Girl meets boy; they fall in love. Then you discover that the person you’ve fallen in love with is also in love with sport. He may be an avid watcher of sports or someone who plays a sport; either way, you can suddenly find yourself feeling like there are three of you in the relationship and that you’ve unwittingly become a sports widow.
So how do you react to having to share your man with sport, especially if you’re not interested in it?
View the Players as Eye Candy
You may have zero interest in the game that’s on TV, but a byproduct of most sports professionals being at the top of their game is that they have amazing physiques. Your partner may be looking out for their skills and aptitude on the pitch – does it matter if you’re appreciating the players’ other attributes? If you’re watching a game of ice hockey or NFL football, it’s true that you don’t get to see much of the players beneath their uniforms, but if your man likes watching Aussie Rules, there’s always plenty of honed muscle on display – and many of today’s top players are seriously good-looking. Check out the boyish good looks of Fremantle Dockers’ Lachie Weller as an example of what we’re talking about. Take the tedium out of watching sports on TV by looking out for the best-looking players.
Put Some Money on the Game
Another way to add excitement to watching a sports fixture you’re not at all interested in, but you feel obliged to watch, is to have a little wager on the outcome. Thanks to the convenience of online and mobile betting, you can find easily find odds on pretty much any sporting fixture you might be watching. At Oddschecker, there’s everything from AFL betting through to betting on surfing competitions and the next tennis grand slam, so whatever your partner has tuned into, you’ll be able to find a bet to match. Even if you turn out to have backed the wrong team or contestant, it’ll keep your interest during the event.
Cultivate an Interest
Instead of assuming that because you don’t like watching a particular sport you never will, you could take the opposite approach. Develop an understanding of the basic rules of the game – whether it’s basketball, soccer or baseball – and the sport suddenly becomes a lot more interesting.
Be the Perfect Hostess
If, try as you might, you really can’t conjure up an interest in sport, there’s no use fighting it. Instead, you could throw yourself into playing the role of the hostess, making a fantastic spread of half-time snacks for your man and his mates, and being on hand to supply them all with fresh, cold beers so the guys don’t need to take their eyes off the game. Not only will you be viewed as the world’s best girlfriend by his mates, but your partner’s appreciation levels should soar.
Do Something Different
You’re not joined at the hip! If an afternoon of watching sport isn’t for you, profit from the time available and arrange to do something completely different. Of course, you want to spend lots of your free time together, but not when he’s staring at the screen instead of you.
Sit down with your partner and schedule when key matches are coming up. Then you can make arrangements to do stuff with a friend instead. You can’t be the only sports widow out there! Use those times to have some girly fun – going shopping, or booking in for a spa session – instead of getting frustrated that the sport on TV is getting more of your man’s attention than you are!
