First Comes Fandom, Then Comes...?

Thanks to a friend of mine, Melissa (@melissakania on Twitter) for this picture, which illustrates just what is so wrong with some of the merchandise being sold to us female hockey fans.


This is an actual product sold in the Sabres' shop at HSBC Arena. I had the misfortune of coming upon it when I went for the Sabres' draft party, and all I could say was, "HUH?" Because I fail to understand why Reebok makes things like this when we don't even have women's away jerseys available.

Maybe it's an overreaction, but all I think when I see this is that the league assumes there are more puck bunnies in the league than legitimate female fans. That's insulting. The fans I know don't watch games to ogle Ryan Miller or scream sexual propositions at Zach Parise. They may not know all of the statistics, but they know a clean hit or an amazing goal when they see it, and they love the game every bit as passionately as the boys do. The league is a business, yes, and they should try to make money off of whoever comes to games, but don't openly encourage puck bunny behavior, and don't insult the intelligence of the women who come to watch the sport.

They also have a "Marry me, Crosby" tee which I've seen pictures of, and of course the same opinions apply. All I have left to say is, thank God there's no "Marry me, DiPietro" or "Marry me, John Tavares" tees out there, or I would really be annoyed. The Champagne jerseys were bad enough.