I've been a hockey fan almost my entire life. I've played - one of my teeth is offset due to being hit in the mouth with a puck. Huge Avs fan their entire existence. Legit cried when Roy became their coach because he was my favorite all time player and if I couldn't see him play live I could at least see him coach because by then I lived in the Denver area. Bought *good* season tickets and play-off games seats. Bought memorabilia. Bought sweaters. Paid extra to stream. Turned my husband into a huge fan. Turned friends into fans! Listened to the podcasts and watched the videos and read all the articles - even had my favorite writers! Cared about the minor leagues too. Supported youth hockey. Supported university hockey. Etc. etc.
And until I quit a high paying corporate industrial job to do research I was in *exactly* the income bracket the NHL courted heavily with calls and personal "sales connections" blah blah blah. I was The Fan. But I was also a woman of a Certain Age: I was more than just a wallet, I was a demographic they VERY much needed to Grow The Fanbase. And they KNEW IT.
I wasn't naïve - I know we live in a capitalist driven society and sports aren't any different. But I LOVED the game. I love athletes in general and these were my favorites. I would drive an hour sometimes just to watch practices! My faves usually weren't the best players - they were the guys who seemed happy just to be able to play.
But then some events happened. It became more public what happened with Patrick Roy and his wife (not just don't meet your heroes, don't learn about them, sigh). The stupid Denver Post writer and what he did. The Chicago Blackhawks and the NHL: both how they dealt with what happened with Patrick Kane's charges and then the sexual assault with the Hawks trainer. How they were dealing with head injuries. The Avs brought out fucking "ICE GIRLS". What was happening with women sportswriters. Then the horrific scandal in Canada. And on and on. Despite being a demographic they needed, I felt more and more like a demographic not wanted, not even cared about, and began to drift away. How could I support such attitudes, such actions? At some point I realized for the first time in 30 years I didn't even know the standings and who some of the players were - that's how much they lost me.
But some exciting things happened. I fell in love with Cale Makar as a player and wanted to watch his brilliance. I started paying attention again, even got excited. The NHL seemed to be doing some progressive work, and even if it was profit driven, okay, it's still work. I started drifting back again. It wasn't ever going to be the same obsessiveness, but I was watching a game here and there. Perhaps they could partially win me back.
I was SO excited for these Olympics, both women and men. I took off work to watch games! I paid money! There was so much interest due to some t.v. show with a lot of new fans - what a great time to welcome some women new to the sport! How exciting! I had watch parties! I screamed myself hoarse, which I haven't done in a very long time! What a good time!
I'm not stupid - hockey itself is a game that nowadays comes from background of privilege; these players aren't coming from pond hockey with basic cheap equipment from Canadian Tire anymore. But geez, right now with that t.v. show and an Olympics with some super exciting games and 2 Gold Medals: what an opportunity to grow the sport with everything going on! This is how you grow your fanbase with a diverse background! This is how you get youth leagues funded for folks who can't afford it! This is how you form new generations to carry over the love to *Pay Their Fucking Salaries and Profits!* THIS IS HOW YOU GROW THE SPORT.
And then, in the space of 20 seconds, the NHL completely lost me and thousands of others as a fan. One 5 year old FBI director, one phone call, one misogynist joke, one White House visit, one doubling down, all that adds up: I'm not ever going to watch an NHL game again. They've lost me permanently. No WAY am I going to pay another goddamn dime to support those athletes. And how many other people out there are like me? How many potential fans did they lose? How many potential *players*? It makes me so sad, and so angry. Fuck those guys forever.
And they don't care. They don't give a shit. They don't see it. They offer up crap like, "Politics don't belong in sports." Oh, you assholes! That's the worst part of it.
They may have won a gold medal, but they became the biggest losers.
And yeah, I know: this is a trivial thing with everything going on. But at the same time: that fucking misogyny being treated as okay goes *everywhere* and becomes very non-trivial very fast.
Hockey in Canada has a lot to answer for itself and the culture is generally bad (I've long given up, am an NBA guy now though some comments during all-star game put a damper on that too... thanks Hebron James) but yeah USA hockey has been especially tone-deaf this week.
I've been a hockey fan almost my entire life. I've played - one of my teeth is offset due to being hit in the mouth with a puck. Huge Avs fan their entire existence. Legit cried when Roy became their coach because he was my favorite all time player and if I couldn't see him play live I could at least see him coach because by then I lived in the Denver area. Bought *good* season tickets and play-off games seats. Bought memorabilia. Bought sweaters. Paid extra to stream. Turned my husband into a huge fan. Turned friends into fans! Listened to the podcasts and watched the videos and read all the articles - even had my favorite writers! Cared about the minor leagues too. Supported youth hockey. Supported university hockey. Etc. etc.
And until I quit a high paying corporate industrial job to do research I was in *exactly* the income bracket the NHL courted heavily with calls and personal "sales connections" blah blah blah. I was The Fan. But I was also a woman of a Certain Age: I was more than just a wallet, I was a demographic they VERY much needed to Grow The Fanbase. And they KNEW IT.
I wasn't naïve - I know we live in a capitalist driven society and sports aren't any different. But I LOVED the game. I love athletes in general and these were my favorites. I would drive an hour sometimes just to watch practices! My faves usually weren't the best players - they were the guys who seemed happy just to be able to play.
But then some events happened. It became more public what happened with Patrick Roy and his wife (not just don't meet your heroes, don't learn about them, sigh). The stupid Denver Post writer and what he did. The Chicago Blackhawks and the NHL: both how they dealt with what happened with Patrick Kane's charges and then the sexual assault with the Hawks trainer. How they were dealing with head injuries. The Avs brought out fucking "ICE GIRLS". What was happening with women sportswriters. Then the horrific scandal in Canada. And on and on. Despite being a demographic they needed, I felt more and more like a demographic not wanted, not even cared about, and began to drift away. How could I support such attitudes, such actions? At some point I realized for the first time in 30 years I didn't even know the standings and who some of the players were - that's how much they lost me.
But some exciting things happened. I fell in love with Cale Makar as a player and wanted to watch his brilliance. I started paying attention again, even got excited. The NHL seemed to be doing some progressive work, and even if it was profit driven, okay, it's still work. I started drifting back again. It wasn't ever going to be the same obsessiveness, but I was watching a game here and there. Perhaps they could partially win me back.
I was SO excited for these Olympics, both women and men. I took off work to watch games! I paid money! There was so much interest due to some t.v. show with a lot of new fans - what a great time to welcome some women new to the sport! How exciting! I had watch parties! I screamed myself hoarse, which I haven't done in a very long time! What a good time!
I'm not stupid - hockey itself is a game that nowadays comes from background of privilege; these players aren't coming from pond hockey with basic cheap equipment from Canadian Tire anymore. But geez, right now with that t.v. show and an Olympics with some super exciting games and 2 Gold Medals: what an opportunity to grow the sport with everything going on! This is how you grow your fanbase with a diverse background! This is how you get youth leagues funded for folks who can't afford it! This is how you form new generations to carry over the love to *Pay Their Fucking Salaries and Profits!* THIS IS HOW YOU GROW THE SPORT.
And then, in the space of 20 seconds, the NHL completely lost me and thousands of others as a fan. One 5 year old FBI director, one phone call, one misogynist joke, one White House visit, one doubling down, all that adds up: I'm not ever going to watch an NHL game again. They've lost me permanently. No WAY am I going to pay another goddamn dime to support those athletes. And how many other people out there are like me? How many potential fans did they lose? How many potential *players*? It makes me so sad, and so angry. Fuck those guys forever.
And they don't care. They don't give a shit. They don't see it. They offer up crap like, "Politics don't belong in sports." Oh, you assholes! That's the worst part of it.
They may have won a gold medal, but they became the biggest losers.