Just to make myself clear, I hate using the phrase "female hockey fans", because it somehow gives the impression that girls are less knowledgeable, less enthusiastic, etc. about hockey. That being said, I'm going to use it today just to differentiate between guys and girls.
That girl in the middle, holding up the "Priceless" sign: what's your impression of her? For that matter, what's your impression of female hockey fans in general?
I bet someone out there will say, "Oh, that puckbunny just wants to get with Dion Phaneuf." I know you people exist, and I'm giving you all The Glare (TM).
It's a problem that girls face every day when others realize that we love the game. We can't possibly love hockey, right? Only guys go crazy over sports. We're the 'fans' who don't know what an offside call is, but who would love to get 'onside' with one of the players, eh? Uh, no.
You could fill a stadium with people who have given me odd looks when I told them that I love hockey. It's not as bad if I say that the Canadiens are my team, because that's just accepted in this part of the world - if you love hockey, you're either a Habs fan or a Leafs fan. Things get interesting when I mention that I love the Penguins. I bet you can guess what comment they make then, eh?
"Oh, you just have a thing for Sidney Crosby."
Um, what the frig??
My hypothesis is that when I tell people that I am a Habs fan, they just assume that I inherited this from my family - which may be partly true since I'm French-Canadian and all of my uncles are Habs fans - and that I don't really know anything about hockey. It's kind of like saying you're 'French', but your vocabulary consists of 'oui', 'non', and 'voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?' - but you're not even sure of what the last phrase means.
Saying that I'm a Pens fan, however, is different because I am going against the grain. People in these parts are not naturally Pens fans, so if you're a fan of that team you must either (1) be a legitimate hockey fan who appreciates the team, its history, and so on, or (2) a puckbunny who would like to get up close and personal with a certain someone on the team. Since it is against nature for girls to be hockey fans, the correct answer must be reason 2. Naturally.
The NHL doesn't help matters by offering these hideous 'jerseys':
Seriously, is this some kind of a joke? Apparently not, since I see girls on TV wearing these and bouncing around like lunatics. If I'm going to spend what little money I have on a jersey, I want to buy the real deal - or an exact replica of the real deal. I want it to be in the team colours. This pink and white thing just screams, "I want to be fashionable when I go to a hockey game." Well, guess what. Hockey jerseys are not meant to be 'fashionable'. We buy them to show our allegiance to our team. It is wrong to have a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey that is not black (or white) and gold.
Would you want to a green Canadian flag, or a perhaps a purple and pink American flag, to fly outside your home?
Didn't think so.
5 comments:
LOL....actually they do have black and gold American flags sold in Pittsburgh! Bu then again, Pittsburgh rocks-out so hard that the USA can barley handle us...hahahaha.
You Go girl! I am a die hard hockey fan too! And a girl at that *gasps heard around the room* You hold onto your own us girls know just as much about hockey as all them boys! Maybe even more seeing as we're the ones typically watching the game sober! Go Girl Hockey Fans and Boo Frigging Losers who hate on us!
You just got yourself on the "People To Tell When I'm Done Writing Thesis" list. My MA thesis is all going to be on the place of the female fan in hockey- everything from marketing to puckbunnies to what the players actually think of it. (yeah, I'm interviewing teams!)
Sweet!
Good luck on the thesis! It sounds like a great topic - something that would be really interesting to research (and to read too!)
Bravo!
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