Real fans don't wear pink

I am a woman, and I like sports. However, I do NOT like pink jerseys... or pink hats... or pink t-shirts, or anything that is pink when it is supposed to represent your team.

The pink paraphernalia thing has gotten out of control, made even more ridiculous by Jessica Simpson wearing a pink Tony Romo jersey to a Cowboys game. All of a sudden women think its not only OK, but that it's actually cute to wear pink team jerseys. Ladies, I'm here to tell you that it is NOT.

Here's why -- your team's color's aren't pink.

I have a lot of Red Sox stuff, and I have a lot of Patriots stuff, but you will never, under any circumstance, find a piece of pink sports paraphernalia anywhere in my house. And it's not because I have a problem with pink as a color - I just have a problem with pink representing your team, when their actual colors are green and gold, or orange and black, or blue and white.

Here's the other major problem with pink jerseys: they are all the same. The Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys do NOT have the same team colors, so why are Annie and Sally wearing almost identical jerseys, but cheering for opposite teams?

I don't care if you are a Cleveland Browns fan and hate the teams awful brown, orange and white colors -- team spirit should always, I repeat, ALWAYS, trump fashion.

ESPN.com posed this question in a poll: Are pink jerseys acceptable?The overwhelming answer (71%) was No. And what is the majority that reads ESPN.com? Men, or women who like sports. So, therefore, if you're trying to impress a guy who is into football, he most likely does NOT think you look cute in your pink Colts jersey -- he thinks you look stupid, as do all women who like sports.

I would like to quote an article I read about a year ago by ESPN.com's Mary Buckheit:
"I'm not one to stereotype -- OK, maybe I am -- but a pink jersey shows the world that you are not actually a fan, since you either don't know your team's colors, or worse, you just don't understand the importance of wearing them." Here, here.

So, you can be a fashionista from NY, but come gameday, I want to see you in the Jets green or the Giants blue and red (well actually, I don't ever want to see anyone in a Jets jersey, but that's a whole other story).

I posed this question to a couple of my girlfriends, including C., who is a HUGE sports fan, and also a HUGE lover of the color pink:
"Yes, I love pink... but I believe that if you are supporting a team, that you should wear said teams' colors. Especially when it comes to a jersey."

Let's move onto S.:
"That's as lame as getting your own name on a football jersey."

There you have it: Just because you are a girl doesn't mean you need an extra dose of stereotypical femininity when you sport your team.

So, ladies, if I can give you one tip, here it is: if you want people to take you seriously when it comes to watching or talking about sports, put down the pink jersey and purchase the authentic one.


Let me know what you think -- take the poll in the top right corner of the page.