I Respectfully Dissent

Those who know me well know that I am not afraid to swim against the tide of popular opinion. Here's one of those cases, first Off Wing Opinion and then DC SportsChick sounded off on the NHL's new marketing idea of selling pink jerseys to their female fans. In a nutshell, they don't like them and like William Yurasko, I think it is a bit condescending.

However, problem is, this isn't a new idea. The NHL isn't exactly breaking new ground here, so I really don't see what the problem is. Maybe the NHL is a day late and dollar short, but so what?

Who cares that the NHL is following everybody else? Yes, I did notice that some of those pink jerseys are in the bargain bin and directed to young girls and not adult women. But I don't hear any complaints about women's replica jerseys that are cut to fit the contours of the grown ladies.

These jerseys aren't being marketed to the serious fans, like those who read every story about their team, league, and blogs about them. They are being marketed to the casual fans and quite frankly, the NHL needs all the casual fans they can get their hands on. Why do you think we have a gimmick like the shootout now?

Neither one of my sisters is likely to wear any type of "women's jersey", pink or not, because they are serious fans. Unless you're the type who feels the need to own every piece of merchandise with your favorite team's logo on it, you don't have to buy these jerseys and wear them to the game. And if you are the type who does feel the need to own every piece of merchandise with your favorite team's logo on it, there are support groups for you because you've got a serious problem.

I could understand if the players were being forced to wear pink jerseys during an actual game. And again, Yurasko is right that they could be a good as a rookie hazing tool. But I happen to think that there are more important things to worry about that what color the NHL tries to sell their jerseys in. Maybe it's the 100+ degree heat, I don't know, but I'm starting to agree with Japers, hockey season now please.

And they wonder why I have the comments turned off...