NWCR – Something Special for the Ladies
By: Lee | July 14th, 2009
Hey everybody. I’m sure most of you have heard of the term WAGs. It’s short for Wives and Girlfriends of soccer players. You may have also explored The Offside’s WAGs page (which I HIGHLY recommend you check out ).
But what about a website for WAGs, so that they can understand the game that their husbands and boyfriends are so obsessed about and have meaningful conversations about the game with them. Well, that’s what a group of my friends are starting a website just to serve that purpose and they need your help.
So, to all the ladies out there, I ask you these questions three:
1. How informed do you consider yourself about professional soccer? What areas would you consider yourself most informed in?
2. What areas would you be most interested in learning more about: team histories/rivalries, how the game itself is played, notable players, or summary/analysis of the current season/upcoming matches? You don’t need to state just one, just talk about what you’d be most interested in knowing more about.
3. What are your main questions about the game? For example:
- Why are football games so low-scoring?
- Why do Americans call it soccer?
Thanks in advance for your comments.
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Excellent questions. I’ve long wondered why there aren’t more female soccer/football fans.
As somebody who’s been blogging on the game for almost three years, here are my thoughts, which aren’t necessarily related to your questions, but might be helpful for your friends. I’m speaking only for myself, but it’s also based on what I’ve observed.
1. Any soccer blog can be female friendly, and being female friendly will not drive away male readers. (It will, however, cause male readers to behave better.)
The Offside in general is a good example of a blog that appeals to both genders. 2. In general, females prefer positive to negative. We are empathetic. We feel their pain. We don’t enjoy seeing players ripped apart. (Avoid comments like, “He’s such an idiot.”) And we’d rather see “10 beautiful goals” than “10 horrible sitter misses.” And “Gruesome Soccer Injuries”? Forget it.
3. Women respond to the personal. When you humanize the players, you heighten our interest in the game. Give us family info (does he have kids? do you have pictures?) or interviews that show players as real human beings. (How did he FEEL when he scored that goal?)
Stay away from the stats. (I personally love stats, but I think I’m an anomaly.)If you want to see a prime example of how to get women interested, study Kickette. (And I’m actually not talking about the ogling and objectification angle — a lot of females do like that, but it’s not necessary to draw them in.)
What it really is, is that Kickette does an amazing job of making the players human. She does point out flaws, but she does it in an affectionate, humorous way, like she’s poking gentle fun at a younger brother. (”OMG, you’re not wearing THAT!”) When you start out that way, it’s not a huge leap from “Look at Sergio Ramos’s shorts” to understanding the offside rule. Seriously.
So from your list:
History? Meh, unless it’s personal
Rivalries? Probably.
Rules, etc.? Possibly. If done in a fun way.
Notable players? If presented right.
Summary/analysis of current season? Again, if you personalize it. Is this a rivalry? WHY? What have they done to your team in the past? If you were describing the Portland-Seattle rivalry to a Portland fan, you don’t say, “Seattle sucks,” you say, “Roger Levesque stepped on our goalkeeper’s head.”(Which I don’t think is actually true, btw. Love Roger.)
Drop me a note if you or your friends want more female input.
Posted from
United States
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Wow, those are some immensely helpful comments, I’ll be sure to pass it on. Thanks Laurie!
Posted from
United States
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