On Wednesday September 21st at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida the stage was set for the 2nd annual Women of RED Invasion. The RED program is designed for women to learn what happens behind the scenes of the Buccaneers, from drafting to play by play action as well as opportunities to meet former and currently signed players.
The Women of RED Invasion is one event the Bucs have developed to engage their female fans. Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, the co-president of the Glazer Family Foundation explained research showed that 50% of the NFL fan base were women. Given that, they are trying to focus on ways to engage this important demographic.
Hernando County resident and former Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Horace Copeland, participated in the Women of RED Invasion, signing autographs and conversing with fans. Copeland played for the Buccaneers 1993–1997.
“It’s an awesome concept; they are giving women information of what’s going on behind the scenes of the NFL,” Copeland said. “I was amazed of the crowd and that so many (women) wanted to know about football…that amazed me the most.”
As fans sat down for a Q&A, you could see how much the women enjoyed the opportunity to interact with the players.
“The questions that the women asked me weren’t about stats, it was more personal questions, and how I adapted to the transition from being a player to getting involved in other things. They wanted to know how I was doing as a person and that really opened my eyes,” Copeland said. “That was inspiring and rewarding (to hear) those types of questions.”
For more information about Women of Red visit: http://www.buccaneers.com/RED/index.html