The Art of Compromise–ESPN
At my boyfriend’s office holiday party a few weeks ago, one woman said to me, “It’s amazing that you two are still together but that you’re not an avid sports fan.” Ouch. I thought about that a moment and realized that I was pretty damn lucky. But why? How are we still together?
Maybe because we understand how different we are:
MUSIC
Him: classic rock
Me: top 40
MOVIES
Him: Rambo
Me: Clueless
ENTERTAINMENT
Him: XBox
Me: books
These are just a few examples, but I think enough to illustrate how different our tastes are. So, when it comes to turning on the TV, he will always default to ESPN and I will always default to E! , yet I’ve learned to accept fact-regurgitation on Around the Horn and PTI (pardon the interruption) and even hours of pregame shows while he has earned an appreciation for Dr. 90210 and the Girls Next Door (wonder why).
I don’t think he would end our relationship because I would rather stick a needle in my eye than watch college basketball (although, both are probably equally painful). Rather, if I can walk out of the room and be comfortable enough to do something else while he loses brain cells watching sweaty guys run up and down a court, then that’s a 3 pointer for our relationship.
Lesson learned in the art of compromise: Don’t try to change the other person’s interests. Instead, accept that you have different tastes and learn to be more than two feet apart for certain times of the day.
