While I’ve read many comments here and other places from people who agree with me, I’m amazed at how many people are also chuckling about how silly and stupid it is to get upset about something like the proposed Spirit Squad. People are starving/fighting/dying and we’re arguing about cheerleaders in hockey – silly women, with their overly PC, bra-burning ways.

You know, if this were a blog dedicated to current events or serious news of any kind we could get up in arms about the fact that more people vote for American Idol than for the next president – or that thousands of people are dying in a war most of us don’t support.

But it’s not. It’s a hockey blog. And while admittedly during the summer we fans grasp at anything hockey-related and make it more of an issue than it is out of sheer boredom, we need to be careful about assuming that this is one of those times. I’m not a shrill woman who is overreacting to something stupid; I don’t burn bras and I’m not a man-hater and I don’t get bent out of shape by every perceived slight against womankind.

Believe it or not, this is a real issue. And as one of the few female voices in a sea of male bloggers, I think it’s my responsibility to occasionally remind people of that fact. (more…)

You know, I can’t tell you how many hockey games I’ve been to in my life where I’ve thought “Gee, this would be made more exciting by an obnoxious, overly perky, overly bleached, overly tanned bimbo bouncing around in the stands”.

Oh, wait, yes I can. It’s zero.

No, oddly enough I’ve always considered the fun of going to hockey games being simply…going to hockey games. In fact it’s my firm opinion that this ongoing trend of planting some kind of overblown pep squad in the stands is one that continues to cheapen hockey, turning it into more of a commercial circus and less of a sport.

The scary thing is that it’s no longer limited to the so-called “non-traditional” hockey markets like Tampa or Dallas – you see them pop up in hockey hotbeds like Boston, Philadelphia, and three of the six Canadian cities. It’s an epidemic, probably an unstoppable, unavoidable one. And if half the league has already fallen prey to this insanity it seemed inevitable that the Caps would soon follow suit. (more…)

The boys over at OnFrozenBlog have revitalized the debate about one of my least favorite things, the Ice Girls – buckle your seatbelts, word on the street is that they’re coming to DC. Rather than clog their blog with my soapbox rants I figured I should use my own space and my own captive audience. Oh, you lucky people you…

I’ve made no secret of the fact that the idea of Ice Girls makes me nauseous. Women hired to either “clean” the ice or lead cheers in the stands all while wearing midriff-baring tops and short skirts…it’s just a disgusting, sexist display. Not to mention the fact that it’s impractical – don’t they get cold? If they’re really Ice Girls, shouldn’t they be wearing down parkas and snow pants?

Someone commented on OFB that the Verizon Center could use a little atmosphere, that the arena needs something to get rid of the “cemetary” moniker that has so often been attributed to ye olde phone booth. I actually couldn’t agree more. If you go to Caps games frequently, you know that when the Horn Guy and Goat do their thing, the crowd responds…for a moment. It’s an amazing phenomenon to behold; one minute the arena is echoing with the chants of “Let’s Go Caps”, the next minute you can hear the conversations going on down on the ice. It’s like people need to be told when to cheer or else they sit on their hands.

The problem I have is with the idea that the organization should do anything to correct this, especially when that anything includes degrading women for the sake of a few cheers. And what message do you then send to the little girls who fill the stands right alongside their male counterparts? That men belong on the ice playing hockey, while women belong on the ice merely to clean it and provide a little eye candy for the menfolk? Might as well tie the apron on them and send them right into the kitchen now, the ’50s are back.

It honestly bothers me, and I’m running low on ways to show my disappointment with this growing trend. I love this team too much to be turned away by something like Ice Girls, and I’m not going to stop going to games because of it, as much as I would love to stand up and make such a statement. I’m just not that strong-willed…plus I doubt it would make much of a difference. I’m sure that’s what the organization is banking on – that there will be some disapproval, but not enough to hurt the fan base. I’ll tell you this much, though; I’ll damn sure bitch about it ad nauseum here, because it’s just wrong and people should know that it’s wrong.

(By the way, I get that men like to look at beautiful women; I like to look at beautiful men, it’s natural. But I hate when the women are pranced around in skimpy outfits. For some reason it’s okay for the men to drool over them and make inappropriate comments. When I so much as casually mention a certain hockey player is hot, suddenly I’m a puckbunny. Double standard, thy name is sports.)

Look, if you want to liven up the atmosphere at VC, bring in a co-ed troop of cheerleaders – college-aged kids, male and female, to whip up the crowd. If the women are good-looking, fine; if the men are good-looking, fine. If the whole darn group could compete in the Ugliest Dog competition and win, FINE. Just make them energetic, enthusiastic and if possible, excited about hockey. I promise if you trolled the many college campuses that are sprinkled throughout this city you’d find at least a handful of kids who could use some extra cash and who love hockey. Bring in these kids and their youthful energy and get the crowd into it – this team is exciting to watch and deserves at least that much.

Just leave the halter tops and the mini-skirts out of it…now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go put on some pearls and bake a pie.