Tuesday, October 09, 2012

NFL Pink Month

I was actually afraid to post this for fear of being attacked as some sort of misogynist jerk, but I find the NFL’s “pink month," with players wearing the fluorescent socks, gloves, towels and what have you, for the Susan G. Komen corporation breast cancer “awareness,” seriously annoying. I think we’re already pretty well aware of breast cancer by now.

Then I was referred to this breast cancer survivor who is even more annoyed by the whole “pink month thing” than I am, and there are a dozen or more comments following her post of fellow cancer survivors who agreed whole heartedly with her. Read her article; she’s a nice lady. It struck a sympathetic note for me, in that I have Parkinson’s Disease, and I have no more desire to make a career out of that issue than those ladies do to put on pink tee shirts and join a parade. I have a life, and it isn’t about what cells my brain may or may not be producing.

Back to the NFL, it occurs to me to wonder, what color does the NFL wear for Leukemia, and in what month does it wear that color? What color does the NFL wear for ALS, and in what month does it wear that color? It only sponsors cancer "awareness," and only one form of cancer; that which is specific, essentially, to women.

Magnanimous? I think not. The NFL is pandering to a specific demographic in order to secure and expand its female fan base, and exploiting women in the process. I actually respect those players who choose not to go along. Real football players don’t wear pink.

7 comments:

  1. As the survivor of someone who has died of it, the whole pink thing really annoyed me after a while. Too much commercialism. Please take all the money being spent on commercials, products, 'awareness", etc and give to the researchers. Or support groups. Or people without access to healthcare (yes, we still have those and Obamacare will not change that). People know already, okay?

    And what about all the other diseases that kill people? Heart disease for example, the biggest one? Shall we all wear big hearts on our clothes? Float heart shaped balloons? Maybe in the month of February?

    Pink really looks stupid on NFL uniforms. And only for one disease? I read a story just the other day about a player who wore a different color for a relative who had a different disease, and I think he had to get special permission to do so.

    I tried to find it, and couldn't, but here's another one about wearing blue for prostate cancer:

    http://blog.chron.com/canceranswers/2012/09/prostate-cancer-awareness-thank-you-nfl-houston-texans-players/

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  2. These goofy uniform additions are annoying. What is even more irritating to me are the ridiculous uniforms that some college teams show up at game time wearing. Even Notre Dame has gotten in on the act. Ridiculous

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  3. Thank you for the mention! Football colors are the color of the team...period. I don't need any more reminders of what happened two years ago. The pink is not reassuring and awareness didn't help me...the pink is just overwhelming consumerism and needs to stop.

    Thank you for spreading the word and voicing your opinion!
    ~Jen

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  4. Anonymous9:05 PM

    The commercialization of a deadly disease for profit (NFL merchandise--sell more to women) and more profit WITHOUT A SINGLE MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGH FOR ANY CURE (Susan Komen Foundation) is ... sickening. Ten or twenty years from now (how long will it take for America to wise up?), we'll watch NFL films and wonder how the ridiculous hype, absurd distortion, and aesthetic INSULT to NFL players and fans was tolerated for so long. Sorry feminists, but the refusal to support Susan Komen and her phony campaign for the cure does NOT mean that NFL fans (many of whom are women) are against you. Maybe we can actually develop a cure if SGK and her cohorts stop acting like victims. NO MORE PINK.

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  5. Just to let you know, the pink accessories are now down to the high school level. I went to a game last night and of course both teams were decked out in pink

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  6. Anonymous12:00 AM

    I watch the NFL in black and white during October.

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  7. Anonymous2:20 PM

    I can't stand watching the NFL in October. There ARE other diseases. I have Type 1 diabetes, and diabetes kills more people than breast cancer and AIDS combined, but doesn't get this kind of attention. And I'd be embarrassed if it did.

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