Despite being a longtime fan and launching a career in sports law, Brieanna Mercer says she still faced the question: Do you even know the rules? Brieanna is now the co founder of Stella Athlete Management.
As a kid in the late 1990’s/early 2000s I answered “Sports Tonight” as my favourite show in my friend’s bright green and pink Groovy Chick BFF book when everyone else put “Home and Away”. I had every Syd, Ollie and Millie stationary item in 2000 and I took the stats in the Footy Record at West Coast Eagles games. Suffice to say I grew up a bone fide sports fan and played as many sports as I could.
At university I joined the Australian New Zealand Sports Law Association, chose sports law as an elective and continued to be a glorified spectator (aka benchwarmer) in the State Basketball League.
But after university when it came to working in sport because I was making decisions affecting the male code, my knowledge of the sport was always questioned. It was apparent from this announcement that I needed extra justification to ensure I would be accepted as qualified.
“Do you even follow it? Did you play? Do you even know the rules?” were questions I have been asked too many times to count. Of course, I earnestly answered each one because I wanted to be part of it. But to be deemed credible in my field, I needed to prove I knew as much, if not more, about the game as the men in the room.
My experience is not unique here. Ask any female sports journalist, administrator, sports doctor or physio who entered the sports industry ten to twenty years ago.
The underlying tone of these questions to some extent also applied to being a female fan of men’s sport too. If you wanted to join in the water cooler chat on a Monday morning about the game on the weekend, you needed to know your stuff.
Which brings me to a very positive note, and the overwhelming response to the on-field success of the Matilda’s we’ve seen. What I love most about the fanfare (pun intended) is that no one needs to justify their knowledge of the game to be deemed a worthy fan.
In fact, it’s quite the opposite. People embracing their naivety to the rules is endearing. It shows that everyone can share the unbridled joy of cheering people on to see them succeed and relishing in the unscripted drama of a penalty shootout.
The swarms of new fans prove that women’s sport is more approachable and inclusive.
With so much to love about women’s sport it’s the lifelong, overqualified sports lovers like me that wants to welcome every new fan into the fold.
If you skipped phys ed class in school because you told me it was a waste of time, said that football players were overpaid for just “kicking a ball around” or never knew what the big deal was with the Olympics, and you want to jump on the bandwagon now, I say go for it! Yell, scream, buy the merchandise and enjoy.
Even better still, if you want to start playing again, coach a team or consider a career in sport, know that you will only be encouraged, not questioned.
You don’t need to know the rules. Everyone is welcome to women’s sport.
