A woman’s game

From Potomac to Prince William County, from FedEx Field to Frederick, Md., it’s game day.

So don’t bother Elaine Isaacs, a Redskins season-ticket holder since the mid-1960s. She’s either at the stadium or in front of the TV in Silver Spring, listening concurrently to the play-by-play on the radio.

The same goes for Barbara Isaacs, the youngest of Mrs. Isaacs’ four grown daughters. She’s most likely at the game with mom while her husband and two sons spend the day elsewhere.

“I was born and raised on the Redskins,” says Barbara Isaacs, who calls herself “a total sports junkie.”

“I learned football from my mom,” she says. “We would work vacations around the Redskins’ schedule. We would line up three TVs sometimes so we could watch different games.”

There always have been female football fans like the Isaacs. What is new is that they have become enough of a force to be recognized by pro teams, apparel manufacturers and advertisers.

Surely you have seen the Reebok television ads that tout “Be a Woman; Be a Fan.” The national ad campaign shows women — wearing women-sized NFL fan gear — getting together to watch a game.

The spots ostensibly are to sell the line of women’s wear Reebok and the NFL have been marketing for a few years. Apparently, the ads are effective; apparel sales are up 78 percent from last year, says John McMahon, Reebok’s director of NFL marketing.

That makes women’s wear the fastest-growing area of the NFL’s apparel business, with five years of double-digit increases, says Susan Rothman, the NFL’s vice president of consumer products.

However, it brings to light the reality that lots of women really love football. Love it enough to purchase Green Bay Packers earrings or a bejeweled New York Giants purse or a satin Washington Redskins jacket. Some fans probably won’t go out and buy the skimpy New York Giants tank top hawked on the ad, but for many, the overall impact is the same: “That is just like my friends and me.”

Consider:

• 375,000 women attend NFL games, and more than 45 million watch them on TV at home every week, according to the NFL.

• More than 1 million girls participate annually in the NFL’s punt, pass and kick contest.

• More than 10,000 women annually attend Football 101 workshops for women, which teach the basics of football, the history of the NFL and an overview of officiating and strategy.

• The Baltimore Ravens in August started Purple, a women-only fan club. More than 3,500 women have registered.

• The female segment (42.2 million) of this year’s Super Bowl audience was larger than the entire viewership for the Academy Awards broadcast (40.2 million).

“Women have been big football fans for along time,” says Mike May, spokesman for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, a trade group.

Teams and advertisers are recognizing there is a big audience with a lot of passion out there, Mr. May says. Football fans tend to be more passionate, he says, because there are just 16 games each season. With so much at stake, you had better show up with your game face and team colors.

“In the NFL, every game is that much more meaningful,” Mr. May says. “A game in September has meaning for January. People are willing to dress for the occasion. When people get caught up emotionally, they will spend more money. It is tied to the heart strings as well as the purse strings.”

Ivette Ricco has been a serious football fan for decades. Seven years ago, she wanted to fill the void for a virtual gathering place for female fans, so she founded Femmefan.com.

During one recent 12-month span, the site had 2 million hits, says Ms. Ricco, who lives in Northern California. Femmefan.com has, among other features, message boards and polls, articles, game-day recipes and even a few beefcake player photos.

Ms. Ricco has a running commentary on the site called If Chicks Ran the NFL. She lists what she would do if she were NFL commissioner — from adding heated seats to making Super Bowl day an official national holiday to replacing cheerleaders with clowns.

When Ms. Ricco started the manifesto in 2004, one of the items was a plea for fan jerseys that weren’t made for 300-pound men. She has since gotten her wish but still has a problem with the popular line of pink hats and shirts with NFL logos.

“If you’re a real woman who loves sports, you will only wear your pink team apparel to the local bar, the supermarket, the hair salon or in the privacy of your own home,” Ms. Ricco writes. “On game day … you will be proudly decked out in your team colors.”

“I still think [the NFL] has a long way to go,” Ms. Ricco says in a telephone interview. “One of my pet peeves was I could never fit into clothes made for men. I could not find a suitable jacket to wear. However, they are still making things too girlie.”

Ms. Ricco is talking not only about the pink clothes, but also the halter tops and other revealing clothes that are part of the women’s line.

“Men must be leading the marketing,” Ms. Ricco says. “All I want is a sweat shirt, one that is cut for a woman.”

Says Mr. McMahon: “We try to have something for everyone. We’re making a women’s line that appeals to all fans.”

Elaine Isaacs says she will not be lining up to buy anything that fashionable. Being prepared for game day means a radio headset and clothes that will keep her warm and dry.

“There were years when I never missed a game,” she says. “We saw good teams and bad teams. We went in good weather and horrible weather. We brought sleeping bags to keep us warm.

“I don’t have to show my colors,” she says. “I am a fan through and through.”

Clearly, though, the numbers show that women are buying lots of merchandise emblazoned with their favorite teams’ logos. Whether it is in the team colors or in Ms. Ricco’s dreaded pink, the merchandise is selling.

Coming soon: more choices, including more accessories, such as jewelry and belts, Ms. Rothman says.

The sports merchandising business was flagging in the early part of the decade, and the influx of women’s gear has provided a much-needed boost, Ms. Rothman says. Sales of women’s apparel accounts for about $150 million, or about 5 percent, of the NFL’s $3.2 billion in annual merchandising sales.

“In the early 2000s, the entire sports licensing industry was in somewhat of a decline,” she says. “We added many women’s items in 2001. The women’s items just sort of puttered around until 2004. Since then, the growth has been exponential.”