Hate Sports? 5 Tips For 'Football Widows'

Football season can take a toll on couples. Here's how to get through it together.

By Susie & Otto Collins — Written on Sep 14, 2012

Hate Sports? 5 Tips For 'Football Widows' [EXPERT]

For some, the kickoff of football season is a wondrous thing. It means that fall is here and, on both the professional and collegiate levels, the games have begun. What team(s) will make it to their respective championships? How will the new recruits and first-round draft picks do?

For others, football season means feeling left out, rejected, angry and resentful. The term "football widows" was coined to describe how women feel when their men park themselves in front of the TV or are off to the stadium for — what feels like — the whole weekend.

This lasts from about September until February. Even though their guys are alive and well, these women feel like they've been widowed. Weekends used to be a time when they could connect with their men, but during football season, they feel left utterly alone.

Let's note here that there are plenty of men who don't like football and there are plenty of women who do. A 2011 poll shows that 64% of Americans watch the NFL. 73% of these Americans are men while 55% are women.

Despite these numbers, there are still women (and some men too) who consider themselves "football widows." There are couples that argue about how much football is being watched or played and how neglected one party feels in all of this. 5 Tips To Survive Football Season As A Couple

Your partner's love of the game doesn't have to tear you apart. If you're smart and handle this difference in preference wisely, you can even end up closer than before.

Try these five survival tips if you feel like a "football widow":

#1: Stop making your partner choose. Move beyond the "football or me" ultimatum because it's only going to do one of two things:

(a) It will push your partner further away from you. You know how frustrating and upsetting it is to be put in the impossible situation of choosing between an activity and pleasing someone that you love.

If you say something like, "Show me that I matter to you. Turn off the game and come shopping with me," it's likely that your partner will plunk down on the couch in a huff and turn his (or her) attention back to the game.