One of my best girlfriends started dating a guy who’s crazy about sports. Like full on obsessed. He actually has two TVs set up in his living room so he can watch two games at once. It’s intense. At first, she didn’t think anything of his sports addiction. But, she doesn’t care for sports and slowly, but surely, sports have become a hot button issue in their relationship. She gets angry that he spends so much time on something that seems trivial to her and he wishes that she cared more about them. It’s been the root of a lot of their fights and she came to me for advice. So, if this tug of war sounds familiar to you, here are some tips on how to deal if you don’t like sports, but he does. It’s exactly what I told my bestie!
Find something to love
The idea of hating sports entirely is dramatic. It’s just sports, not actually despicable. There has to be something you can enjoy about watching sports. Maybe it’s snuggling with your boo or watching men in tight pants. It could be the snacks or the commercials or the National Anthem. Find something that you truly get joy out of when you watch sports and focus on that. Maybe you don’t like the violence or the competition or the machismo of sports. That’s completely fine and understandable. Don’t let yourself obsess over that, though. Focus on what you find great about games and practice enjoying that. The more you practice, the better you’ll get at it.
Get your own hobby
My friend was getting upset with her sporty guy because he was spending a lot of time watching sports and she felt excluded. I suggested that she find her own activity that she enjoyed. So, instead of feeling ditched during a game, she felt like they each had their own thing going on. She wound up getting really into hiking, which is a wonderful hobby. They’d often do their activities separately, but sometimes she’d join him for sports and sometimes he’d join her for hiking. Having her own thing made her feel less like she was left alone and more like they both had places to go and things to do.
Set a schedule
Sports watching takes up a lot of time. There are no two ways about that. And sometimes that can be problematic when there’s a lot to take care of on a weekend. So, sit down and make a to do list for the upcoming week or weekend and figure out when it makes sense for your dude to watch sports and when it makes sense for him to be out and about. Make sure this is a plan you both buy into and not just you restricting his sports time. You’re not in charge here. You two are on the same team and trying to figure out the best time management to get everything that needs doing done.
No matter who your dude roots for, the most important team is the on the two of you are on together! And I’m cheering for you!
