Gone to Texas

I'm reading the Jan.31 SI this morning and I stop at the Editor's Letter (for once), entitled "Gone to Texas". Terry McDonnell writes about the annual Superbowl "reunion". For who? Media! That's who!

"...this year more than 5,000 credentials have been issued to a raggedy assortment of media people from 26 countries, most of whom will be holed up at the 1.840-room Sheraton Dallas Hotel, where the over-under on the elevator wait will likely be Topic A by Friday."

Uhh, that's me!! Terry is talking about me. Well, the "raggedy" part of assortment anyhow. Credential #4999 maybe? He goes on to list all kinds of media and other social events happening throughout the week which left me drooling. I've been given a rough itinerary for our evenings which includes the Gene Simmons-Shannon Tweed party, The Fray at Bud Light Hotel, dinners at some famous chefs' restaurants (??? Justin from work would kill me for not knowing those chefs' names), and Pamela Anderson's party. I'm not in charge so I have no input....I'm just tagging along like a happy drooling little Canadian puppy dog.

Celebrities aside (well entertainment celebs anyway), am I super nerdy to be tunnel-visioned about the media celebs I might meet? Peter King, Jim Rome, Tim Layden, Adam Schefter???? Pam Oliver!!!! Oh Pam! If I'm stuck in an elevator wait with Pam or ANYONE, I'll call it a good week. I'm going to work my butt off down there. I'll relax on game day.

3 days and I'll be back to my country roots. Boots are packed.

Countdown!

Super Bowl

Women Are Authentic Too

This is right about the time of year I get into hockey. NFL regular season is finished, playoffs have begun, the NHL season is just passed the halfway mark, and my busiest season at work is complete. My NFL obsession and 82 (!!!) NHL games in a season combine to defeat my attention span. Not to mention my NFL fantasy and suicide survivor pool schedule. FYI, I won my survivor pool this year, rookie season. Long live The T-Bones!!

My hockey fever could not have started at a more perfect time this year. My beloved Calgary Flames are playing the Senators at Scotiabank Place tomorrow night! Calgary and I have been in a long distance relationship for 12 years since I moved East. But thanks to the long-awaited NHL schedule change a couple of years ago, I can now look forward to a one-night-fling with the Flames once a year in Ottawa. I got word the boys got into town last night and I can already feel the heat melting the deep freeze here.

I ordered my new jersey last month. Part bday present to myself, part foreplay for our upcoming tryst, and part necessity to replace my other one. I don't normally like to be a bandwagon person in general, so I had waited to buy my other jersey until Calgary signed Dion Phaneuf. Amazing player, loved him. I like the guys who aren't the obvious great, the captain, the big money man. 6-year contract! Woot!! Put the order in right away. Crap! Traded. To the Leafs, of all teams, and about 2 weeks before Calgary visited the Senators last season. I wore the jersey to the game but made a cardboard (#3)White nameplate to cover Phaneuf. There was, obviously, nowhere in Ottawa to buy one and no time to order one.

When I say nowhere in Ottawa to buy one, I mean for women. Women must shop in the team store in the city of choice, or buy online. Until some years ago, women couldn't even get team gear that actually fit them. Now I have hockey, football, and soccer jerseys (and I'm sure other sports do it too) that fit my size and shape! The sports world is incredibly sexist. No 2 ways about it. If a woman wanted to buy fan gear, she had basically 2 choices. It was either reminiscent of something Pamela Anderson might have been wearing when she was plucked from the crowd at a BC Lions game or like she had stolen her boyfriends jersey from his closet (no need to wear pants I guess) because don't we just cheer for whoever our boyfriends cheer for anyway?? So I suppose some improvements have been made, hopefully thanks to women demanding authentic sports gear tailored to them. BUT, 2 things we're still bothering me. Breast cancer aside, which is recognized yearly in many sports, I DO NOT like pink jerseys. Apologies if this offends any pink-lovin'/wearing women. Pink is NOT a team colour. Not of any team in the NHL, NFL, MLS or any other league that I know of. I'm sure there must be a team out there that has pink as a team colour, so be it. I am not against pink being a team colour. I am against the idea that "because you're girl, you must want to cheer wearing pink". I personally believe women do themselves an injustice by wearing pink jerseys, including young girls. I think ALL fans should cheer in their team colours. There, I said it. Also, my Phaneuf hockey jersey was completely "authentic": team colours, NHL/Reebok issue, lace-up, CAN/AB flags on arms. But the logo, name and number plates were silk-screened on. Silk-screened! Why? I want standard issue sewn-on. I want to "look" like my favourite player. Isn't that the point?

WELL, you can imagine my shock and glee when my new jersey, #12 Iginla (yes I did it, the captain. I realized people love them because they really are the best), arrived with logo and name/number plates sewn-on!!! It looks amazing. And might I add it's the throwback Flames jersey? Oh yes, no lace-up, red, yellow and orange. Official NHL/Reebok, authentic issue, tailored to my size and shape. Absolutely beautiful. Gosh, if I had bought a large and some pads, I could jump on the ice tomorrow night if Iggy would like a shift off. Kudos NHL and Reebok.

Have authenticity in your fandom and knowledge of sports, ladies. It pays off.
GO FLAMES GO!!