It’s a common stereotype that while men are watching football on TV, women are in a separate room watching something like Simon Cowell from American Idol making some poor kid cry. A common notion is that women would rather dissect an actress’ wardrobe on Oscar night than break down a well-executed screen pass.
However, the growing popularity of football isn’t solely attributed to men; women are a significant part of the game. In fact, in 2008, the number of women who tuned in to watch the New York Giants win Super Bowl XLII doubled the number watching the Academy Awards three weeks later.
According to the Nielsen Media Research, among women aged 18 to 49, the 34.2 million who watched Super Bowl XLII dwarfed the 17.1 million who watched the 2008 Oscars.
And this is no one-time phenomenon.
According to the Harris Poll, not only is NFL football (30 percent) the favorite sport of women, it exceeds the popularity of the next three professional sports leagues combined (MLB, 14%, NASCAR, 8%, and the NBA, 7%)
“I think the general public underestimates just how big the women’s fan base is for football,” says Samantha Rapoport, who has played professional women’s football and currently serves the NFL’s youth football department. “Women represent over 40 percent of the NFL’s fan base.”
As in Rapoport’s case, women’s involvement in football isn’t limited to a spectator’s role; some are on the field putting shoulder pads to work. There are three women’s tackle football leagues, including the Independent Women’s Football League (IWFL) which consists of more than 40 teams alone. These are women who may not have had the opportunity to learn and play organized football like girls do today, where more than 400 high schools in the U.S. offer girls-specific football programs, but their passion is truer than a tight spiral.
“Women’s professional tackle football is evolving in the same way the NFL has,” says Rapoport, a former quarterback who was twice named MVP of the IWFL’s Montreal Blitz. “The women are getting bigger, faster and stronger every year.”
After the IWFL’s New York Sharks played an eight-minute scrimmage during halftime of a New York Giants game in 2006, the NFL approached the team about starting a Junior Player Development program for girls. This program sends the Sharks into
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