Q&A with Sportswriter Chasta Piatakovas

Love the Game published a series of interviews with nine amazing women sportswriters in honor of Women’s History Month in March: Christy Hammond, Teresa Bondora, Nicole Haase, Nina Rota, Veronica Romm, Diana DeRosa, Sherry Jean, Leslie Silvey, and Liz Foster Chang.

We thought we’d end the series with an interview from yours truly.

Were you always interested in sports?
Throughout school, I preferred to participate in sports than to watch. I ran track and cross country. I played basketball, field hockey, and volleyball. I wrote wore #8 before Alex Ovechkin was even born.

What prompted you to start blogging about sport? What is the name of your blog?
I started Love the Game, Don’t Like Puck Bunnies on February 27, 2008. Love the Game started as a personal online diary to explore thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event in my life using the sport of ice hockey as a metaphor. After I overcame the event and really became more involved with the sport, I transformed the blog into a more reflective sports journalistic site with interviews, commentary, and articles about the Washington Capitals and hockey. The blog has afforded me—a young woman of color and hockey fan—the tremendous opportunities to receive credentials to cover the Capitals from the press box and locker room; to meet or to interview individuals such as Peter Bondra, Brooks Laich, Ted Leonsis, Carrie Milbank, Michal Neuvirth, Angela Ruggiero, Alexander Semin, and Semyeon Varlamov; and to contribute to the Scarlet Blog, a women’s initiative to attract more women to the Capitals and to ice hockey.

Are more women becoming sports fans?
Yes, increasingly more women are becoming more interested and more involved with sports than in years past. Many women are sports fans because their fathers (sometimes mothers as in my case) introduced them to sports fandom at an early age and the interest stayed over the years.

Sports—whether participating in or watching and following a specific team—brings people together and encourages a sense of belonging and identity. When cheering on a favorite team, male and female sports fans have the chance to forget about everyday worries and enjoy sharing in a group experience.

Have you found that it’s become easier for women to be taken seriously as fans by their peers, athletes, and readers?
Yes. Sports talk has become progressively more inclusive of women because women have become a lot more knowledgeable and conversant. Those that have established their credibility are well-respected.

Do you have any suggestions for starting a sports blog?
I think a blog is the perfect tool for networking and self-discovery. Anyone who wants to blog should pick a topic—a niche—that they are passionate about to establish credibility and start writing.

Is there a community among women sports bloggers?
Yes.

What are your favorite teams?
I follow the Washington Capitals and enjoy watching the Philadelphia Eagles.