Chicks Featured on WGN News Chicago

A couple of days ago, we here at CWGAP received an email from WGN News in Chicago. With the Blackhawks being in the playoffs, and the city not a dominate hockey town, they were looking to promote the sport and what better way to extend the fan base then to reach out to what is arguably one of the most stereotyped fan bases in sports: The female hockey fan.

Sara is from Chicago, and Courtney made the six hour drive from Minnesota to participate in this great opportunity. After not much sleep due to Courtney’s late arrival, the girls got up at 5 a.m. and got ready to get out the door, hoping to miss traffic, but with the holiday weekend the roads were pretty clear and they arrived at the WGN studios way earlier than expected.

First stop was the green room, where they were to await their call time. The room was full with the first guest’s friends and family, so they sat in the dressing room next door until they were kicked out so the next act could put their make up on. Every guest seemed very friendly, with the exception of the “help” (of the guests, the people at WGN were very friendly), who was a tiny bit rude, but we’re not going to point fingers exactly.

A little after 8 am it was time to get mic’d up and ready to go. Once on set with Ana Belaval and Larry Potash the segment began. The focus was on the wrong kind of female hockey fan, better known as the Puck Bunny…

Check out the segment here

Not exactly what we were anticipating…but we had a blast! There are however, a few things we wanted to address but didn’t get the chance to this time around:

Sara:
First I want to apologize for cutting myself off when I saw that picture of the Hawks fan in her “dress”. When I watched the clip I almost made it sound like I meant “we” were women like that. NO WAY! And we are not all about singling out women who are either. The site is geared to prove that women are just as educated as men in this sport, and that not all fall into the stereotype.

Also, its not that we don’t feel there are “real” female hockey fans in Chicago, I know plenty of them, we just hadn’t had any reach out to us until today. We welcome new writers with open arms from anywhere there is a love for hockey. So send us an email 🙂

As far as whether I would go on a date with Jonathan Toews if he asked…well the look on my face when  asked that is priceless. He’s no Sidney Crosby….but if any of us had the opportunity to date a hockey player, it wouldn’t be for the reasons a puck bunny would. Toews has incredible talent and such patience on the ice, any girl would be lucky to land a date with the guy.

Courtney:
Where to begin. This was a great experience and we are very thankful WGN sought us out and gave us a chance to reach out to our new friends. Some things that I would have touched on if given the additional time are listed below.

Any way a hockey fan is created is fine by us. A boyfriend asking you to come to a game for the first time, trying a new activity, or watching the Olympics, we welcome all new fans. The point is not to make Puck Bunnies feel picked on, just to encourage them to like the game for the right reasons. We’ve found that if you ask, tons of people are willing to teach you. We will post a few pieces in the upcoming future to help new fans learn about the sport, because we do want to welcome new fans with open arms.

I want to touch on the difference between Jersey Chasing and dating a hockey player. It is ok to do your make up and hair like you would for a dinner with friends. It’s okay to get your nails done, dress nicely. We’re not suggesting women be trolls to like hockey we just want to emphasize that the purpose of watching the sport or accepting a date from a hockey player not be for reasons other than for yourself. YOU should like hockey because YOU enjoy watching it. YOU should date a hockey player because he treats you right and you LIKE him, even if the money or fame were to go away. Everything should be done with integrity and that’s the main point.

And last but not least if Jonathan Toews asked me out, I’d say yes. I am not pursuing him, I’d have a thousand questions I’d love to ask him and it would be an interesting date. Saying yes to an opportunity doesn’t make you a jersey chaser or puck bunny, just do it for YOU.