“The cameras on the PWHL broadcasts have lingered on the faces of the young girls in the stands, waving signs that say the players on the ice give them something to work toward and dream about. But the creation of the PWHL has been just as much of a dream come true for 64-year-old Harrison, who’s loved hockey long before there were any professional female players to call a role model.” ~ Karissa Donkin, CBC
If you’re a PWHL fan, you’ve probably heard of (or seen) Debbie Harrison, the 64-year-old super fan who has made a different outfit for every Toronto home game this season. I had multiple people message me the story about Harrison because it’s reads as a unique (and adorable) story in the world of hockey. But while Harrison’s creative outfits have garnered her a fair amount of attention, I would argue that Harrison represents the tip of the iceberg when it comes to…more “mature”…PWHL super fans. For example, in the PWHL Fan Group on Facebook, Kirsty Dickson recently posted this photo of a fan she saw at the Toronto vs. Boston game:
94 years!
During Liz Knox’s (PWHLPA) recent interview on The End of Sport podcast, she referred to three main fan groups/story lines that she has observed this season. First, is the story of the young girls who get to grow up knowing nothing but packed stadiums for the best in women’s hockey. Second, is the ability for families to attend PWHL games as affordable family entertainment. And, the third group is “the old gals.” Knox talked about meeting a group of women, presumably in their late 50’s/early 60’s at the Real Sports bar before The Battle on Bay Street. They had travelled 2.5 hours away from Huntsville, Ontario for the game and used white tape to cover up the Maple Leafs portion of their jerseys. Knox goes on to say, “What a cool gift to give a generation of players who were probably told ‘you can never play hockey.’ Or, if they did, they changed in the broom closets, they heard every name under the sun, and they were ridiculed and made fun of. What a full circle moment for those women to be able to go to a professional game and see the next generation have this dream that, for them, was probably crushed at such a young age.” In that moment, I realized that I had to write a piece highlighting more of the “old gal” (loosely interpreted) stories, herein referred to as the OG fans. (Note: OG is slang used for “original gangster” but also more commonly “original.” In this context, I am borrowing OG to both reference “Old Gals” and original fans).
In 2018, I wrote a piece titled “The Time for Women’s Hockey is Now.” Spoiler Alert: I was wrong. Apparently, the correct answer was 2024. We find ourselves at the nexus of impossible and possible: what seemed impossible for women’s sports a few years ago now feels like nothing but possibilities. Caitlin Clark is selling out every NCAA stadium that she plays in. There isn’t enough WNBA merch to go around. Actresses like Natalie Portman and Jennifer Garner have ownership stakes in Angel City FC. The Kansas City Current of the NWSL are now playing in the first stadium ever built for a women’s professional sports team. And, those of us who once sat in empty rows watching the Toronto Furies play at the formerly named Mastercard Centre can barely find tickets to a PWHL game or are being charged $300-$400 for re-sale tickets.
While the speed of growth and success for the PWHL is a breath of fresh air, as Knox pointed out, there are a lot of fans who are no longer in that target marketing demographic of 18-34, but have stood by women’s hockey in all its iterations. With this in mind, I took the opportunity to talk to some folks at the March 23rd game between Ottawa and Toronto about what the success of the PWHL means to them, and what the league could be doing to support the OG fans.
Maggie, Jocelyne, and Pauline have been hockey fans for some 40’ish years. They are all Ottawa PWHL fans but also named the likes of Spooner and Nurse as their favourite players, along with Maschmeyer and Clark. When I asked them what the PWHL means to them their responses were: “Should I start crying now?” and “It’s about time!” Pauline also mentioned how proud they were when they figured out how to put YouTube on their TVs so that they could watch all of the games. When I asked what the league could do to support their generation of fans, Maggie mentioned overhearing folks talking about how hard it is for those who aren’t technologically savvy to get tickets and watch the games. The three of them all commented how nervous they were about having the tickets on their phones, wondering if they would work when they got to the door. They also brought up how the cashless systems in arenas can be difficult for older folks who prefer not to carry a credit card with them. As for the hockey itself, they love it! But Maggie would prefer if the same player isn’t allowed take multiple shootout attempts because — it’s a team sport!
Theresa grew up with no girls teams around to foster her love of the game but she did end up playing women’s league during the 90s in Burnaby, British Columbia. She talked about knowing some of the Edmonton Chimos back in the day and getting to support the players on the bench by opening the gate, and providing water and towels. The Edmonton Chimos were a professional women’s team founded in 1973 and played in the Western Women’s Hockey League. Theresa also shared her memory of the first Canadian National Women’s Hockey Championship in Brantford, Ontario, in 1982, where Abby Hoffman was there representing women in sport. The trophy for that tournament was aptly named the Abby Hoffman trophy. Theresa described exactly what Knox had alluded to in her interview, explaining “As opposed to me growing up in the 70s and getting teased for wearing boys skates, and ‘you skate like a boy’…that was really difficult and there was no one to look up to. Now to see this happening and all those little girls to have something to strive for — I think it’s just spectacular.”
Abby Hoffman, for those who aren’t familiar with her name, had to pretend to be a boy and registered under “Ab” Hoffman in order to play minor hockey because there were no opportunities for girls to play in the 1950s. She played and excelled during her season and was chosen to play in the league’s all-star tournament until she was “outed” as a girl. Theresa would like to see more PWHL exposure and advertising outside the hockey circles because she has friends who have not yet heard of the PWHL. She suggested more community events away from the rink to draw the not-yet-hockey-fans to the game.
Shirley was at her first PWHL game and requested a broader variety of music that appeals to various generations, while also echoing that it’s probably hard for non-hockey fans to learn about the PWHL at this point. She did, however, note that her husband has commented that the NHL should pick up on some of the ideas that the PWHL has instituted like the jailbreak rule.
Kate and Margaret made the road trip from Toronto to Ottawa for the game and the chance to cheer on Akane Shiga at home. When I asked what the PWHL means to them Margaret stated, “I think it’s a glimpse of hope that we will be able to see gender equality in professional sports.” ❤️ Kate requested more coordinated watch parties or specials at the local sports bars to ensure that fans who can’t get to some of these sold out games are still able to participate in the fan culture. I’d also tack on to Kate’s suggestion that sending a couple of merchandisers to select watch parties would be really helpful for fans who want to purchase merch but can’t get to a game. Margaret commented that some extra labour is needed from the women’s game to overcome the preconceived notions that women’s hockey won’t be as fast or exciting as the men’s game.
Robin and Sherri are lifelong hockey fans who got hooked into women’s hockey by chance when they saw an ad for the CWHL in Barrie, Ontario. That chance encounter turned into 12/13 years of volunteering with the Brampton/Markham Thunder through to the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championships. They have travelled far and wide to support women’s hockey, including to Chicago and Boston. Sherri expressed, “We love to support these women because they are incredible athletes and the amount of sacrifice that they have put into it, I felt personally, anything I could do to help them achieve their dream, I was going to try to do.” It shouldn’t be surprising that as longtime Brampton/Markham volunteers Jamie Lee Rattray and Jocelyn Larocque were named as two of their favourite players.
Robin described seeing the PWHL come to fruition as “Absolute elation! When we sat down to watch the first inaugural game on January 1st we were both in tears…This is what we’ve volunteered for but that’s what they have worked for.” Sherri described the difference between the CWHL and PWHL as “night and day. We were lucky to get 500 people out to a CWHL game.” Sherri would like to see recognition of the long-term women’s hockey volunteers as the PWHL moves into year two. They mentioned their fellow volunteer compatriots in Montreal, as well as with PHF, who helped make the players possible all those years; thus, they hope that the PWHL can “[take] care of those people who helped along the way.”
The OG fans have money to spend, time to travel, and are vicariously living out their wildest dreams. I think recognizing this particular fan demographic is where women’s sports could really separate itself from men’s professional sports. The Las Vegas Aces High Rollers dance team, made up of 50+ folx who need no professional dance experience, is one example of how teams have chosen to capitalize upon and recognize the value of older generations. The Washington Wizards had the Wizdom 50+ dance team for a couple of years, and the Golden State Warriors have the Hardwood Classics dance team. Maybe a 50+ dance team doesn’t translate well for the hockey rink but the global population is aging and businesses need to adapt. In Canada, women over 65 make up approximately 55% of the senior population and 17.5% of all females in Canada. In the United States, statistics are fairly similar with 125 women for every 100 men over the age of 65. Yet, women over the age of 60 only make up 3% of the major female characters on television and film. Maybe we need some 50+ fan clubs? 50+ PWHL meet-ups? 50+ PWHL fan speed dating? (Just kidding…or am I?). OG fan merch that’s only available to those born before a specific year? Some fans have been waiting 94 years for this moment! Let’s make sure we’re ready for them.
Hockey in Society / Hockey dans la société 