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.

Story Continues →