AIBU to say men who believe this are sexist pricks

Isn't it exactly the same game but women are playing?

i would say no for a few reasons.
Fans get involved with the backstory, the context, the history. Soap opera basically. If you don't 'know' the players so well, then a lot of the enjoyment gets lost. It's hard to just switch the league you follow and get same pleasure out of watching a match. One reason I'm invested in the women's game now is because I slightly know an elite player & following her has caused me to know the rest of national team... 'knowing' the players is huge part of being a fan.\

xH & I both follow men's pro-cycling... for various reasons xH also follows women pros... he personally knows one elite cyclist well and has come to know many others as a fan. He can get a lot of pleasure out of just 'knowing' who is strong or weak and their backstory, right now inthe season.

I heard some people say the women's game is weaker wrt tecnical or physical aspects... if those are aspects you utterly want to see, calibrated to recent pro men;s standards, you may feel disappointed. I find that eventually die hard footie fans come to appreciate other aspects of the women's game or they learn to recalibrate what physical strength & skill they hope to see.

I've heard a lot of fans say the men's game is more crazy skilled but the lack of amateur dramatics is wonderfully refershing in the gal's game.

Different not the same.

@HighLadyofTheNightCourt ,

‘All this tells me is that you don’t understand societal stereotypes and expectations in relation to sport, specifically male dominated sport such football.’

People spend their money on what they like, not based on societal expectations (or far less at least).

I like objective tests. So we can look at prices, speeds, shot accuracy, control etc etc.

Or you can suggest a better objective test?

But if you are saying that it is axiomatically sexism that people prefer (most) men’s sport, then obviously there is no discussion to be had, as I don’t accept your axiom.

As far as I can tell I couldn't find a thread about the tournament on MN, there doesn't appear to be much interest for it but now that they are in the final it's become a virtuous thing to watch it (I wonder how many people here for the YANBU watched the previous matches).

With women's football it seems to revolve around the debate of why people need to watch it and support it because of the issues at play, rather than the sporting spectacle in itself.

I don't know any family members (male or female) who are interested and quite a few have been put off with this feeling that it is being forced on everyone.

Sorting out the footwear so they don’t ruin women’s feet might be good as well

We were saying this the other day.
It’s incredulous that the goals are the same size despite the differences in height between the average male and female goal keeper.

All this tells me is that you don’t understand societal stereotypes and expectations in relation to sport, specifically male dominated sport such football.

They are NOT interchangeable! You can get great quality women’s football, but this tournament has been dreadful.

The euros have been sellout matches
there is quite clearly a dedicated fandom

@SomethingFun ,

‘The women’s was hugely cheaper - £150 a ticket for the men’s, £25 for the women’s.’

But that 6:1 disparity means most (including women) don’t agree with you!

If women really wanted to watch women’s sport, you would see full stadia and blackmarket tickets at extortionate prices.

Supply and demand, as expressed by price discovery, tells you what people really think, as opposed to what they say, which is often virtue signaling.

The women's game could benefit immensely from one alteration. Making the goal smaller. Mary Erups is one of the best positional keepers I've seen in over 50 years of watching football and playing keeper. I watched a show real and she made some difficult saves look easy by being in the right place. But she's been beaten by shots that an average male keeper 4 or 5 inches taller would have saved. Some of the goals in this tournament are poor simply because women on average are shorter than men.
Make the goal smaller would enhance the game... England wouldn't score a penalty but...

If you genuinely only want to watch the fastest or the ‘best’ at whatever sport it is, you probably won’t be watching English men or women do it at all so that argument doesn’t really hold up.

I have been to the men’s and women’s euros. I would say the enjoyment factor was the same for the matches where I didn’t particularly mind who won. The atmosphere for the women’s was more family friendly. The women’s was hugely cheaper - £150 a ticket for the men’s, £25 for the women’s.

Usually as a woman watching women play sports you see a tiny amount of women on tv unless there is an Olympics or commonwealth games. A couple of tennis players, a gymnast or two etc. Watching the football I get to see 22+ women of different ages, sizes, strengths and weaknesses and it’s really inspiring. I wish there was televised and publicised tournaments like this when I was younger. I learned early on, like many/ most women that sport wasn’t for me, it was for boys and men. And that’s what I hear in a lot of these comments tbh.

All of this is true and we have a professional (female) footballer in the family who says the same thing. I can’t contribute much to the conversation as a non sport fan but my husband seems to appreciate sport at any level (as long as it’s a level playing field). That’s an interesting take on tennis.

my husband is a huge sports fan and he is fortunately very enthusiastic about elevating women’s sport. I, on the other hand, am not a sports fan, but I might watch women’s sport because I feel it’s more relevant to me So I suppose I can understand men not watching women’s sport - but I would not tolerate them being derogatory or and supportive of women in sport particularly around young girls.

I'm a man, and I won't be watching it whereas I probably would the mens final.

It's not because they're women specifically, but more that the women's game just isn't that interesting to me. It's naturally slower paced, and generally less skillful. (And yes, I get that that's because fewer people watch it, so there's less money in it, which means that women get less opportunity to train, which means it's less exciting, which means fewer people watch it , and so on and so on.)

I find the same with Tennis, but with the sexes reversed. The women's game is so much more entertaining to watch, because it's less about sheer power, so when Wimbledon comes around I tend to only watch the women's matches.

Rugby on the other hand I tend to enjoy both the male and female games equally.

I think that's an interesting point. Most English football fans would happily watch a recording of the 1966 World Cup final, but that winning team would be nowhere near as fit as current top league teams. Were they as skillful or as fast? How would they fare against the current English team? Or against the current U16 team?

If they discount men’s football because the players have a penis, say they have had long enough, clearly rubbish, can’t win a thing, they are only men. Then yes.

If they chose to watch women’s football without dismissing the mens team’s right to exist, then no.

Depends. Do they cite sexist and misandrist reasons for not watching men’s football?

Honestly, I’d pay more to watch women play sport. I feel more of an affinity to women and women’s sport.

I know you’re trying to make the argument that men’s sport is ‘better’ but I would suggest it’s different. I enjoy watching women’s football and I much prefer the atmosphere at a women’s football game compared to watching a men’s game.

I won't watch it just as I wouldn't watch a Mens Division Two game on tv. It's a lower standard of football and I'm used to watching the top teams.

Wouldn’t go to an England game unless it was corporate seats as it has the potential to get violent but would go in the stands to the women’s game,

Would pay equal for tennis tickets not a problem. Happy to sit in the stands for either male or female or mixed games. That’s the thing with tennis you can have mixed it’s not quite so divided.

Loads of women are not interested in mens football but are enjoying the women's football.

Are they sexist pricks too?

I really enjoy (men’s) football - I support a Premier League team and have been to games. I haven’t been particularly interested in the Euros this year - I don’t find international football particularly interesting to be honest. In the men’s game I might watch a game if a player from my PL was in it but that is it really. I don’t particularly follow the women’s team for my PL club either, so I don’t know any of the players to ‘follow’.

I do think there is a lot of disparity between the men’s and women’s game though. The investment just hasn’t been there until very recently - it only seems hyped up for the international tournaments. It’s also a slower game - which I honestly don’t enjoy as much.

I am female by the way and have tried to watch some matches and just haven’t got into it yet. The only person I know who has been following - randomly - is my FIL. He doesn’t watch or support any men’s team but will watch the women’s. Before he is declared a pervert - he said he enjoys it as it isn’t as fast paced and he finds it easier to keep up. So for the same reason, he enjoys and I don’t.

Again, I haven’t said it’s exactly the same.
You keep saying I have but that’s just not the case.
And who gives a shit whether you’ll be watching or not. Nobody is forcing you to 🤷🏼‍♀️

There is a huge gulf to saying, women’s football not for me, and saying it’s only women it’s pointless.

There is quite a lot of quiet excitement building up today. If a household has a grunt dad refusing to watch he can go and sit elsewhere why should those who want to watch and support have it spoiled by others. Men’s football is on all the time, well it feels like all the time.

Some women are put off football by the behaviour and atmosphere around the men’s game, there remains a disgraceful amount of racism and homophobia on the terraces. So having a football match, that might not be as thrilling as the men’s, but has considerably less racism and homophobia isn’t such a bad thing. The woman’s game is growing and this argument will be had, has been had, every tournament. Instead of ignoring it people seem to want to drag the team down not get behind them. It’s fucking weird.

Next tournament will be the same, next men’s tournament will bring the same racist tweets, and round and round everyone goes.

The men’s game is bigger but some fans they’re not great are they?

At least the women have already lifted a trophy in living memory, the men haven’t done that, no matter how high they jump or fast they run, it seems there always is a bunch of men from another country who are better at football than England. Some England fans have trouble accepting this.

I would challenge all of you to answer these questions honestly, even to yourselves.

How much would you pay for a pair of tickets for the men’s World Cup final and the women’s?

Ditto for men’s and women’s Wimbledon finals?

Does it make you sexist if you would pay more to see the men?