This One's For the Female Hockey Fans

Last night, I was checking out Yahoo’s NHL page looking for some score updates and game recaps when I came across this post on the hockey blog Puck Daddy. It looks like the Washington Capitals saw a niche that hasn’t really been tapped and as a result, they’ve created a female-friendly blog for Capitals fans. The site features modelesque pictures of the players along with some basic bio information (Federov likes golf! Ovechkin listens to Hip Hop!). They also have a newsletter and info on female-only meet-and-greet events with Caps players.

I… Um… OK…

Let me clarify something so that I don’t sound completely hypocritical – I am all about the objectification of men. I wouldn’t at all be offended if my favorite hockey team had a website filled with pictures of the players with their shirts off. Hot, half naked hockey players? Yes, please! If I have to sit through a hockey game and see skanky girls skating out to scoop up ice shavings in hot pants and half shirts, I’m entitled to drooling over a few topless pictures of hot pro athletes.

That being said, I’m offended by this blog. Why must a sports blog geared towards women be dumbed down? I don’t see any posts giving recaps of the games or breakdowns of upcoming ones. Instead I see a post on the latest meet-and-greet where chicks got to mingle with the players! Or the incredibly insulting “Hockey 101” event coming up because apparently, women don’t know shit about hockey and need to take a class to learn basic rules! I realize most women aren’t as into sports as I am, but if you’re going on the internet to read about hockey, isn’t there a good chance you want to, you know, read about a hockey game?

There are elements to this females-only idea that aren’t all that bad. I like to read players bios (if only to find out whether or not the guys are single) and see behind-the-scenes pictures and videos of the players. It might even be fun to attend an event and meet some fellow women who like hockey. But just because I have a vagina and access to the internet doesn’t mean I spend my time looking for pictures of cute hockey players and reading up on hockey gossip. I’m a sports fan looking for another site where I can read about the sports team I like. All I’m asking for is some balance – give me a little girl stuff mixed in with some legitimate sports information from a female perspective. Is that too much to ask? Contrary to popular belief, there are quite a few girls out there who like to read game analysis. Generally, I read up on sports first, THEN I check out The Superficial.

Listen… I’m not a crazy feminist. I realize there are things men can do that I won’t ever be able to do (pee standing up comes to mind). However, I do have a real problem with people assuming that since I’m a girl, I can only appreciate sports if they involve pictures of cute guys or gossip items. I honestly feel like this site is a punch in the face to women who watch hockey not because their boyfriends or husbands are fans, but because they like the game. That’s some bullshit.

Scarlet Caps admins, I have one request – Don’t sell female Caps fans short. I’m willing to bet a lot of them can hang with the boys without having any problems keeping up.

Oh yeah and Chris Pronger sucks.