Game day tickets that say "I Love You".

• Position: Relationships

Tickets to the game--how, er, romantic? It is somewhat self-serving, of course, but sports-related Valentine's Day gifts for her also could bring some of the drama, emotion, and sizzle found on the court or playing field into the burgeoning romantic relationship. More and more women are becoming fans, making athletic events tickets, apparel, and other sports-related gifts a nice way to make the playing field part of a relationship and to tap into the emotional and social aspects of sports, indicates Antonio Williams, a sports marketing professor at Indiana University, Bloomington.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

If a girlfriend went to football games with her father when she was younger, for example, taking her now could stir feelings of family and fondness. "If you take her to a big game and your team wins, it will tap the nostalgia aspect because she'll remember it for the rest of her life--even if she's not a sports fan," claims Williams, who proposed to his wife (a devoted Colts fan) during an NFL contest involving Indianapolis.

"Sports gives you drama and reality entertainment, games, cheerleaders, restaurants, gift shops," enthuses Williams, who suggests that females make up almost half of fans for the four major, professional sports--National Football League, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, and National Hockey League. With actresses and movie stars dating and marrying professional athletes, sports have become much more a part of pop culture. Successful female athletes also are becoming more mainstream, appearing in reality TV shows and on the covers of magazines such as Vanity Fair, not just Sports Illustrated. "Sports has a pop and sexy feel to it," Williams contends.

He cautions that any...