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NFL nutures its appeal to women |
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Written by James A. Fussell, MCT
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Thursday, 01 November 2007 |
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For decades the NFL might as well have stood for No Fashions for Ladies.
Until just a couple years ago, if a woman wanted official gear, her only choices were gigantic jerseys made for men shaped like refrigerators.
But earlier this year Reebok, the official outfitter of the NFL, launched a full line of football clothes and accessories designed exclusively for women.
The "Be a Woman, Be a Fan" campaign is but one example of how women are increasing their profile in the formerly male-dominated league.
When a recent Harris poll asked women to name their favorite spectator sport, NFL football not only finished first with 30 percent but topped the totals of the next three sports (baseball, NASCAR and the NBA) combined. Of the league's 50 million "avid" fans, 30 percent, or 15 million, are women, league research shows. And more than 45 million women watch NFL games on TV each weekend.
Peter Roby, director of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University in Boston, said he thought the increasing number of female fans helped explain football's growing popularity.
"The thing that has contributed in the last 20 years to the NFL's growth is the number of females who are passionate about football," he said. "It seems to me that the females are as passionate as the men."
Many women also now work for the NFL. Today, NFL teams employ 52 female executives at the vice president level or above. Then there are NFL sideline reporters. From Michelle Tafoya and Andrea Kramer to Suzy Kolber and Pam Oliver, they're virtually all women.
And for the last two years, when NBC looked for a singer to belt out the jaunty opening number for its Sunday "Football Night in America" telecast, it didn't pick a man. Last year it selected Pink; this year it's Faith Hill.
The trend toward more women associated with the NFL has reached Kansas City as well. For the last five years radio station KCSP-AM has had one Chiefs and Royals beat reporter — Rhonda Moss.
"Trust me, 15 years ago when I was trying to break into this, it was so different," Moss said. "There was one time when I sent my resume when I was tempted to write `Ron Moss.' I would do crazy stuff. I would blow up (my) resume to poster-board size. And one time I sent a guy a phone, 'cause he wouldn't call me back."
Moss says the NFL — and sports in general — has much more room for women today.
"I see them every Sunday when I go out to Arrowhead" Stadium, she said. "You also see them when the Chiefs have their kickoff luncheon. And Tony Gonzalez's football clinic for women? Packed."
Marti Barletta, author of "Marketing to Women" and founder of the TrendSight Group, a consulting firm based in Winnetka, Ill., said other major sports would do well to learn from the NFL's example.
"I think it's essential for the big sports to be making friends with women, because women buy the majority of sports merchandise," she said. "So if nothing else, it's just good business."
Which brings us back to fashion. Reebok's female-focused fashions — expanding on a trend that started several years ago with more pink offerings — borrow their style from today's street wear, inspired by throwback designs from the '80s. Boxy jerseys have been replaced by tapered satin and varsity-style baseball shirts and jackets. Many of the pieces feature glitter or rhinestones.
Since launching the line, Reebok women's NFL orders are up 78 percent over the same time last year. Women's apparel is now the NFL's fastest-growing business, with five years of double-digit increases.
The new line also figures to do well with local fans. At 48 percent, the Chiefs have one of the highest percentages of female season-ticket holders in the league.
Melissa Wilkinson, a Chiefs fan from Kansas City who is in a fantasy football league with 11 other women, said she knew a lot of women who would buy more NFL gear if it just fit better.
"Just because you're going to a football game doesn't mean you don't want to look nice," she said.
Karen Butler, a Chiefs season ticket holder since 1989, knows what Wilkinson is talking about.
"If I wanted anything to fit me that didn't go past my kneecaps, I had to go to the boys department," she said. "The first thing I bought was a Derrick Thomas jersey. My husband wears that now, and he's 6-2, so this is long overdue."
Butler, who listens to sports talk radio and runs an NFL pool at the pharmacy where she works, is every bit as big a fan as any man.
She isn't a fan of the pink football clothes. She finds them patronizing.
"Not all girls or women like pink," she said. "I just want my team colors, and I want it to fit."
Thanks to the new appreciation of the power of the female football fan, she's getting her wish.
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WOMEN'S GROWING INFLUENCE IN THE NFL
« 375,000 women attend NFL games each weekend
« More than 45 million women watch NFL games each weekend
« More than 1 million girls annually participate in NFL Pepsi Punt, Pass & Kick competition
« More than 10,000 women annually attend NFL Football 101 Workshops for Women
« More women watched the Super Bowl this year (42.2 million) than the Academy Awards (40.2 million)
Source: The National Football League | Only registered users can write comments.
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