Men often comprise the majority of crowds at sporting events; however, female attendance at sporting events has seen a recent increase. Women are coming out stronger than ever to support their favorite teams.
The sports industry has begun to target women as a primary demographic, making apparel to suit their tastes. Fitted and pink jerseys are a must-have in every sports line - you won't see a sports team nowadays that doesn't have an apparel line totally devoted to women.
The increased marketing toward women creates a rivalry with men to be the primary sports demographic. Even colleges are starting to change the way they market to their fans. Their focus is on encouraging women and incorporating them into their fan base. Take, for example, the Boston Red Sox - they are one of the first sports teams to start selling pink paraphernalia to their fans.
"If UB started selling pink jerseys, I don't think I would buy them," said Maria Saia, a sophomore biology major. "I think that...women fans...should just wear the same thing as everyone else."
According to Bejamin Vucic, the athletics department student relations coordinator, the problem with targeting women has been that sports teams and UB have taken too long to recognize that women are fans, too.
Vucic believes that women should be incorporated into the fan demographics just as much as men. If that means creating a different line of apparel for women, then that's what should happen.
"If you visit our online store, you will see that we have an entire section devoted to women's apparel," Vucic said.
While UB and many other sports teams are more than willing to sell apparel appealing entirely to women, some students believe that this separates male and female fans, dividing what should be a united fan base.
"I think it's kind of stupid that schools are now selling separate items to women and men," said James Morton, a senior history major. "If everyone else is wearing blue and white to support their team, why should some people wear different colors?"
According to Vucic, there has been an increase in the amount of women's apparel over the past few years - however, the only reason why we have seen that kind of an increase is because the demand for women's apparel has grown.
"I'm fine selling a pink T-shirt with a bull on it if it helps our campus community come out and support our student athletes," Vucic said.
UB has several plans to increase the number of female students as fans and encouraging them to come out and support the student athletes, Vucic explained. Already the Bulls are coming out with more apparel devoted to engaging female fans.
"If it (soliciting female fans) is helping to raise the awareness of student athletes, it can't be all bad." Vucic said.
With the increased efforts seen by the sports industry to engage and capture the female fan demographic, there has been an increase in female fans attending sporting events, coming out to cheer for their favorite teams right alongside men. Vucic believes that the increase of female fans is directly related to the increase in marketing toward women by the sports industry.
"I don't think that it makes sense for women to wear different apparel than men," said Tyler Sepelak, a junior biological medicine major. "If they're going to be a fan, they should just wear the same thing as everyone else."
According to Morton, who is also a cheerleader for the Bulls, fans who wear the same colors look more uniform and solid when they are cheering for their team, whereas whole sections of pink jerseys throughout the crowd isn't as motivating.
It is important for people to know that UB is truly engaged in developing athletics as a part of life for women. They use national girls and women sports day events and NCAA's "Pack the House" promotion, as well as other events targeted toward women Vucic stated.
"I don't think there is a problem with targeting apparel toward women," said Nick Giambra, a freshman business major. "If it increases fan bases and revenue then I think it's a good thing. Plus girls should get just as crazy as guys about sports, and this might help."
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
