Yes, America; Girls Can Be Football Fans, Too

Being a native Texan, I have always considered myself a Dallas Cowboys fan.

During the five years of my childhood spent in New England (also known as ‘Patriots Country’), I remember classmates asking if I was a Cowboys fan.

That was during the height of my Barbie obsession, so football wasn’t something that occupied my mind frequently but I was still a fan.

All of that began to change Jan. 28, 1996...the day the Cowboys defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX.

I remember the rivalry that had begun to heat up in the previous weeks between my best friend’s Pennsylvania-based family and my own Texas-proud family.

Jokes were exchanged, jabs were made and the team colors were worn on a regular basis. While it hadn’t been discussed in detail previously, football became pretty important between the two houses.  

Seven years old at the time, I believed this was my home state’s reputation at stake.

While others may disagree, at the time I could not be persuaded otherwise and chose to plant myself in front of the TV to watch the entire game with my father.

Maybe it was the bonding time with him, or even watching the famous Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (who looked suspiciously like my favorite doll) that enthralled me.

All I really knew at that point was that if a Dallas player made it to the end zone, it was time to cheer. The mechanics of the game didn’t really become important to me until I was a little older.

As the self-professed ‘news junkie’ of the house, I knew several of the players right away from various endorsements or newscasts. The Triplets, consisting of Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, were familiar names to me, which pleased my father immensely.

Little did he know his little girl would turn out to be a football fan after all.

I can still remember the excitement in the room as Larry Brown successfully completed an interception or Chris Boniol made a field goal.

When the scoreboard read 27-17 in favor of the Silver and Blue, I ran next door to offer my condolences and flash my best ‘take that’ grin.

Ten years and one long move back to Texas later, after watching various professional football games on TV and high school games from the bleachers; I began to take a greater interest in football as a whole.

By this point, I had a better understanding of the game and its procedures, which served me well as I moved to Cowboysland for college.

My weekends were dominated by football; I was cheering in the stands for collegiate games on Saturdays and screaming at the television for professional games on Sundays.

Suddenly, the silver and blue became more important than before. I was determined to learn about the players and history of the team.

The NFL Draft and summer training camp in San Antonio, my hometown, were important events in the off-season.

The best part of my fascination was having something new to share with my dad. Since that first Super Bowl, I had shown a greater interest in the game but nothing that compared to this.

Twenty-minute conversations over who was doing well in particular divisions became two-hour discussions on the pros and cons of the Cowboys’ depth chart.

Being a Cowboys fan is a huge part of my life now; from chatting with other fans on Facebook to reading stories online, I try to stay in the know about what's happening with my team.

The last thing I want to be known as is a bandwagon fan. My heart hurts thinking about missed opportunities in playoff games and even though I love the color, I refuse to wear pink jerseys...ever.

Now a young college graduate interested in sports journalism, I continue to enjoy surprising unsuspecting men who think I can’t hold my own in a football conversation.

Yes, this 20-year-old female enjoys watching ESPN, understands why Jason Witten is such an amazing player, and can tell you which former college quarterback the Cowboys drafted at overall pick No. 101 in the 2009 NFL Draft without using Google.

Looking back on the change of my wardrobe selections of Barbie T-shirts then to a classic throwback jersey now, I think I can safely say that a lot changed for me on that January night 13 years ago.