Peyton Who?

Some girls actually do care about football. It’s true. I do not actually count myself among them. On the rare occasion when I am socially obligated to be in the same room as a football game, I concentrate on drinking myself blind, or fantasize about poking my eyes out with household objects. But I spent the weekend with friend and de facto sister-in-law K, who offered me a unique perspective as a sales associate for the Denver Broncos. Yes, she assures me, she does like football. I think she even understands the rules.

I sat down with K to get her perspective on being a young woman working in the sports marketing industry. While she says that half of her department is made up of female colleagues, she says almost all of the higher positions are filled by men. She chalks up the disconnect partly to the sports industry having been a late bloomer in attracting female employees, but also to gender discrimination.

While K has never experienced discrimination from her employer, the primarily male clientele of her premium seating section are a different story. She says some clients specifically ask if they may speak to a man when discussing season tickets with her. Ever the professional, she assures them that she is perfectly capable, but that they may speak to a male if they really want to. Several of her co-workers have been told by clients that they were hired “just to be a pretty face.”

Despite such attitudes, K encourages other young women to pursue careers in the field. She concedes that it is a tough industry to break in to (she served her intern purgatory for both the Colorado Avalanche and the Denver Nuggets) but prescribes persistence and hard work. And she knows a thing or two about hard work after a stint as a collegiate swimmer at Cornell College involving 8 practices, 2 weight training sessions, and 5 am wake-ups every week. K acknowledges that most people in the sports marketing industry are former collegiate or professional athletes, and encourages young women to get into sports for both the doors they open and the life skills they teach.

Because I felt obligated to actually ask about football, I brought up Peyton Manning (literally, as I had nothing intelligent to ask about him). K is genuinely excited about having him on board as a future hall of fame player. But when it comes down to it, she admits that Mr. Tebow is far hotter than Peyton. Finally, some football terms that everyone can understand.