2013-Fall Bloom:
10/16/2013
7:51 PM
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ARTICLE BY MATT GONZALES PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL REILLY
uring a recent afternoon at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Harrisonburg, Jordan Edwards took a break from waiting tables and sat at the bar. It was another long shift for the Ohio native, who has worked as a waitress at the sports bar franchise for the last few years. “I really like this job,” said the 22-yearold. “It’s especially good this time of the year, when the college students come back and, of course, football season.” Edwards grew up watching sports and has been an athlete for years. She played softball throughout high school and even considered playing at the collegiate level. “I decided not to, but I still love watching [softball],” explained Edwards. “I love watching all sorts of sports, especially NCAA and NFL football. My
And into the game favorite team is the Miami Dolphins.” Overhearing the conversation, a nearby bartender playfully chimed in. “My favorite team is the Steelers!” said Amy Mitchell, as she pulled down the lever on the brew tap and poured a beer for a waiting — and thirsty — customer. Edwards smiled at the friendly banter. It’s par for the course in the sports-laden environment, but she feels right at home. Grid iron girls Many of the bar’s female servers and bartenders are loyal fans, die-hard team devotees. Last year, a group formed a ladies-only fantasy football league, which Edwards said was very fun, yet competitive. “I didn’t win,” she admitted.
“Somebody else won, but we’re going to have another one this year.” Edwards is an example of a wider trend: the tremendous rise in female fandom over the last decade. With women constantly shattering stereotypes, whether social or political, so rises the female interest in sports. According to the Journal of Sports Management, in 2008, 42 percent of Major League Baseball spectators were women, which has since risen to 46 percent. In 2010, 45 percent of National Football League spectators were female. In 2012, 36 percent of National Basketball Association spectators were women — a number that is also climbing. Following this trend, those numbers are bound to increase even more in the coming decade.
your FITNESS
Getting out of the stands
Cheering in the Harrisonburg High School “Red Sea” are (from top, left) Celia Ehrenpreis, Sydney Little, Meagan Roberts and Mallori Mendez.
Fall 2013
B lo o m
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