Have women ruined football

 

Saturday afternoon was traditionally an escape for most male football fans. A chance to meet up with the lads, have a few drinks, and let off steam by vociferously informing the manager or referee exactly how to do his job. This was male territory away from wives and girlfriends, a chance to have a good shout, swear as much as you wanted and get it all off your chest. Well those times have changed but have they changed for the better? Football seems to be rarely played at 3pm on a Saturday due to the power of the media, and the very make up of the crowd has also changed. Where previously the crowd was 95% male, the increasing presence of female football supporters is changing the ‘face’ of football (excuse the pun). My question, is this a good thing or not for the average male fan?
I must admit during the hooligan filled parts of the 80’s, as a female football fan, my passion for attending the game did wane. Who wants to go to watch a football match, especially some of the football we were playing, and face serious injury because of a few mindless thugs who didn’t care who they attacked? The conditions were atrocious, threats of violence everywhere, the terrible Bradford fire and Heysel disasters adding to the unattractive and down right dangerous side of football.
As new regulations were passed and modern, comfortable stadia were developed, the threat of violence receeded, and the game was marketed more sucessfully so more female fans started watching football and attending matches. Recent research has demonstrated a dramatic increase in the number of women attending Premiership football matches, while more than one in five season ticket holders at some championship clubs are women.
The research estimates that if the current rate of growth continues, nearly a third of those attending Premiership matches within four years’ time will be women. I’m not sure that is true sounds like the typical market research extrapolation of figures, but certainly female fans are on the increase. Potentially good news for the clubs as their fan base and revenue stream broadens, but what about the male football fan? Has the advent of so many females changed your behaviour when attending the match? Do you feel more restricted in what you shout or how you act? Has it negatively impacted on your enjoyment of attending the match?
Most female fans are aware of sexism within the game. The ‘I bet you only watch football to ogle the players legs etc’comments, the patronising glances from certain men as you start to discuss the team, but that’s all a given it goes with the territory and is only to be expected. Most female fans I come into contact with don’t want to be treated differently, and certainly don’t believe their sex is an important factor in relation to their identity as a fan. Most female fans actually like the game as it is, and one concern about attracting more female spectators to football is that doing so might result in a reduction in the ‘atmosphere’ at matches. You go to the game expecting the swearing, the rude singing etc as it is part and parcel of the match. The appeal of football is the same regardless of gender. Feeling sick when you’re winning, the frustration of team selections, the euphoria of a win, and the depression when everything goes pear shaped.
It is embarrasing to listen to some fellow females attending the game who clearly haven’t got a clue what they are talking about when it comes to football, but then I guess a reasonable number of men spout out various levels of tripe as well.
Gabby Logan (Toon fan and daughter of Terry Yorath of Leeds United) is doing a great job in helping to change people’s views of female football fans as she presents on key football events, on the negative side I listened to the woman commentator on 5 live commentating on one of our games a few weeks ago and she was pretty hopeless. But that’s the same with men. As we see more females playing football, and more match officials of the female variety, the face of the game is being changed forever?