Lori Capullo

THE SPICE OF LIFE

AS WITH ANY PROFESSION, CERTAIN EXPECTATIONS ARE FOISTED UPON those of us in the magazine business. Even on dress-down Fridays, the editor-in-chief can't show up at the office wearing a Miami Dolphins jersey with her brand-new stiff-denim capri pants. Nor can she admit that the reason she can't make it to Sunday brunch at the Four Seasons is that she's having friends over to watch Fox NFL Sunday. Noses would wrinkle. Jaws would drop.

One of my former publishers once gave me a football signed and numbered by Dan Marino as a Christmas present. I was so impressed. He understood my love of football, and didn't view me as strange because I could get into something other than the current season's skirt lengths, or what Gwyneth Paltrow was wearing to the Academy Awards.

Over the years, the traditional roles of men and women have evolved and melded so much, there's not a suggestion I can think of that would raise an eyebrow. Women box professionally; men color their hair and wear earrings, and nary a scandal is sparked. Despite the progress, the practice of stereotyping – and hence, judging – continues unabated. After all, it's great entertainment for everyone else: scandalizing our likes, dislikes, tastes, lifestyles, and habits.

I look forward to football season all spring and summer of every year. I'd rather watch the Gators play than go to a party (gasp!) and I'd rather wear my Dolphins sweatshirt to work on Friday than a "casual" twinset (ohmygod). That doesn't mean I won't be tuned in when Gwyneth and co. are sashaying for all to see down the red carpet into the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Oscars next spring, nor does it mean I won't be renewing my subscription to Vogue. All it means is that I've got a life – and variety is what that life is all about.