Girlfriend’s guide to becoming a sports fan
by Karen Hawthorne for SheKnows.com
While shopping and socializing might be a great way to spend your Saturdays, doesn't spending Sunday snuggled up to your man watching the latest sports event sound sweet? Not sports savvy? No problem! A veteran sports and beauty journalist has published a simple guidebook to sports with all the insider information you'll ever need.
Can you wear stilettos to a basketball game and still look stylish? What is a double dribble - and why is it so bad, anyway? The NBA season is starting and now is the time, ladies, to embrace your inner sports fan - or fake it to impress the avid sports junkies in your life. Who wants to sit on the sidelines and sulk?
The woman's guide to loving sports
Sports and beauty journalist (now there's a combo!) Melissa Malamut, has the Cliffs Notes for sports with the female fan in mind. Her book She's Got Game: The Woman's Guide to Loving Sports is a simple, straightforward guide with handy tips on everything from what to wear to look great at the game or sports bar to terms you'll need to know to cheer like a die-hard fan to basic and advanced rules of the game.
Sports meets beauty
How does she know it all? Malamut grew up in North Easton, Massachusetts, "sports-spoiled," with season tickets to the Celtics, Red Sox, Bruins and Patriots. She has worked in public relations for the National Hockey League and the Professional Golfers Association. She was editor in chief of Touchdown Illustrated magazine, and covered a sports beat for Tribune newspapers while working as a beauty editor for a fashion magazine.
The girlie-girls' guide to basketball
Some of the female-friendly tips and tricks Malamut discusses include the NBA dress code, for players and fans:
Pro basketball is the most stylish and dressiest sport. It's really the only sport (with, perhaps, the exception of hockey) where you can get away with high heels. Even stilettos.
You can wear anything from team gear to your work suit. Fashion-conscious women in the basketball business suggest jeans and a cardigan with heeled boots, stylish flats or city sneakers. The season goes from winter to summer but the climate controlled 72-degree arenas never change.
The players have a dress code they must adhere to when they're on team or league business off the court. The dress code was implemented in 2005 when league officials thought the NBA's image was tarnished.
Best time to leave the seats?
We all need to visit the powder room or purchase some refreshments during our sporting pleasure. Here's what new football converts need to know:
Best time to leave the seats (or the couch) to not miss the action: Obviously half-time. Time in between quarters is short (only about two minutes.)
Best time to leave the seats (or the couch) for the shortest lines for the bathroom/food: Beginning of the second quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter. You may miss some play, but the lines will be short and you'll avoid the half-time rush.
So, who's the sports addict now? Study this guidebook and you won't need to ask your date about the lingo, the rules or the best times to break for lip gloss application.
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