NFL team’s new program targeting female fans sparks social media backlash

The play clock in the NFL is the amount of time a team has to run an offensive play before receiving a penalty.

“Through exclusive offerings and experiences, our female fans will have the opportunity to not only add to their knowledge of the game they love, but also to help create a community through Red and own the way they enjoy football”, Kassewitz said. That’s good! Women have for too long been ignored by leagues and marketers, despite the fact that we’re an “actionable demographic” with perfectly good dollars to spend and every bit as much fan and brand loyalty as our male counterparts.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers care about women. Coupled with an explainer on the term play clock and this has all the makings of a marketing scheme gone way, way wrong. With the “major” sports, a common theme seems to be, “How can we get more women involved/interested?”

What? Drafting Jameis Winston didn’t help in attracting female fans?

As you would expect, they took some flack for this…

Those days haven’t been around for over a year and they show no sign of returning.

Football, or any sport for that matter, is hard to learn as an adult. The Ravens have been doing it for years, and call their version “Purple”. You just learn it by osmosis and constant exposure.

RED will re-invent the female fan experience by providing insight into topics such as: what goes on behind the scenes on gamedays at Raymond James Stadium; how to maximize their gameday experience; how to blend personal Buccaneer pride with the latest NFL fashions; as well as tips on sharing their experiences and ideas via social media platforms such as Pinterest. It’s a new program built on the old tropes that women don’t understand football and that the way to a female fan’s heart is through her wardrobe. Style tips AND home entertaining advice?