Southland golfers and NFL fans have ample opportunities to wear their pride on their sleeves, and elsewhere.
Whether you’re a Southland transplant from New Orleans, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis or other city with NFL ties, chances are you’re passionate about the team you rooted for before moving west.
We see you. You’re the ones with the Steelers jerseys, Colts caps, Bears sweatshirts, Cowboys jackets and Lions shirts. But those items aren’t just for sports bars anymore as apparel companies make it easy for golfers – who can play year round out here – to show team pride on the fairways.
“Perhaps golfers’ passion for the game is only matched by the passion of fans of America’s most popular sport,” said Dan Murphy, vice president of marketing for Bridgestone Golf, a company that makes a variety of products with an NFL theme.
Southern California golfers who grew up fans of a team in another part of the country are a big part of an NFL licensing trade that basically has no boundaries. The Broncos, Patriots, Bears, Packers, Giants and 49ers sell well outside their markets, as do the Dallas Cowboys, who have a separate licensing arrangement from the rest of the league. The Seahawks are also popular, as much for their color scheme as the fact that they’re defending Super Bowl champions.
“We’re also seeing a growth in fashion shades, in other words products that are not a specific team color,” noted Ron McPherson, president and CEO of the Antigua Group, a longtime partner of the NFL. “For example, consumers would purchase Green Bay Packers apparel that is not green and yellow. They’re buying product in more golf-type colors. It has expanded business by carrying product with their logo on it, but in different shades.”
But it’s not just casual golfers who display a passion for the NFL. Some PGA Tour players also demonstrate it fashionably and physically, with Wilson player Padraig Harrington delighting the crowd at the 2013 Phoenix Open by tossing and kicking footballs into the stands surrounding the rowdy 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale.
Tim Clarke, president of golf for Wilson, which has a longstanding business role in football and golf, was as thrilled with the activity as the fans that day.
“That stadium feel in Phoenix erupts, and when Padraig came out kicking, punting and throwing official NFL Super Bowl footballs to the fans in the stands, the place was going wild,” Clarke said. “It was a chance for us, frankly, to tie in two sports we are heavily involved in. So when you have PGA players like Ricky Barnes and Kevin Streelman throwing footballs around, it certainly shows players and spectators alike love the NFL.”
With Super Bowl XLIX taking place in nearby Glendale the same weekend as the Phoenix Open, there’s a good chance similar cross promotions and celebrations will take place this month as well. It’s also good bet that Southland golfers teeing it up the morning of the Super Bowl will be wearing wearing a cap, shirt or jacket depicting their favorite NFL team. And if that team is playing later that day, look for an extra bounce in their step and a few more yards on their drives.
“We like to think what we offer complements what the sideline companies are providing in the NFL, like Nike,” said Mark Sondheim, national sales manager for the Collegiate and Pro Sports Division at Cutter & Buck. “It’s a whole array from dressy sweaters using cotton and wool/nylon blends to windshirts, micro-suede jackets and button down sports shirts. We even sell licensed logoed shorts and pants. Together that combination presents a point of difference.”
