Since 2009, NFL fans have watched their teams play through a pink filter during the month of October.
The gridiron is festooned with pink logos, Herculean-sized lineman don pink cleats, and the goal posts are packed with pink padding for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
But what is now a 32-team, league-wide campaign had very humble beginnings, when a group of sorority sisters from northern Virginia and a team owner’s wife adopted the cause.
“The wonderful details of this story have never really been told,” says Tanya Snyder, whose husband, Daniel Snyder, bought the Washington Redskins in 1999.
“A group of women from the sorority Zeta Tau Alpha from northern Virginia approached the Redskins about doing a breast cancer awareness event in October 1999,” says Snyder, who was moved by their enthusiasm. She joined them as they handed out 8,000 handmade pink ribbons to fans that first year.
“It was driven by a simple concept: one ribbon at a time and one fan at a time. It was a wonderful event,” she recalls.
The cause resonated with Snyder, who grew up in a house with three sisters and the mother who raised them.
“I had all women in the house, and was taught at a very young age [that] we had to love and support each other. It was just us,” she says. “I remember hearing a friend of my mom’s had breast cancer — that was the first time I saw the hair loss, and started hearing that breast cancer can kill you. I just thought, ‘Oh my God, we’re all women.’”
The next season, the ZTA outreach grew from one to four NFL teams.
The movement continued to gain momentum over the next few seasons, spreading to more and more teams, until the league officially adopted the campaign five years ago, becoming partners with the American Cancer Society.
It was something that suddenly became all too personal for the former model when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008.
“At that point, I just loved interacting with the fans and working with the ZTAs. Talk about timing and things coming together. The joke was that I had such small breasts that I would never be able to get breast cancer. So I kind of went with that,” she says, adding, “I had done a self exam… Fortunately, I caught it early, and I am grateful for that.”
Snyder had surgery to remove the cancer and has, since her recovery, emerged as the national spokeswoman for the NFL’s “A Crucial Catch” breast cancer screening campaign.
She has been moved by the scores of stories she hears in her role, in particular that of retired Redskin Chris Cooley, whose mother battled breast cancer; he has established an All Star Survivors Luncheon for 31 women fighting the disease.
“He talks about how he remembers his mom, who was the rock in his life, telling him that she had breast cancer. He was trying to be a wonderful supportive son and be there for her. She lost her hair and he didn’t know how to talk to her or what to do. He created this day for her. And the outcome has been one of the most special events,” says Snyder, who also hosts a Think Pink! game day at the team’s home stadium, FedExField.
Even though the initiative has grown from its humble beginnings, the sorority is still involved in the cause. In 2010, they initiated Snyder into the sisterhood.
“I went through the full initiation. There was no hazing,” she laughs, adding, “It was wonderful. I am proud of all of this. And it is thanks to the ZTAs.”
The mother of three — who was honored with the American Cancer Society Mother of the Year award in May — is pulling for a cure. As she says, “I am sick of this; I am hoping we can continue to fund the research to make it happen.”
Along with encouraging awareness and regular checkups, the League has raised $4.5 million. Both players and coaches wear pink before auctioning the autographed gear on nfl.com/pink.
Says Snyder, “Women are such caregivers — we always tend to think of other people. You have to be aware of your body and do a self exam. There is nothing better than seeing a 300-pound linebacker in pink to make you say, ‘I do need to get that check up.’”