Sports & Shopping
Thursdays are all about answering the tough questions. I must toss my feather boa over my shoulder, kick my stilettos under the desk, and hunch over the keyboard to bring you all the wit and wisdom you can handle. Such is the job of the Demystifying Diva. Don't ask me what this noble goal requires of the Men's Club, but I suspect it has something to do with smoking jackets, brandy, and cigars.Anyhoo, this week's topic is: Men & Sports vs. Women & Shopping - Similarities? Compare and Contrast.
Hmm. A real thinker.
I suspect that this question has its root in stereotypes. You know: knuckle-dragging, beer-drinking male sportsfans and empty-headed, materialistic shopaholics.
I suspect, however, that there is at least a grain of truth in the stereotypes. If there weren't, the stereotypes would not exist, right?
Men enjoy sports for the camaraderie and the opportunity to imbibe alcohol, munch nutritionally questionable snack foods, and live vicariously through the heroics of others. What's not to like in that little tableau? While the beer is good, men don't need sports to drink beer. Likewise, sports are not a requirement for the scarfing of large quantities of junk food. So, I am left with the vicarious thrills.
Watching sports and playing sports allows today's men to associate with winners. They get to high-five when "they" make a three-point shot or do their own touchdown dance. They get to belong to the team, so to speak, whether they ever get to the locker room or not. Sports then, I imagine, feed the fantasy life of men. They imagine themselves as a balder Favre, a shorter Shaq, a skinnier Mark McGwire, or even a younger Barry Alvarez (for the ones who wanted to be coaches). They get to "be" like...(forgive me)...Mike.
On the flip-side, women enjoy shopping because it permits an escape from the housework, oftentimes comes with the companionship offered by a shopping partner, and gives a feeling of power when you get a good deal or find something very great. Again, this tableau is pretty attractive. Who doesn't want to feel as though they've escaped the dreary details only to discover a treasure? Certainly there are other ways to get out of washing windows and dusting and other opportunities to spend time with peers. But, that elusive A-Ha! feeling is where the real pull comes from.
In many ways, finding that $340 pair of Italian slingbacks for $70 is the same joy that the couch-potato sports fan gets when "his" quarterback throws the game-winning touchdown. Both activities give the participants a good feeling. They are escapes from our hum-drum lives. And, if you think about it, Day-After-Thanksgiving Shopping is quite a bit like a football game: unnecessary roughness, personal fouls, roughing the refs, etc. Best Buy at 3 a.m. requires stamina!
Of course, the activities differ too. By and large the obsessions are different because men and women are different at the crux. Women don't paint their chests to celebrate the opening day of the holiday shopping season. There is never any discussion of shirts vs. skins when it comes to shopping. President's Day matters not a bit to the sportsfan because it doesn't really interfere with March Madness.
That's it, I've exhausted my thoughts and clever bon mots on this topic. For more education, check out the other Dynamic and Delightful Divas and the Men's Club submissions from Mr. Swagger himself and Newbies Jim and Darren (Welcome!).
