Read 'em and weep, boys. We've got Matt's expert bromance rules. Can you follow them?
Rule 1: Ladies Come First
Look, it's a fact that guys need meaningful friendships these days. They can make you a better man overall -- and your girl needs to recognize that and not be territorial. But you should be secure enough to stand up for her around your friends, and not be embarrassed about the time you spend with her. You don't have to invite her along with the pals. You don't have to give up hanging out with them. You just have to BE A MAN ABOUT HOW YOU MANAGE YOUR TIME. You shouldn't be with a girl if you're having reservations about missing one out of 16 football games to help her with something that matters. Of course you're going to get called "whipped." But that only means something if you're insecure enough to believe it.
Rule 2: Don't Just Sit There, Do Something. (That you couldn't do with your girl!)
A bromance makes sense when you're doing something with a dude that you could never do with your girl. That kind of male bonding is important. We don't sit around and talk. We play sports or find other ways to communicate and spend time. Like playing five-on-five basketball or paintballing or fantasy football drafts or Texas hold 'em or even playing Madden '05. But if you're just sitting there at a sidewalk cafe, talking about your feelings, then you have a problem. The best guy friends turn the world into an amusement park, not a Maury Povich show.
Rule 3: Don't Blame it on the Bromance
This one works against both men and women. Sometimes relationship problems show themselves in different ways. If there's a lot of friction over your guy friends, there could be bigger problems underneath -- and you can't just blame a guy's delinquent friends for getting him into trouble or taking up his time. Same goes for guys: You can't hide from a relationship by always hanging out with your friends. So if you really don't want to be in the relationship, then get out. If you do, prioritize. Don't blame your relationship problems on a guy's friend, and if you're the guy, don't use your friendships to communicate to a woman that you have greater priorities. This is one of the hardest things to do in a relationship.
