More and More, NFL Becoming Women’s Game
Wearing all of her Dallas Cowboys swag, Tamy Ben walked around AT&T Stadium before the season opener against the New York Giants last month. Like most in North Texas, she couldn't wait to get in the stadium and get the 2017 NFL season underway. "I've been a Cowboys fan my entire life, ever since I was a little girl," said Ben, a Fort Worth, Texas resident. "I am a true Cowboys fan."
Ben was one of thousands of female fans attending the Cowboys-Giants game that day, and is one of millions who enjoy the game on a weekly basis. Women fans make up almost half of the NFL fan base with more than 45 percent women identifying themselves as fans. Cowboys executive vice president Charlotte Jones Anderson said women account for more than 47 percent of their fan base.
The numbers certainly are eye-opening, but don't come as a surprise to many. "We rule the world," Ben said, smiling. "Ladies rule the world."
NFL executives wouldn't disagree with that sentiment. The league and its teams have catered to the women fan for years and understand the value they bring to the game. But it hasn't always gone smoothly. Exhibit A: Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers. Newton made sexist comments to Charlotte Observer reporter Jourdan Rodrigue last week then apologized in a Twitter video the next day. Social media's reaction was swift. But the NFL's reaction was just as fast. The league reacted with rare whiplash action, denouncing Newton's comments as "just plain wrong and disrespectful."
Outside of the obvious reason for such a quick move on Newton's outlandish and distasteful comments, the NFL also knows that women control the checkbook of most households and tend to be the primary decision maker of whether their sons will play the game with rising safety concerns.
"I've really always known of the interest that women have in sports," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "They grew up with it hearing their grandfather's stories and they heard their daddy's stories of two-a-days. So it's never surprised me that they're as interested as they are. "Now, as it turns out, they're certainly a dominant decision maker many times relative to whether their offspring play football, the boys play football. So in that sense I'm really interested in them being fans in the aspects of the game that can build and provide character and leadership. "So, from a personal standpoint as well as a Cowboys standpoint and the league, I think they're very vital to our game."
The Cowboys are among the most visible organizations in catering to female fans, which is why they have one of the biggest female followings in the league. They have a website targeted at the female base, 5 Points Blue, and have several prominent female voices around the organization. Jones Anderson, Scales and Slater are all prominent female voices around the organization that are visible on a daily basis. Former Fort Worth Star-Telegram Cowboys beat writer Charean Williams became the first female voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame 11 years ago.