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The Buccaneers' new RED program targeting female fans that was announced on Thursday "was popular enough that they said more than 500 women signed up in the first day," but at the same time, the "national backlash on Twitter was harsh, to say the least," according to a front-page piece by Auman & Mettler of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. The program is designed to provide female fans a better understanding of football, but fans "responding to the Bucs' announcement on Twitter weren't any kinder" than some media outlets that covered it. One user wrote, "Epic fail." Another wrote, "Terribly offensive." A third added, "Big swing and a miss." Auman & Mettler note it is "smart that the Bucs ... would try to reach out to what is nearly half of their fan base." The NFL reports that 43.5% of its fans are female, and that 62% of all females 12 and older "consider themselves NFL fans." Some women "embraced the outreach effort." Chris Golic, the wife of ESPN's Mike Golic, hosted a "Moms Clinic" for the team in March and said of the new campaign, "It's just to make women more comfortable if they're watching a game in a social environment, to have more fun with the game of football." Auman & Mettler note what offended some women "were references to 'gameday style tips' and 'educational experiences focused on providing a better understanding of the game.'" The first "'RED football term' introduced as a vocabulary lesson was 'play clock.'" That is the "kind of help the program hopes to deliver" for some fans. However, for others, it "insults their intelligence" (
TAMPA BAY TIMES, 8/7). ABC’s Amy Robach noted the Bucs are hoping the program is a "game-changer when it comes to connecting with female fans, but the way they’re trying to do that is what has a lot of people talking, implying the action on the field just isn’t enough to get us women involved and instead it’s about crafting, fashion and cooking.” Robach said stereotyping is "always a dangerous game” (
“GMA,” ABC, 8/7).
YOU'RE NOT HELPING, YOU'RE HURTING: In Tampa, Kelly Parsons writes while the Bucs "are trying to engage their female audience," they are "doing little more than pushing it away with sexist assumptions." Parsons: "I don't blame the Buccaneers for wanting to acknowledge their female audience. Patronizing nearly half of its audience and perpetuating gender stereotypes, however, is not the way to do it" (
TAMPA BAY TIMES, 8/7). In Denver, Laura Keeney wrote the team's "tone-deaf message completely overlooks the fact that plenty of women are already huge NFL fans." Keeney: "How about understanding women are strong, smart, interested, engaged football fans who actually know the difference between the game clock and the play clock?" (
DENVERPOST.com, 8/6). In N.Y., Juliet Macur writes under the header, "Buccaneers Offer Women A Modern NFL Lesson Out Of The '50s" (
N.Y. TIMES, 8/7).
FALSE OUTRAGE? In Tampa, Tom Jones writes the Buccaneers "really didn't do much wrong." If the Buccaneers were "treating all women the same, saying all were ignorant about the game and only interested if there were high heels and salads involved -- then I could see where they would have the right to be offended." But "that's not what the Bucs are trying to do." They "are casting a wide net, trying to attract as many new female fans as possible." That "includes celebrating the diehard fans." For such women, the initiative "includes taking them behind the scenes and giving them access to the finer intricacies of the game." That "was mentioned in the release." Jones: "Think of this initiative as a buffet. Take what you want. Leave what you don't want. But the entire buffet is not meant for everybody. Not every item in the initiative is meant for every woman." Jones cites several team execs as saying that they were "stunned there was any negative reaction." They "have been planning this initiative for nearly two years and only put it together after getting advice from focus groups made up exclusively of women telling the Bucs what should be in the initiative." Women in the Buccaneers' front office "helped author this project" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 8/7). Meanwhile, PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Darin Gantt noted the Bucs "aren't the only ones with programs geared to market the team toward women." The Ravens "have been doing it for years," calling their program "Purple" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 8/6).
ANOTHER FUMBLE: PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Gantt reported the Colts have "stumbled into another well-meaning attempt at public service that ends up making them look like a bunch of clods," as the team is asking fans to "bring any unused or expired prescription drugs to training camp." Gantt: "Does no one in owner Jim Irsay's front office have even a shred of self-awareness? This is even more tone-deaf than the Vikings promoting Family Day with a photo of Adrian Peterson kissing his kid" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 8/6). ESPN’s Dan Le Batard said the Colts' program “sounds made up, like something The Onion would do.” Le Batard: “Who is running the Colts' marketing department that this got approved, that nobody said to themselves, ‘Hey, we've got a prescription pill problem at the top of our organization. It's probably not a good idea for us to take in expired prescription pills because it may seem like our owner wants to even snort your expired ones.’” ESPN Radio’s Jon Weiner: “I can't think of an organization worse than the Colts to do something like this” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 8/7).
