Page 12 The Behrend Beacon Football not just a boys club anymore by Mary-Kathryn Craft Knight Ridder Newspapers Ashley Thomas is not afraid to wear her Pittsburgh Steelers gear. She's got a jersey and a "terrible towel," the gold-eolored towel fans wave during mimes. One Sunday, while decked out in her Steelers apparel, she accidentally walked into a bar full of archrival Cleveland Browns fans. The 22 year-old Myrtle Beach woman, who grew up near Pittsburgh in Toronto, Ohio, loves football and spends most fall and w inter Sundays cheering as her favor ite National Football League team battles it out on the gridiron. Thomas is part of a grow ing national trend - women football lans. The Sunday “football widow,” women deserted while husbands watch endless hours of football, is steadily becoming a thing of the past. Sunday, millions of ladies will turn their attention to the field and get just as psyched up for the Super Bowl as their husbands, sons and brothers. Fifty million women in the U.S. avidly follow profes sional spoils, according to a national sur vey released last month by Scarborough Sports Marketing, a New York research linn that studies consumer and lifestyle information. Professional football is the top choice among female sports fans, according to the survey. Tara Goldstein, a spokes woman for Scarborough Sports Market ing, said the research also looks at who the Ni l. fans are and what other interests they hav e. For example, female NFL fans are 4K percent more likely to attend NASCAR events than other women. Today 's women are more used to being integrated into all aspects of society than their predecessors, and young women ex pect to be included in everything, includ ing sports, said Sylvia Kenig Snyder, as sociate professor of sociology at Coastal Carolina University. The defense is anchored by linebacker Der- Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice, and John Lynch lick Bnx)ks, who was this year’s Defensive hunting them every play, those old bones might Plaver of the Year. The Bucs allowed a mere feel a lot older real fast. 12 |x>ints per game. Tampa Bay’s secondary Gannon, Rice, and Brown are only a few of ga'e up only a little over 150 passing yards the old timers on the team, when you add in per game (tops in the NFL). The Bucs were defensive starters Rod Woodson and Bill also best in the game at total defense permit- Romonowski, you have over a half century in ting opixrsing offenses to gain just above 250 professional football experience in 5 players, total yards per game. Super Bowl XXXVD has all of the billings let 's recap. Oakland gets 400 yards of of- to be one of the better ones. Hopefully it will lense per game; Tampa Bay allows 250 per live up to all of the excitement. Last year the game. The Raiders pass for 280 yards per sports world was shocked when the Patriots game; the Buccaneers give uponly 150 pas- were able to stay close with, let alone beat, the mg yards per game. Finally, the Silver and heavily favored Rams. Last year was a sur- Black score 28 a game; the mighty Pewterand prise great game, let’s hope this year isn’t a Crimson only permit 12. Something has got surprise blowout or even worse a dull 3-0 win. to tiive. Adding to the drama is the fact that Jon (imden abandoned the Raiders to take a job in Tampa Bay. Gruden built the Raiders into the caliber of team they arc today and then jumped ship (no pirate pun intended) to the Buccaneers. He left behind his offensive axirdinator/offen si\e line coach, Bill Callahan. Callahan used the offense (imden left him, and rode it the whole way to San Diego. There is still a gcxxl deal of bad blood in (iakland about Gruden leav ing a w inning team while still under contract. The Raiders got two first round draft picks and 58 million in exchange for the coach, but nxist Raiders fans are not very forgiving The final topic that adds spice tothechampionshipgameisthe issue of age. Bucs coach Jon Cimden is the youngest coach in the league. He is leading his team to face the time-tested Raideis. Very time-tested. The Raiders three brightest stars are well on their way to collecting Social Security checks. Quar terback Rich Gannon (37) and legendary wide The Raiders are favored by around four and a recei vets Jerry Rice(4o) and Tim Brown(37) half points, but many in the sports world, in are the new Over The Hill Gang in Oakland, eluding this editor won’t be surprised if the flic threesome was very effective all season, underdog wins for the second year in a row. but they did not play a defense as physical as I ampa Bay. With players like Derrick Brooks, Earn $l,OOO - $2,000 for your Student Group in just 3 hours! College fundraising made Simple, Safe and Free. Multiple fundraising options available. No carwashes. No raffles. Just success! Fundraising dates are filling quickly. Get with the programs that work! Title IX, federal legislation passed in 1972 to ensure gender equity in govern ment-funded sports and education pro grams, opened doors for girls to partici pate in sports training programs and paved the way for more female sports fans, she said. "It's nice for women on one hand and then on the other it fits into capitalism," Snyder said. About 10 years ago, the sports industry began recognizing women as an untapped market, and women are now tar gets of advertising and money making endeavors, she said. The NFL annually sponsors workshops that teach women the basics and history of football. The league has a Web site called NFL for Her (http://ww2.nfl.com/ nflforher) that offers basics, profiles women working in the NFL and defines football terms and lingo. University of South Carolina football coach Lou Holtz also holds clinics for female fans before each season. Women make up 43 percent of the NFL's fan base, and more than 375,000 women attend games each week end, according to the NFL. Rob Hoffman, general manager of Overtime Sports Cafe in North Myrtle Beach, said he's seen an increase of fe male fans in his restaurant and bar during the past two years. "They're actually coming up in the jer seys," he said. "They're a lot more outgo ing, and they get the guys into it." Over time Sports Cafe, too, is marketing to the women, holding contests and giving away prizes to get females involved in the games. Like male fans, women are often drawn to sports because of a connection to a certain team. Thomas said she doesn't remember a time when she wasn't a football fan pull ing for the Steelers. Her dad taught her to be a Steelers fan, and most people in her hometown root for the team. “I'm from a small town, and we got into our high school team and the NFL," she said. "My friends have always been foot ball fans." KRT PHOTO BY GEORGE BRIDGES/KRT Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon an swers questions on Media Day for Super Bowl XXXVII on Tuesday. SPORTS Friday, January 24, 2003 PHOTOGRAPH BY TOM MURRAY/MYRTLE BEACH SUN-NEWS Jamie Keehan, left, and Ashley Thomas watch their team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in their playoff game against Tennessee in a packed Murphy's Law Sports Bar in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Female Fan Facts There are 50 million female avid sports fans, ac cording to survey by Scarborough Sports Mar keting of New York. Football is the top choice among women. Here are the sports women ages 18 and up picked: -31 percent National Football League -28 percent Major League Baseball -19 percent National Basketball Association -13 percent NASCAR -13 percent Professional Golfers Association -10 percent National Hockey League (Note: Those surveyed were permitted to pick CALDER COMMONS IS THE PLACE FOR your TWO BEDROOM/TWO BATHROOM FULLY FURNISHED APARTMENTS! And look what else,... x Fabulous Fitness Center x New Study Lounge x Fantastic Downtown Location * Only 1/2 a Block to Campus x On-Site Laundry & Parking x Free Cable TV x Roommate Matching x Friendly Management TRANSFERRING TO PSU MAIN CAMPUS CALL TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION! HURRY THEY'RE GOING FAST! Calder Commons 520 East Calder Way State College, PA 16801 yf* 814-238-3456 www.caldercommons.com FOR FALL 2003? NEED A PLACE TO LIVE? A campus FUNDRAISER ■ Your Trusted Source for College Fundraising. 888-923-3238 . www.campusfundraiser.com Scott Soltis, Sports Editor more than one sport). The study also indicated that loyal female NHL fans are: -34 percent more likely than the average woman to be age 18-34 -23 percent more likely to be single -70 percent of loyal female NHL fans have pur chased sports apparel in the past 12 months. -More than twice as likely than the average woman to go in-line skating -76 percent more likely to participate in team sports than the average woman -44 percent more likely to go camping than the average woman
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers