NFL Pink: NFL Suits Up for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The NFL has gone pink. No, it isn't some gender-friendly attempt at getting more women to watch football. It is an attempt by the NFL to bring attention to breast cancer and breast cancer awareness. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and just as buildings go pink and the St. Louis Gateway Arch goes pink to hopefully bring about more awareness for the deadly disease in the month of October, NFL football players and teams are sporting pink on towels, patches, jerseys, caps, fields, and anything else they can think of to heighten awareness. Dubbed "A Crucial Catch" campaign, spotlighting the importance of awareness and breast cancer screenings, the NFL is working in conjunction with the American Cancer Society and will auction off gear and clothing to further the campaign.

The Seattle Times reported that Indianapolis Colts star quarterback Peyton Manning and teammates have pink captain's patches to wear for their game against the Seattle Seahawks. Manning wore a pink-billed Colts cap on the sidelines. He also wore a pink wristband.

Seattle players donned pink armbands, gloves, stripes on shoes, and ribbons like their Indianapolis counterparts. Jim Mora, coach for Seattle, saw his mother battle and survive breast cancer. He said he's proud of his players. He said, " That's really neat that the NFL does that, you know? It's just all to raise awareness for breast cancer, which I'm all for.

"I think it's a great gesture."

Edward Lee at Ravens Insider told Baltimore Ravens fans not to adjust their television sets prior to their game against the New England Patriots. Ravens players wore pink gloves, wristbands, and even pink cleats to support A Crucial Catch.

Everything the players wear for A Crucial Catch during the month of October will eventually be auctioned to further breast cancer research. Apparel, special k-balls, and pink coins will be auctioned off as well

Referees are also sporting pink wristbands.

Fox Sports announcers, like Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, wore pink ribbons on their lapels for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos game.

The NFL campaign brought in some musical help as well. Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie filmed a Public Service Announcement to be played in stadiums throughout the NFL. She has donned a pink jersey for the occasion.

Breast Cancer awareness and treatment has become a popular concern of celebrities and organizations for the past few years, gaining much-needed attention for the education of women about screenings and awareness of the deadly disease. According to the National Cancer Institute, over 192,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 alone, with over 40,000 dying from it. White women are a little more susceptible to cancer of the breast, with an incident rate of nearly 124 per 100,000 women. Breast cancer in black women occurs an estimated 118 per 100,000.

Statistics show that 12.08% of the women born today will be diagnosed with breast cancer sometime within their lifetime.

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For more information on the NFL "A Crucial Catch" breast cancer awareness campaign, go to NFL.com.

For more on the NFL Auction supporting breast cancer research, go to NFLAuction.NFL.com

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Sources:

NFL.com
Seer.cancer.gov
BaltimoreSun.com
Seattletimes.nwsource.com
"NFL on Fox," Fox Television