Last week the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were lambasted in the media, including on this blog, for having poor grammar and an overall misunderstanding of what the word “siege” means. This week they’ve gone and pissed off their lady fans.
In an attempt to woo female fans, the Bucs launched an advertising campaign called Red. It includes terms of the weeks to help women, who clearly don’t know a thing about football, understand game day lingo and general rules.
This week’s term is perhaps what sparked the outrage. “What’s a play clock?”
Are you serious right now? A 5-year-old could figure out what a play clock might be without having ever caught a single NFL game.
The movement’s dedicated webpage clarifies for all those silly girls who play with dolls and adore makeup and can’t wait to just find a husband and spit out babies that a play clock is different from a game clock and that it counts down how long the offense has to make a play before receiving a penalty.
As cleverly noted by Tampa Bay Times Bucs reporter Greg Auman on Twitter, there were seven delay of game penalties doled out to the Bucs last year so maybe they could use a lesson or two themselves.
And it doesn’t stop just at condescending definitions USA Today called “embarrassingly sexist.” NFL columnist Mike Freeman tweeted Thursday, “is it OK to wear your hair in a ponytail on Game Day? We discuss next on RED!”
And from the team’s own press release announcing the groundbreaking reach-out to women the marketing team explains “RED will re-invent the female fan experience by providing insight into topics such as: what goes on behind the scenes on game days at Raymond James Stadium; how to maximize their game day 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.”
Right because what dude ever exclaims in the third quarter while his team is fourth and inches from the goal that he’s going to Pin that cool new makeup style geared to make your face as exciting as the game?
That’s right folks, the Bucs are certainly not the first to reach out to women by using outdated stereotypes surrounding primping and being pretty. Covergirl launched a line of makeup products and tutorials to craft a makeup look matching your favorite team. That line was launched round about the time Baltimore Ravens star Ray Rice was indefinitely suspended for beating the crap out of his then fiancée Janay Palmer.
The launch prompted photoshopped images of the model donning the Raven’s makeup look and replacing the eye makeup on one side of her face with a nasty black eye.
Needless to say, the NFL has been hurting as a result of its handling of domestic abuse cases among players. Now’s probably not the best time for the Bucs to be filed under the marginalizing women category.
But alas, one of the key features of the team’s Red movement includes showing pictures of scantily clad cheerleaders showing their pride for a football team made up of beefy dudes ramming into each other (and inexplicably grabbing each other’s butts) by having well-manicured hair-dos and fancy makeup.
Up next perhaps the Bucs will offer tea parties with NFL wives, a pedicure section in the stadium and an option to receive discounts if you iron one of the Glazer boys’ suits. Now there’s the dream.
