Hawks Hockey Hoiden

When I started getting into Chicago Blackhawks hockey in 2003, it was not only a man’s world, it was a largely off-the-beaten path world. Games weren’t available widely without paying out the nose for specific cable or satellite channels, and I didn’t even have basic cable then. The world of hockey just wasn’t open to me…and even if it had been, that world still wouldn’t have been totally open to me as a woman.

Fast forward to last season (2007-2008). I saw my first hockey game ever at the United Center on April 2, 2008. Hawks v. the Red Wings. Wow! Though the playoffs were out of reach, it was so amazing watching the Hawks zoom the Red Wings. What a game to be my first! I was immediately hooked.

Admittedly, sitting next to Hawks fans who’d been there for decades, who could talk breezily about shift changes and penalty calls, was daunting. I literally knew nothing about hockey other than to watch for the puck to go into the net. It reminded me of the first Bears game I’d ever seen in person where Superfans (with the attending dark glasses and mustaches) explained the finer points of the game to me. Hockey was different though. I hadn’t grown up perched in front of the TV set riveted to hockey the way I had football. Luckily that’s true for a lot of burgeoning hockey fans, so I guess I’m in good company. But as a woman, it’s even harder to break into the hockey inner circle, because, let’s face it, it’s made up of mostly men.

The boys’ club has never really bothered me. They’ve always been pretty accepting of chicks, with a few extreme exceptions. Indeed, I love it when men extend a protective wing to a woman who really wants to understand a sport. These kinds of men are not only not intimidated by a woman who wants to know as much about a sport as they do, they relish it. This of course serves their purposes too. The more men that can get women into sports, the fewer Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights we’ll all be spending alone. Still, it has always been a little nerve-racking to walk into a sports bar with a Hawks sweater on. It’s still novel I suppose…especially for a woman. You immediately have dozens of men staring at you wondering which team you “bat” for.

That’s the reason for this blog. I figured if I was going to learn about hockey, perhaps the journey would be better shared with others. Since that first game in April 2008 when I saw Kaner and Tazer for the first time, as well as all the others whose numbers and stats I now know like my own name, I have come a long way. There were nights where I sat for hours going through a hockey glossary just to try and understand the penalties and how the game was played. Unfortunately, I would not be learning like most of you all have — with a father, brother, or some other family member who knows hockey like they know how to breathe.

But then it dawned on me. I don’t have to take this trip alone. If I share my journey on the Internet, maybe some of you will come with me. This could come in particularly handy since the game is often so lightning fast, you are puzzled as to what you’ve seen. Even Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk at times don’t know what penalty has been called. But I bet many of you do.

So, come join me won’t you, as I learn this fascinating game of hockey. (Perhaps the Blackhawks organization and the NHL in general, will learn that there are women who love hockey just as much as men do, and that like the Bears and other NFL teams, they should be reaching out to us, with workshops and ladies appreciation days, etc.) Socrates said, and I paraphrase, that wisdom begins when you admit you know nothing. So hopefully my hockey wisdom will begin with my public declaration that I began knowing nothing and ended up knowing much and befriending many in the process.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 4:40 pm and is filed under Chicago Blackhawks, Eddie Olczyk, Jonathan Toews, Pat Foley, Patrick Kane. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.