1. Being a girl in a man's world
So recently someone described me as having the ability to be a girl in a man's world! You can probably take that one of two ways but I was quite happy with the statement, thankfully. I work for a company called Airbus, they are a manufacturing company who build aeroplanes for those who don't know with the site I work at concentrating on the wings. Anyway I digress. I spend a lot of my time around blokes and as a member of the management team you have to have the ability to be 'one of the lads' at times. I think being a footy fan helps a lot with this, the site is full of Evertonians I am glad to say but obviously being situated where we are there is a mix of Liverpool, United, Tranmere, City and tons of Chester and Wrexham fans! If you can break the ice with a bit of football banter it seems to stand me in pretty good stead. It seems to gain you a certain type of respect I don't see a lot of other females (and some males) get. Our Senior Trade Union team are a fearsome bunch to behold but being as most of them are Blues and those that are Red know how to take my teasing, I am on the right side of them shall we say when I need to deal with them in a work situation.
2. Shocking blokes with footy chat
I am in a queue at the sun beds (now he is a man in a girl's world surely!) and the bloke in front of me is wearing an Everton shirt. I can't help but bring up the mighty Blues, "what do you think about the Cleverley signing then?". The shock and dismay on the face that turns to greet me is hilarious. They start to engage in conversation and I usually get the impression they are dubious at first until we get chatting and they trust that I know what I am talking about and relax into the conversation. On a recent trip to Ibiza I ended up getting chatting to some guys who were stockbrokers from France. One of them was a PSG fan, he thought it was awesome that I could chat football with him! I was also pleased when they took us to a suite where they had the Champions League final on with a free bar and a pile of pizza (ok so being a girl helped in this situation!). Result.
3. Watching the footy with my girly friends
As you have just heard I managed to squeeze in a watch of the Champions League final whilst on a girls holiday and also at Ushuaia (a nightclub for those who don't know, in the above pic haha). I had warned the girls I would be watching it but I am not sure they believed me. On a previous girls trip away I hadn't been so successful in this type of situation. On a trip to Cardiff for a friend's birthday back in 2011 I had really wanted to watch the Conference Premier Semi-final when AFC Wimbledon played Luton to try and 'regain' their League status once again. Truth be told I had a little soft spot for the story of Wimbledon as it was so close to that of the reborn Chester FC who had won their first of many league titles to come only three weeks before to edge a little bit closer to where they'd been prior to the old club's well documented financial issues. My request to stay in the Wetherspoons we had just enjoyed a late breakfast in was met with much distain by the rest of the girls I was with and I had no choice but to leave at 0-0 and miss the excitement of a penalty shootout finish. How annoying!
4. Blinding people with science
Although I sometimes enjoy surprising them, one of the tricky bits about being a girl who likes football when you are talking to blokes, in my opinion, is feeling like you are going to be tripped up. What I mean to say is that I sometimes feel I have to know all the facts to ensure they truly believe I know what I am talking about. I am a little bit like that anyway. I like facts, data, figures, information, it gives you what you want and it tells no lies. So I like to get myself geared up with facts, luckily nowadays you don't have to buy every Match magazine going to get hold of this information because it is readily available on the Internet and even better with Twitter. I was on the bus on the way to the United game this season and I was having a conversation with a long standing season ticket holder (feel the pressure) so I threw in a few of my usual facts about the players we were discussing and their performance for the team. At the end of the conversation he turned and said to my husband "bloody hell she knows more than me, she should be on the telly with her knowledge" - BINGO! My ploy worked, well it's not a ploy I do know a lot about my topic of choice but only because I sometimes blind people with science!
5. Being at the match
As I have said in my previous blogs I don't get to as many live games as I used to but now my little girl is getting older that is becoming a bit easier. One thing I have always noticed at both Everton and Chester is there are a lot more females than I expected to see. Usually these females are hardcore match goers not the occasional come to the Boxing Day match with the family types but season ticket holders who also know their topic of choice well. I am obviously in good company. This does not stop the reaction I get from blokes around me being one of hilarity. On the same day at the United game I took up my father-in-law's seat as he had been dragged to a family occasion he couldn't get out of. I had never sat by these two blokes in my life but we got chatting none the less. By half time the bloke to one side of me said he thought I was a very passionate fan! My father in law has at times said I swear like a trooper with a look of shock on his face. Maybe I give off a look that says meek and mild but as soon as the whistle blows for the start of a match I turn into Footymadgirl again and my whole alter ego changes. I love singing at the game, as you will know if you have read my other blogs, but I am also not afraid of a good shout (and a swear) but why should I not? Because I am a girl some would say but I think that may be a bit unfair. At another game this season, the Derby no less, I had been awarded a ticket in the lounge from work. There were four of us together who had all received the award. Me and three blokes. At half time one of them turned to me and said they had been chatting when I was away and had noted that they were expecting me to be quiet and reserved, as I was a female from HR, but found the complete opposite! There were no complaints but I do enjoy surprising people.
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