So a few days ago I was surfing around the web and decided one of my favorite sports blogs, Deadspin.com. They are not only funny but very women friendly, never shying away from female bloggers who have opinions about the general state of female sports fans. I stumbled across an article written on the blog Mass Hysteria Sports by a female Red Sox fan under the handle FutureMrsRickAnkiel who was defending the pink hat and the people who wear them. I’ve never heard this before but I’m guessing it’s along the lines of what runs through my mind when I see a girl in a “Looking for Mr. Wright” tee shirt.

Let me start by saying I have no doubt that this blogger is a hardcore Red Sox fan and it sucks that she has to prove it to people. As in New York, there are a lot of bandwagon fans and it especially hard for female fans because we are always challenged about our fandome, with or without wearing a pink hat. Now, as you know from my posts and talking to me, I believe that the baseball apparel sold for men and women should be more equal, and it’s not because I hate pink. I happen to like pink, just not on my Mets hat. So what I’d like to do is address her points one by one and try to make my case. Again, I have nothing against this girl, and I’m sure I would enjoy going to a game with her and would be psyched is more of my girl friends were like her. Here we go:

• “The first and most obvious response to the “pink-hatters” tag is that bandwagoneering is hardly gender-specific.” I agree 110%. Everyone knows there are more guys pretending to like baseball than girls. Girls will mostly admit they don’t know much about it if they don’t. However, I believe that term is just being used in this case to talk about girl bandwagon fans and is in no way saying that ONLY girls are bandwagon fans. In fact, I wouldn’t think of a girl wearing a pink hat as a bandwagon fan, I’d assume she was a casual fan.
• “THERE IS NOTHING INTRINSICALLY WRONG WITH A PINK HAT” Well, see, that’s where we differ. I think there is somthing wrong with it, and not because it is girly. I absolutly support her right to look girly at baseball games. As this blogger, I own a few of Alyssa Milano’s “touch” items and I have a Mets belly-button ring (I love ebay). But here is the thing with the pink hat. It’s pink. It’s not the teams colors. I am old fashioned I guess, but I believe in rocking the Orange and Blue (or in her case it would be the Red and White). There is NOTHING wrong with wanting to be girly, I just think you can still be girly in your teams colors. Now, I may be biased because I live in NY with two teams who have similar logos on thier hats. I can’t stand having to figure out what hat someone is wearing because its a different color.
• “Don’t begrudge me or the other fine ladies of Red Sox Nation our chosen apparel.” I’m not going to. But she knows how hard it is to be a female baseball fan. You are always having to prove yourself over and over. Unfortunatly, wearing a pink hat has a stigma attached and if she wants to wear it, that’s fine. But she is just going to need to deal with the looks, questions and names. All the female fans have to do it and by wearing a pink hat or somthing of that sort, that’s what comes with it. It sucks, but that’s the way it is.

I say, wear what you want. I am opposed to the pink hats for the sole reason that they are not Mets Blue and Orange. And I am not going to sit here and say if I saw her from a distance I wouldn’t think that is probably a casual fan. I probably would. But that’s probably because I’m on the defensive, as all female fans usually are. I feel EXACTLY like this blogger does, I don’t want to be mistaken for a casual fan because men think women don’t know sports.

In closing, I hope this girl keeps on fighting the good fight for female sports fans everywhere. And please don’t think I’m telling her to blend in with the men. I’m not. I’m simply saying that if you wear a pink hat, that’s what people might think so until the times change, we just need to keep fighting the good fight.

So everyone this week has been busy scooping up their Johan Santana jerseys. You know who hasn’t? This particular female Mets fan. In fact, this particular Mets fan has decided to boycott all licensed all MLB apparel. And here is why.

I am getting sick and tired of trying to find nice women’s Mets apparel. Now, I am not unrealistic. I don’t think that just because MLB makes something for a man they should offer the same thing for women. But I don’t think asking for MLB.com to sell AUTHENTIC women’s Mets jerseys is all that unreasonable. It is bad enough that when I go to Modell’s or Sports Authority or even the Mets Clubhouse they tell me that if I don’t want a pink jersey, I have to either buy a kids or a mens. And if I don’t want those because my body is not shaped like a child or a man? “Well, you can always go to the website”

Well yes…except MLB.com does not sell authentic women’s jerseys. They ONLY sell the replicas….in one style. Ya know, I would even be ok if they only sold one type of Authentic jersey without offering different colors (such as road or home alternate). But they don’t.

Well the rant is over for now. But I invite everyone to comment with their opinions. I realize not every girl is as into the Mets as I am, but I don’t think offering at least one option for a women’s authentic jersey would be that nuts.

Disclaimer: I do not work for any of the sites I mention below. I’m just letting you know from my point of view what to get the female Mets fan in your life, whether she is a new fan, old fan, or you just need to get her something to wear to a game.

Inspired by Mets.com’s 20% off sale today, I started shopping around on my lunch hour. Then it came to me. As the only female writer for Hot Foot, I feel it is my duty to utilize a strength that comes with my gender, and that is finding the perfect gift for a female Mets fan this holiday season. As someone who is always searching for new Mets items (mostly because I’m only 5’ tall and nothing ever fits me), I have found some great items that any female fan would LOVE.

Let’s start off with the easiest one, the ladies who are just getting into the Mets or who just need something to wear to games. For these girls, it might be best to stick with a t-shirt or standard jersey with nothing on the back. In my opinion, getting any player other than Reyes or Wright (ie: Delgado) might prompt some embarrassment for her when she is getting a hotdog and someone asks her “So how many games do you think Delgado will miss this season?”. Also, as a cute touch, most places have the leather Mets bracelet that is just a nice addition for any Mets girl, no matter her dedication.

For the “I think David Wright/Jose Reyes is cute” crowd, your possibilities are endless. There are so many “Mrs. Wright” shirts out there; it’s hard to mess up this one. Also, getting them items such as posters or pennants works out well, especially for the girls who are dorming in college or just moved in to their own apartment. Also, some of the items in Alyssa Milano’s “Touch” line is cute, but it walks a fine line between sassy and skanky.

Now for the hard part. What do you get for the hardcore, bleeding orange and blue, “The Mets lost so I’m not in the mood tonight” Mets lady. One big rule, stay away from anything that is not Mets colors, with the only exception being the green stuff (the Irish girls might like that). For those who often watch SNY, a nice gift might be the black crocs being sold at Mets.com. Because really, who doesn’t want to be like Mex? Another option is to spring for a jersey with her favorite player. Now this can be tricky because my favorite player is David Wright, but I won’t buy his jersey because I hate being looked at like the only reason I watch the Mets is for Wright. So be careful with who you pick.

I also suggest looking in the bookstores for Mets literature. These make great gifts for anyone who is interested in the wonderful team we call the New York Metropolitans. If you want some creative pieces, I suggest you checkout out Ebay (if you have any tiny ladies in your life like me, vintage men’s clothing will often fit them), Cafepress.com (just search NY Mets, loads of great stuff there) and Mets.com (if you can afford it).

Happy shopping everyone!