AIBU to say men who believe this are sexist pricks

My husband would say exactly the same. His comment is that he wouldn't watch championship football played by men because its nowhere near as good as the Premier League, which he does watch. We will be watching the game tonight but the women are nowhere near the quality of the men and , if that matters, then it's perfectly reasonable not to watch .

If they are actually making a point of saying, just out of the blue, I refuse point blank to watch women's sports, well they're not very well mannered, for sure and they do sound kind of sexist.
But that's not what's happening, clearly.

This is who the OP is talking about though and unfortunately it is happening - a quick look on social media will tell you that.

In our house my football mad husband and DS have just put the England flags up ❤️

This thread is quite depressing tbh, obviously everyone can be interested in whatever they want but it feels like there’s no point even playing football because the women’s game will never be as good as the men’s.

The sexism around women’s football is shocking, I play Sunday league and men often make pervy comments about the changing rooms or say that women footballers will never be able to beat men 🙄.

I took DP and the DDs to see a match during the 2018 World Cup and hardly anyone even knew there was a World Cup even though we lived in the host country. Can you imagine living in the host country of the men’s World Cup and not knowing about it? I think things have moved on quite a bit since then, but there’s still a way to go.

You are unreasonable, as the standard is way below men's football. That is why men don't want to watch, it's really garbage in comparison.

It's not sexist to say I am not watching women's football. It's sexist to say, "Those women shouldn't be playing football, there is washing to be done"

Nah, they're just completely uninterested in women's sports. And that's perfectly fine. I give zero shits about any sports, but women's are even more boring than men's. And there is NOTHING wrong with me having that opinion. Not remotely misogynistic, or sports phobic or any other "insert slur" - just an ordinary opinion.

By saying "refuse to watch" you sound like you're harassing men who aren't interested, if that's the case you are utterly insuufferable.

If they are actually making a point of saying, just out of the blue, I refuse point blank to watch women's sports, well they're not very well mannered, for sure and they do sound kind of sexist.

But that's not what's happening, clearly.

lol this is so true. I have never watched so many sports and I’ve certainly never felt the need to mention it!

As we all should know from the last few years on mn men have a physical advantage over women in the vast majority of sports. This doesn’t mean women’s sport is worthless because of the physical differences between men and women. I despair of the cultural soup we live in that parrots that women’s football is like Sunday 5 a side. Listen to yourselves. It’s embarrassing.

Who knows what women’s football would be like if countless millions were spent on it like the men’s. If the FA hadn’t banned women from playing (because the women’s football was more popular than the men’s). If women were taken genuinely seriously in any public sphere that isn’t looking sexy, having babies and caring for others.

I feel so inspired watching women play football. I wish I’d seen more women play sport when I was younger as I might have thought it was for me and not just for men.

Lifelong male football fan here. The women show more commitment, heart and passion than the men. That's what makes at least as interesting to me as the men's game. The men just dont care as much. The atmosphere is definitely better with friendly rivalry rather than the borderline hate that generally accompanies PL games. The men are generally stronger with more stamina, which showed up a little in some penalty kicks after extra time, but the skill levels are similar now. I'll defo be watching today.

It's not the not watching women's football, it's the going on about it. The unasked for comparisons and denigration of women's endeavour. Why do they need to share their opinion at all? Don't like it, don't watch it. Otherwise its just a soapbox from which to put women down.

I prefer women’s football. It’s slower, more considered and easier to follow. There’s far less cheating and histrionics (probably because they don’t want to be accused of being ‘big girls’ if they’re tackled or take a knock). My DH is really excited for the final tonight.

They just hate women. It's sad.

Depends.
Are you a football fan who is refusing to watch today’s game just because it’s being played by women? Because that’s the type of person the OP is talking about.

The social media comments are vile.
I’ve had to stop looking at them as they just make me angry and sad.

By that rule though, noboody would support Stockport County or Hull City or whatever because they’re not the very best and you might not see the best elite football there every week. That’s not how supporting a team works.

my own football team has had a very checkered history. Still support them avidly.

If they are refusing to watch it simply because it’s women playing then yeah, I’d assume they’re a sexist prick.
There’s a lot of them around unfortunately.

it does feel like sour grapes from men

OP if you think there’s any doubt that you are right, read the comments on social media about this. It’s appalling.

I watch my beloved club football team play because I support them. Not for the quality of the football (and god Knows I’d have waited a long time to see them play quality football!). That’s how supporting a team works.

My dad, a working class hgv driver and lifelong football fan, is loving the Lionesses. He says their team is 'more patriotic' than the men's. I don't know what he means as I've got no interest in football, but I'm pleased he's so behind them.

I'm a woman and have no intention of watching it. Am I a sexist prick?

This. I'm not an avid watcher of sport but when I do tune in it's because I want to see the people who are best at that sport doing their thing. For obvious reasons the people at the top of sport are invariably male; let's face it if there were no separate men's and women's competitions in elite sport, but you instead had single competitions open to all regardless of sex, you'd very, very rarely see women anywhere. In a way I do hate myself for thinking this but when women's sport is essentially the same as the men's (or truly open) version but just slower/at a lower standard...I fully understand why people aren't interested because I'm not either.

There is too much football

My DH has taken his DD to see the women’s team of their club quite a few times and his explanation of why it’s a different game than the men’s (though he does say he reckons they are technically on a par with the men’s team) is that it’s a man’s pitch and the women are just playing on it.
The size of the pitch and goals are designed for the men, same as just about everything else in the world. Women are shorter and less powerful than men so the game itself unfolds differently on that pitch.

Same here. I’m a woman I’m obsessed with men’s football. I’ve watched Euros but the quality is shocking. The penalty shoot out against the Swedes was the worst shoot out I’ve ever seen. I don’t get the hype around the Lionesses. Yes it’s a great achievement but let’s not gloss over they’ve been poor in the last couple of games and luck has helped them get to the final.

I watch the games as you still get the "ooh, is this going to be a goal...?" excitement, even if the quality is much lower than the men's game.

My ideas for women's football?
Get it on telly! On free to watch channels. I've no idea who most of the players are for England, even less for my team (Liverpool). If it's on, people will watch and start to care.
Make it less comparable to the men's game by making it different. Rule changes that change the basics would have to be done globally otherwise we'd be at a disadvantage when we play internationals but there are some changes that could be done in England:
A five minute on pitch break midway through each half. Make it more appealing to commercial TV and help fitness levels recover.
Rolling substitutions. Keep energy levels higher.
An extra point for winning by 5 clear goals. Been talked about for the men for ages. More incentive in games which have already been 'won'.

I think this is 100% spot on!