"RED: THE BUCS WOMEN'S MOVEMENT." Hoo boy. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced a new initiative aimed at getting women more involved in football fandom. It is the Josh McCown of fan outreach programs. Take, for instance, this post that went live just a few hours ago: "RED Term of the Week: 'Play Clock.'" Subhed: "What does the term 'play clock' mean?"Or, if you'd like, take a look at this explanation of what RED will offer women who sign up:RED will provide female Buccaneers fans with year-round educational experiences focused on providing a better understanding of the game, along with unprecedented access to their favorite team. In addition, 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. RED members will also have access to exclusive networking events throughout the year designed to encourage interaction while providing practical advice on how to express their love for the Bucs into original design projects, fashion-forward team apparel and creative culinary creations.Women will also have the opportunity to learn "the art of incorporating their passion for the Bucs into their other lifestyle interests such as tailgating and home entertaining."Now, every new fan has to start somewhere, obviously, whether that fan happens to be a man or a woman. But when your pitch is "Hey ladies, let's teach you about football so you can incorporate it into your favorite interests, like Pinterest, shopping, and cooking," it's hard not to feel like maaaaaybe the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are selling their female fans short. Coupled with an explainer on the term play clock and this has all the makings of a marketing scheme gone way, way wrong. You can almost hear the conversation that led to this "movement":"How do we appeal more to women?""Women be shoppin'.""Genius."Here's the weird thing about female fans: they enjoy football, and also have other interests. Some may like to cook—I like to cook, too—but that doesn't mean they want to, I don't even know, learn how to make Tampa Bay Burganeers or something and post the recipe on Pinterest. Like, you wouldn't try to get new male fans by writing up an explainer about "What's the Deal with Those Yellow Flag Thingies" and telling them how to enjoy football while also masturbating, right?Football, or any sport for that matter, is difficult to learn as an adult. Most diehard fans spent their entire lives, and particularly their formative years, watching football. You just learn it by osmosis and constant exposure. I watched football with my dad all the time as a kid and sure, I always asked him questions about stuff, but it's not like he sat me down one day and said "OK, so you have to get ten yards in four downs." This is all to say, it's good to have a concerted effort to teach new fans how to truly enjoy games they seem to already enjoy. But this crap, the "how to blend personal Buccaneer pride with the latest NFL fashions" stuff, only ever seems to happen with female fans.This will obviously appeal to some fans, which is fine—great, even—but generalizing all of these things as exclusively female, or assuming they are the best ways to engage women, is simply antiquated, stereotypical thinking. It's obvious the Bucs aren't really concerned with teaching anyone anything; they just want to get their hooks into an untapped consumer base and figured, "Hey, ladies like entertaining in the home."
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