Well I have never really had issues with people saying I don't anything about sports,I think alot people don't relize that females can sometimes be the biggest fans,sure we like the hot guys but we love the sport first,I love the game for the same reason as male fans,but sometimes I like hot guys too,but that is not I watch the game at all.Ohh and thanks to the Sox for winning today.
http://elisha06.mlblogs.com/
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GO GIRLS!! You know why I first loved my favorite player, Kevin Kouzmanoff? Because he was nice to me and my friends. That night, I watched him on the field, and he played hard. So the two first things I noticed about this player was his kindness and his performance on the field. It wasn't until later that I noticed how good looking he is, too. I love baseball. The game of football is growing on me, too. Not the players. The game. A female can be just as big of a fan as a male. I even think that sometimes we're more loyal and even better fans.
http://kaybee.mlblogs.com
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If I was doing this for male attention, I would have given up at it long ago. Guys who thinks girls who learn sports stuff for male attention are completely under illusions. Why? Because it doesn't work.
Guys just have weird superiority complexes, which means they have to know more than girls or else they feel like idiots. Not all, but definitely the guys that say stuff like that.
I totally agree with Kaybee that women are more loyal fans than men. Guys are supposedly less compassionate, which means that they are more about the facts. So they're more likely to be bandwagoners.
I think the most attractive thing about ballplayers is the way they make amazing plays, though. A gold glove is the hottest thing anyone can have.
http://imbringingdiamondback.mlblogs.com
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I look at the cheerleaders on Sunday night football or Monday night football because they put them up on my television screen and I'm not going to look away. When I'm at a game I can't say I notice them. They're a side show to what I'm actually there to see and if the game isn't going well then I'm drinking. I'll be honest, if I want to see girls in next to nothing I'll go to a bar. Cheerleaders in major sports is a joke now. Back in the day when wearing nothing and bouncing around was more than you could see on TV then it proably got guys to come to the game (i.e the 80's) but now with the internet alone, that's just plain silly. If someone could offer me seats that were $5 better than what I normally get but I wouldn't be able to see the cheerleaders I'd take the upgrade in a second. Call me jaded, call me whatever.
Cob
http://cobf.mlblogs.com
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Elisha - you're lucky you haven't had that problem. Hot guys are a bonus, like cheerleaders are for guys. But if every Major League player was atrociously ugly but could still play baseball, that'd be perfectly fine with me!
Kaybee - that's a great reason for loving Kouz! Both of them! Hahaha! Completely the opposite of why I started watching baseball. Hahaha!
Caroline - exactly. I wish guys out there would realize what most of the guys at MLBlogs know: we're passionate and knowledgable because we love the sport.
Cob - YAY! Thank you for being an exception to everything I've seen with guys who watch football. :) Maybe it's just the guys closer to my age who get on my case about thinking the players are hot yet they drool over the cheerleaders. I may have to amend my "rule." :)
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Hmm, interesting discussion. There's nothing wrong with appreciating a fine specimen of the male physique, but that's not the reason I became a baseball fan. Fandom, for me, occurred waaay before I was of an age to lust after the players. So, fan first, nice male bodies a pleasant byproduct. But I can see Julia's point too - too much gushing maybe isn't the way to go. And Caroline is right about guys being weirded out when girls/women know as much as or more about a sport than they do.
BTW, isn't curling your hair with a straightener some kind of oxymoron or something?
Sue
Rants, Raves, and Random Thoughts
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Jen,
I guess it is just me, but I do not even think about the sex of the person when I read a blog, much less a teenager who is tremendously talented like Diamondgirl55.
I think we all wish MLBlogs was around when we were younger so we could have gotten that great taste of not only writing, but enjoying each others muses throughout the season.
Hate to say it, but that is the soceity we live in nowadays. You have non-Indian tribe members suing colleges for their so-called "Bad references" to Indian legacys, and the local tribe gave their approvals.
But the true fact is that we should be able to seperate the age, sex and even the knowledge level of the people posting on here and enjoy the content and the experienece brought out online.
If that was ture, then this guy would attack Tom for his Q and A's, and maybe myself for my behind the scenes and explainations on things people ask me about in the stands before Rays games. All I know is I look forward to read so many of the blogs on here, and have never thought to comment on age, sex or even experience levels before...............and will not in the future either.
Awesome post...
Rays Renegade
http://raysrenegade.mlblogs.com
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Hit the nail right on the head, if us guys like looking at the females, why can't girls like looking at the guys of baseball by making comments such as Virginia does at http://southernbelle.mlblogs.com/ "He's a cutie, or he's hot!"
You are definetely correct, and I heard from girls, dancing is no cake walk. How did it compare to when you were in high school? : ) Great blog and great post.
Ted
http://tribewithted.mlblogs.com/
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Jenn - Good luck on the interview today and stop by - I think you'll enjoy the pictures up on my blog today! Yup - paid off another debt! lol!
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
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Jen- I've arrived 18 years later to comment on your blog. First of all, Julia and I actually had a conversation about the players and the chicks who just swoon over them. Working at the ballpark now, I get to see all the chicks who come in wearing mini skirts and heels, and I always think, "what is wrong with you?!" I'm just like you, I wear jeans and a Rockies shirt, flip flops, sometimes a hat, except I don't wear makeup (I never do though). And for the record, you know that my favorite part of a uniform are the socks... I'm not really sure what is so sexy about that, but they are. The reason I fell in love with Matt Daley was the way he pitched, it was amazing, it was only after I met him that I was like, "oh my god... you're gorgeous and amazing" and with Garrett Atkins, it was the power (which he lacks this season), but I still love him. I've found ONE guy who loves my love of baseball, so yeah, I'm with Caroline that I would've given this up LONG ago had I been doing it for the attention of guys. The fact is, I love sports, and I could care less what any man thinks about it... except for when it comes my love of hockey and I get the stereotype that "all hockey chicks are *****." But really, thank god for us not being THAT girl. Sorry I decided to write a novel.
Emily
http://deconstructingthoughts.mlblogs.com/
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Jen,
This post is great and adresses an issue that so many of us female baseball fans have to deal with. I love the points that you make and relate to so many of them. I wear similar things/makeup to a game.I want to look nice and in full support of my team and if I do have an encounter with a player or something I don't want to look like I came out of the jungle, but it's not like I look like I came out of a club either. I don't know about everyone else here, but some of the players/former players, particularly when I first started following are old enough to be my father...so of course the reason the large majority of us started following MLB had little or nothing to do with the players' looks. I also agree with Emily that if I do find a player attractive, it is after I have liked them first based on their playing abilities and then just notice after following them in depth. Or if I met them and they were really nice to me or other fans around me, that will often make me like a player more as Kaybee mentioned. I especially think if a girl knows her baseball stuff and doesn't talk about it all the time, that she has every right to think and even mention the looks of a player. It isn't like it is even the main focus and after all, you are just being honest.
As far as doing it for guys in your own life, I agree with everyone that says that has nothing to do with it and most of the guys I have dated know/care less about sports, especially baseball than I do. And I really agree with the opinion that girls tend to be more sentimental/loyal fans than guys, thus leading to more general geeking out and getting more excited possibly about meeting players/having encounters etc.
I feel fortunate to be in contact with so many female baseball fans who can relate and talk about stuff like this! Way to go Ladies! :)
I also wrote a novel.
Nikki
http://cargoandatkinsfan.mlblogs.com/
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Sue - my fandom started when I was 17, so there was lots of lusting hahaha. But it quickly turned into a love of the game. I completely understand Julia's point, which is why I keep it to a minimum now. Every once in a while, I can't help it. :)
Renegade - I'm a lot like you when I read blogs. I couldn't care less if I'm reading a man's blog or a woman's blog. If it's well written and something I think I'll keep enjoying, I keep coming back. I wish more people had that mentality. There are a lot of young bloggers that just amaze me because I can't think of them being in middle school or high school and having such an amazing knowledge of this sport because I was a high school graduate when I started following baseball. I'm so glad to see such smart and wonderful fans in this community.
Ted - I haven't been out of high school for too long. I graduated in 2004. Cheerleading is tougher than people realize. When people say it's not a sport, I call BS because there were many days where my squad worked a lot longer and harder than the guys on the football team. I've gotten more injuries due to cheerleading than over half the football players I've known.
Julia - oh no...another debt? I'll head over tomorrow when I get up! :)
Emily - I love novels on my blog. :) I never understood the idea of wearing heels and skirts to a game. How is that even comfortable? I hate walking stairs in heels, so why would I wear them to a ballgame? Oh man...The Socks. I love them too. No idea why they're amazing, but they are.
Nikki - yay novels! When it comes to my makeup, it's the same everywhere I go. Classes, clubs, ballgames. It's minimal, but a little noticeable. And the attractive players are a bonus. I'd rather have a bunch of ugly guys playing great baseball then have a bunch of hot guys playing crappy baseball. Luckily we're all awesome and smart. :)
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Hi Jen! I was catching up on some mlblogs and didn't even realize you had written this! I'm very flattered and honored that you mentioned me, thank you it totally made my whole week! :] I loved reading this entry and it's SO nice to know that there are girls out there like me (like yourself!) that are pretty girls that love girly things but can talk baseball for days! Thanks for writing this entry, I love it :] xoxo http://diamondgirl55.mlblogs.com
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Diamondgirl - glad I made your week! Your blog was great, and I needed something to break my writer's block. Expanding on yours totally did that for me! So thanks for writing yours!
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