I am a big football fan.

Most Sundays I can be found watching NFL games, and on Saturdays I check out the college teams. I first started seriously watching football in college in the mid-’80s, when I saw Walter Payton flying down the field dogging players for the Chicago Bears, and I’ve been hooked ever since. 

I had Tampa Bay Buccaneers season tickets back when they were playing in the old stadium and wearing those horrible orange jerseys, and when they moved to the new stadium I had club seats. I moved up north after that, but still got my whole family hooked on football and rooting for the Buccaneers.

Now I’m back in Tampa, and I am excited as the 2019-20 season gets underway (the Dolphins pre-season game is on as a I write) to see the Bucs engaging more with their fans, especially during training season.

One way they do that is through open practices, and one of those practices was reserved exclusively for female fans: Women of Red.

Devised by Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, owner and president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation and the Glazer Family Foundation, Women of Red was designed to reach out to women who are passionate Buccaneers fans, providing them with opportunities to get up close with the players coaches and the Bucs organization.

[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”50″ display=”basic_thumbnail”]On a very rainy Thursday evening in early August, nearly 1,500 female fans visited the indoor training facility at One Buc Place to take in the action at the Buccaneer training camp.  They were able to watch the practice, hear from Kassewitz, and engage with the players by getting autographs, taking selfies and talking to them about the upcoming season. Women also got to participate in drills that the players go through on a daily basis.

Recently it was announced that the Bucs’ new coach, Bruce Arians, had hired Lori Locust as an assistant defensive coach and Maral Javadifar as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. They are the first full-time female coaches in Bucs history, making it the first NFL team to hire two female coaches.

This may have been the reason behind the huge attendance at this Women of Red Event.

Women of Red will also get to enjoy an all-inclusive tailgate party on Sunday, Dec. 8, when the Bucs play the Indianapolis Colts at Raymond James Stadium.  This event starts at 11 a.m. in the stadium at Veranda C and will include a buffet, open bar with wine, beer and mimosas, live music and the chance to mingle with Buccaneer legends.

It sounds like a great reason to go to the game!