I'm
a Football Fan
by Carol Stout
When I was growing up in Central Indiana. We didn't
have a professional football team. But, we sure had
High School Football. And, I was right in the middle
of it. I wasn't a cheerleader, or a Pom Pom girl.
Nope, I was the little sister of the Varsity coach
at our rival school! I didn't really care about the
plays and the games. I just knew that if the guys
won, it would be a fun night and if they lost it would
still be a pretty fun night. I was 16, what else could
I say. I was right in the middle of my teenage hormonal
imbalance between right and wrong, boys and ….boys.
I was a Sophmore, they were Juniors and Seniors. I
was a goddess, because I was the coaches little sis.
The girls at my own school turned inside out with
jealousy. How glorious was that? Did I know anything
about football. Not a thing. I did figure out when
to cheer. When my hero of the moment caught the ball
and made it past all the other big guys that was good.
I did learn how to drink a lot of beer that year.
Years later after I had moved far south to New Orleans
I was working in the media and had gone to a party.
I ran into New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson and
his wife. After a very nice conversation with Mrs.
Benson, I had to confess to her that I had never been
to a professional football game. The very next day
I got a phone call from the office of Tom Benson offering
me 6 tickets to the upcoming 49ers vs Saints game
at the Superdome. I didn't have too much trouble coming
up with 5 friends either. What a great time we had.
We drank a lot of beer that night too.
While I lived in New Orleans, I worked for the publishing
group that published the Saints programs for the games.
Every Sunday my best friend and I would be out there
selling those programs. We didn't do it for a job,
we didn't really do it for the money. It was fun and
one of the great perks was you got to watch the games
from the field. We would do everything we possibly
could to sell out of our programs in the first quarter.
I had my own little system. My voice carried very
far and very loud, I would sing, I would chant and
people would just buy my programs so I would be quite.
I came up with that one myself. I also had this little
ditty I sang "Programs, get your programs 3 bucks,
3 bucks 3 bucks…. Hey mister, did I ever tell
you about the doe that jumped out of the woods and
said WEW! I won't do that for 3 bucks anymore! Programs!"
Sold most of them out before the start of the game
to that little ditty. We wanted to get a good position
down on the field to not only watch the game, but
to watch the other people down on the field watching
the game. Celebrities would come to watch their quarterback
friends play, so depending on who the Saints were
playing that day there could be anyone down on the
field watching. We talked to the likes of Axal Rose,
Valerie Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen. We drank a
lot of beer.
I left New Orleans after several years, never really
understanding the game of football. It's true. All
that exposure, and I probably couldn't have told you
how much an extra point was worth (OK, I might have
figured that one out). I came back to Indiana and
wrote a couple of books, worked for a marketing firm
and went on about my life. I started going to Colt's
games because my friends had season tickets but again,
there was a lot of beer drinking going on during those
tailgating parties and during the game. Then it happened….
I met a guy. A football speaking, living, breathing,
fanatic, sportsfan guy. After all that football experience,
I couldn't really get into the, let's just round it
down to… Let's see, 6 hours on Saturday for
College, 12 or so hours on Sunday, 3 hours on Monday.
Let's just factor in some holiday games. Not including
the games he actually went to, so that would be times
2 because he listened to the other games on his headset
while he watched the game. OK, you get my point. If
I ever wanted to communicate with him in any way,
shape or form, I was going to have to speak FOOTBALL!
The whole drinking beer thing wasn't going to save
me this time.
My work was really cut out for me. I really liked
this guy, he was really cute, interesting (when there
were no games on) and I really wanted him to like
me. I wanted to know more about the game all the sudden,
but every time I would ask him something, he would
a) look at me like I was stupid, b) give me the drop
dead, don't talk look or c) mutter something inaudible
and expect me to interpret it. So, I went to the bookstore
and bought the two most popular books on the market
at that time. The Dummies Guide to Football and The
Idiot's Guide to Football. Now let me say something
right here. These are great books. But, I am woman
hear me roar. They are written by men! Professional
Football playing men. I really didn't understand them
either. I started doing a lot of research on my subject,
now I was frustrated and motivated. When I started
asking other women about the subject, they had the
same problem. They didn't really understand the game,
or if they did it took years of just figuring it out.
It was at that point that I decided that the book
must be written.
I figured I might as well start with a little controversy
in the name "The Chicks' Guide to Football; A
Complete Guide to Tight Ends". A concise guide
on the basics and fundamentals for women to understand
the game, written by a woman who took the time to
decipher what these men were trying to explain and
put it into a language that was easy to understand.
It was the whole Mars/Venus communication thing. The
funny thing is, the more of the game that I started
to understand, the more enjoyable the game became.
I started watching without my man. I started watching
by myself on Sunday morning. Started watching the
pregame shows and the commentators, really got into
it. I became a Football Fan. A real honest to goodness
fan that understood the game, the whole concept of
the plays and have my own opinion about Free Agency
and I also substitute an occasional Margarita in there
for beer now. I do have the respect of the men around
me!
The book has really become popular in it's own right.
I think it's a masterpiece, but it's my sweat and
tears. Teams have bought the book sales just keep
increasing. I couldn't have asked for a better subject
to write on or a better market to write for. The comments
from the women who have read the book have been so
rewarding. The reviews from male sports writers, commentators
and sports talk has been exceptional.
Last year I got to go to the Superbowl in New Orleans
to see the Rams and the Patriots. This year, I'm giving
away 2 tickets to the Superbowl in San Diego to a
lucky winner of our Superbowl Spectacular drawing.
Go to www.chicksguidetofootball.com
for more information.
Carol Stout is the Author and Publisher of The Chicks'
Guide to Football. The book can be purchased directly
through www.chicksguidetofootball.com
Amazon.com or your local book retailer.
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