SPORTS n ON THE BALL WITH JERROD MUSTAF
WLST —
Women Love
Sports Too
By Jerrod Mustaf
I
vending and food and beverages. By the
time the game starts, most of the real busi-
ness has already been transacted.” Linda
is using the WLST platform, and her love
for sports, to transform the NFL from a
man's game, to an experience that they
entire family can benefit from.
In its 20 th year, Women Love Sports Too
is planning to expand to the International
market as American professional leagues,
like the NBA and NFL, are hosting games or
had a chance to interview Linda Haithcox
Taylor, founder of Women Love Sports
Too, to find out more about this incredi-
ble vehicle to engage women in sports.
Fast forward about twenty years later
when it suddenly came together for Linda
to start her organization. “It came to me in
a dream. I jumped up out of the bed and
started writing in the middle of the night.”
Linda had unofficially surveyed women on
their thoughts about sports for decades. A
majority of them said, “'Something my hus-
band watches,' and that’s when I knew that
those women just didn’t understand sports.”
So, she began developing a training
program to teach football to women. “I
want to educate women on the sport so
they can enjoy the games with their hus-
bands or significant others. I have listened
to too many girlfriends crying because
their mate didn’t give them any attention
during the game. Women have to know
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VOL 5, Issue 4
that their feminine wiles can’t compete
with a Redskins vs. Cowboys game.”
Linda estimates that her trainings helped
save at least a dozen relationships over
the past few years. Now the women can
feel comfortable going to social events
with their man and not feel left out. And
that is great news to the men, because
now they don’t have to decide.
Aside from learning about football nuances
such as blitzes and a secondary, Linda thinks
that the business opportunities for women
in the NFL is abundant. “Sports is the ulti-
mate entertainment property in the world.”
The sports industry has a lot to offer, as it re-
lates to career and business opportunities.
“Think of the team uniforms, merchandis-
ing, tickets, publicity, media, marketing,
leagues outside of the country. Additional-
ly, Linda will be auditioning on-air talent for
a WLST podcast in the coming months.
For more information about this
wonderful organization, please visit
www.mywlstus.com. President and
founder, Linda Haithcox Taylor, can be
contacted directly at [email protected]
or 301.335.3524.
Jerrod Mustaf, Execu-
tive Director
Take Charge Juvenile
Diversion Program, Inc.
www.Takechargeprogram.org
www.Takechargepride.com
301.420.7395
STOCK (TOP)
Linda grew up in the Windy City and has
been a lifelong Chicago Bears fan. Ear-
ly in her marriage, she would find herself
alone during social events because the
men would be either watching football or
discussing it, while the women were into
deep conversations about fashion or moth-
erhood. As a diehard sports fanatic, she
longed for a shared sports experience like
the men were enjoying, instead of sitting at
a table pretending to care about the color
of someone's nail polish. But the women in
those days didn’t have a clue what a first
down meant, and just didn’t seem interest-
ed in the excitement over a violent game
with a few beers and chicken wings.