Who would we rather our daughters emulate?
Hannah Montana, the corporate shill?
Bella of Twilight, the blank space who can’t wait to skip college and start pumping out babies?
Sarah Palin… frikkin’ SARAH PALIN!?!?

Jeezuz. Who doesn’t drink alcohol? What are we trying to say about alcohol and athletes? They won a frikkin’ gold medal. Who wouldn’t celebrate with some champagne? If they were an extremist Islamic hockey team I might be upset that they were drinking… but I’d probably just admire those women even more for playing hockey in their religious attire.

I, like many here, have been a hockey fanatic since the first time I saw it played. I get giddy at the thought of lacing them up wether it be for a league game or a round of 12-on-12 shinny outside somewhere.

I started watching Women’s international games a few years back.
First thought: Good for them.

Then I watched our girls play the U.S. and thought: Good for me. More quality hockey to follow. (Who doesn’t love a heated cross-boarder rivalry?)

Although the divide between the top two countries and the rest of the pack was/is pretty big, it’s undeniably getting narrower. Just ask the silver medal winning Swedes of four years ago.

They say it’s not working? Tell that to Jin Fengling, the Chinese player who roofed a backhander past the U.S. netminder this year. Do you think she’s upset about her team being routed? Or do you think she’s dreaming of her next lamplighter?

I hear time and again about how much the women of these developing hockey nations dream of qualifying for their chance to play against Canada and/or the Americans. About how that is their “gold medal game”. Sure they’ll likely give up a handfull of goals, but they might also score a few themselves. And next time, they’ll score a few more than that. But where do those dreams go if we eliminate the best chance we have to showcase their efforts.

Women’s hockey is here. And it’s about time. When I was a kid the girls played ringette. I always wondered why they didn’t just play hockey. Well now they do.

Good for them.

And good for us.

I’m not even going to address the “champagne incident”. The whole thing is just petty.

I’d be ticked off if our men were restricted in any way from drinking beer or champagne or smoking celebratory cigars, as much as the women.

I like that our Canadian girls have many different types and styles of athletically excellent role models to pick from, and specifically learn of, from the 2010 Olympics.

I understood the issue only got legs because while the women were smart enough to wait until the arena was empty to spill onto the ice, it wasn’t empty enough of the US media. and funnily enough, the US just lost the game. I’d like to take those sour grapes and make Canadian Sparkling Wine (not geographically indicated and restricted champagne)!

and, in terms of evening the playing field, my forecast is that the Russian men were so embarrassing to their country (not by my standards, but by their political leaders admissions) that maybe THEY will inject a bunch of cash into the Russian Women’s Hockey program and come out in 4 or 8 years with a kick-ass team.

all in, someone needs to get a life…

My point is that this doesn’t seem like the institutionalized sexism that people are making it out to be. The criticism over women’s hockey in general has nothing to do with the celebration. (and it seems that there are some who complain that women have to wear face masks, which would kind of go against the whole “skimpy costumes and sequins thing).

It seems that whatever they do, unless the women’s sport is exactly the same as the men’s, some people won’t be satisfied. Well, then, maybe there should be bodychecking in women’s hockey? Then wouldn’t people complain about that?

The original post implies that it’s somehow the celebration that is causing them to rethink women’s hockey, when it’s obviously over deeper issues.