Ok, so I like cheerleaders and all, I sort of wish I could have done it in highschool, but we didn’t have cheerleaders. However, there should not be any cheerleaders in hockey! Especially not in the NHL, and especially not in Canada. I know a lot of American teams have cheerleaders, especially in cities like Atlanta or Carolina where hockey isn’t as popular. But even places like Chicago, an original six team, have cheerleaders. Ugh. But Americans will be Americans, and they love their football cheerleaders and basket ball dance groups.
What pisses me off is that Edmonton now has cheerleaders, called the “Oilers Octane,” haha what a play on words. Anyway, as a girl myself, this gets confusing. I get that it’s mainly men who watch hockey, and I get that men like to be entertained by attractive women in skimpy outfits dancing around during intermission. But after reading some news articles about how the Octane did tonight, it’s clear no one really cared in Rexall areana. The cheerleaders didn’t get a loud applause, the crowd didn’t go wild, none of the players even noticed they were there, and Taylor Hall was the biggest story. So why does a Canadian city where hockey is very popular need cheerleaders?
I thought I’d look more into this, maybe these girls just really love the Oilers. Well, no. According to the bios I read, they’ve all been super trained in dance, they love baking and hanging out with friends, and none of them seem to care about hockey or the Oilers. When answering why they “love” hockey, most of them put something like, “because it’s fast-paced and exciting!” which makes me feel as though they didn’t know what to put, so someone gave them that line. Only one of them wrote that she played hockey growing up, and only one other wrote that she grew up watching hockey and the Oiler’s are her dad’s favourite team. Ok, so maybe a few actually like hockey, maybe even watch games. But I think they’re more concerned with looking good in their little Oilers jersey mini dresses, wearing tons of make-up and dancing. And not to be rude, but a lot of them are “but-her faces” lol...ok, I know that was rude, but it’s true. I’m just frustrated that a Canadian team now has cheerleaders when they don’t even need them. I heard on the news tonight that there’s a petition going around that already has 1500 signatures to get rid of the cheerleaders. We’ll see how long these girls last.
I just feel like cheerleaders in hockey give a certain impression of girls – that we don’t know much about hockey, or that we only like doing girly things like cheerleading and don’t watch games...the stuff that could make it hard for me as a girl to be respected for my opinions. Most guys I’ve talked hockey with do respect me and my opinion, I only ever get ridiculed for being a Leafs fan lol. And guys at work even said that I know more about hockey than all of them together, which was really flattering. So it’s not a problem for me right now, but that’s because I can usually talk the hockey talk. Still, I don’t want it to become a problem. We’ll see what happens if I get a spot in the NHL committee in January at the UN conference I’m attending in Montreal...I have a feeling I may be surrounded by guys. But that could work in my benefit since they may not think I’m a threat...but between my NHL knowledge and my model UN skills, I will own that committee haha.
Last thing, I found it funny that my dad was downstairs watching the end of Glee with my mom before their other show came on, instead of watching the Leafs game. Of course I called him out on it, but he doesn’t care much for the Leafs anymore...too many years of bitterness for the Leafs failing to win I suppose lol. But then here I was painting my nails purple in between periods lol...and I made a Toronto Maple Leafs Christmas tree ornament today, with glitter and gems bahahaha...so, I think I’ve found a nice balance between loving hockey and being girly, without selling out by wearing jersey mini dresses and cheering. I prefer to yell (not cheer) at the tv anyways lol.
Oh and the Leafs got their revenge on Edmonton! They won 4-1! Now on to Calgary!
+ Lorelie
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