Sports Fans: We Don't Appreciate The Pandering
by Sarah

We were watching "Inside the NFL" this evening and they showed a close up a woman in one of those pink women's cut jerseys. My husband commented on how silly they were. They seem so insincere.

I agree. A real sports fan isn't afraid to wear her team's colors. I'm not scared. In fact here is a picture of Bridgette and me wearing our team colors at a Bucs game last year.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with the pink sports caps that raise money for breast cancer awareness. I'm talking about the garbage that is pictured below.

Bridgette has a huge problem with the girly marketing and she talks about it over on Draft Day Suit.

It's insulting to think that to APPEAL to me as a consumer they need to make a pink jersey. I promise you that if I were to purchase one of these CHICK Jersey's, it would solely be to insult the player whose name I have put on the back. And that is one seriously expensive insult....so I would have to hate your ass a lot....Pretending to be a team supporter in my trampy camisole. Now, really, little hottie chicks in your camisoles at the game, I think I don't mind you so much. Little hottie chicks PRETENDING TO BE FOOTBALL FANS......in your pseudo-gear.....yeah you annoy the crap out of me.

DCSportsChick also has a problem with the pink jerseys:

It's even uglier than I imagined. A steal at $55! Appropriate for a 9-year-old girl, not appropriate for a 29-year-old woman...And it gets worse! Let's say that I decide against a jersey and want a different item of clothing instead. Good luck with that, because there's another five options of pink clothing- fleece jacket, polo shirt, sweatpants, sweatshirt, or t-shirt. Yuck. Has the NHL gone pink?

Sherry at The Scarlett Ice agrees too:

While I don't mind the colour as much as I did back then, still...LOOK AT THAT THING. Don't get me wrong, it's nice that the NHL is acknowledging the female fan base and the fact that we don't enjoy wearing jerseys we can swim in because we're shallow, vain beasts. Not to generalize or anything but us "real female hockey fans" will probably automatically assume that the ladies who do wear them know nothing about hockey and are just trying to impress their boyfriends, or worse, are the ever dreaded puckbunnies. Well, at least the puckbunnies will be covered up and not risk getting pneumonia.

Alanah Downie at Vancouver Canucks Op Ed doesn't feel quite as strongly about it as the rest of us, but she still isn't buying into it.

For the Record:
I really couldn’t care less about the pink jersey debate. Just don’t expect me to be caught dead in one.

(Thanks again DCSportsChick.)
Don't even get me started on this garbage over here on our left.

Please don't pander to us. We're people, not sex objects or little girls. We are just regular sports fans. Just because we have ovaries doesn't mean we need special clothing.

Contributing Editor Sarah also blogs at Sarah and the Goon Squad and Best Bucs Blog.

Submitted by Sarah (view blog) on Thu, 10/12/2006 - 22:38

Comments

 

I Love You

Though, to be fair, one of my Steelers jersies may look "womens cut" but it's not. It's simply my DAD's Terry Bradshaw jersey from the 70s... back when my Dad wasn't broad shouldered. It doesn't fit him anymore... and I stole it anyway. It's actually rather flattering. But I don't wear it because of that reason. I wear it because... IT IS TERRY FREAKING BRADSHAW, MAN! LOL.

That said, my Dad DID buy me a pink Steeler's hat last year. I do wear it with pride. But I'm not buying any womens cut crap. I like my jersies to look somewhat authentic, yo! (I say somewhat because I don't buy the uber-expensive ones. We budget here, ya know!)

:)

Family Living; Hatfield Style - Our Family Blog
Now a Blogger at AdoptionBlogs - Obviously, I'm Jenna. :)

Submitted by JennaHatfield on Fri, 10/13/2006 - 06:43
 

I heart you too!!

OK. So I don't wear much sports gear but when I do, I want it in the team's color not in cotton-candy pink.

uhm.. why don't wear much sports gear? I wore out all my Indians AL Champ t-shirts from the '90s.. and refuse to buy another shirt until they win it all. Please just once in my lifetime.

Debra
A Stitch In Time
Deb's Daily Distractions

Submitted by debra roby on Fri, 10/13/2006 - 07:24
 

It's completely ridiculous.

It's completely ridiculous. The whole "my NHL" campaign was idiotic, I'm not surprised they don't know how to make decent NHL gear for women. There's no problem creating alternate jersey designs, but they should use the team colours.

That Caps jersey is horrendous, whoever made it should be ashamed. And I thought there was nothing worse than the new Sabres logo.

If you want to make women into objects at hockey games, look no further than Raleigh, where you have the NHL's cheerleading squad, but at least they don't dilute the RED.

www.shan.ca.tf

Submitted by Shan on Fri, 10/13/2006 - 08:36
 

I like the pink crap

I do. I really do. I guess I'm the market for it.
Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of regular colored jersey's...and sweaters...and everything else. But sometimes I like pink. It's my favorite color. It makes me happy.

I love my sports and I love pink. What does that make me? Less of a fan of my team because I'm THRILLED I can get stuff all cutesy??
There. I said it. Do I need therapy or something? Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain

Submitted by Erin Kotecki Vest on Fri, 10/13/2006 - 09:14
 

Even the Caps Jersey and the off the shoulder
thing?

Okay Erin, but even you have to admit there is nothing cute about the Caps jersey or that off the shoulder number.

BlogHer Contributing Editor, Sports and Fitness
Sarah and the Goon Squad
Draft Day Suit

Submitted by Sarah on Fri, 10/13/2006 - 10:09
 

Well, maybe

If I were still in the "bar slut shirt" phase of my life...yes.

But now...not in a million years.

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain

Submitted by Erin Kotecki Vest on Fri, 10/13/2006 - 10:34
 

Re: maybe

Are you saying the bar slut phase returns every million years?

shan.ca.tf

Submitted by Shan on Fri, 10/13/2006 - 15:38
 

A Bar Slut Plague?

Like locust or Haley's Comet but even more rare?

BlogHer Contributing Editor, Sports and Fitness
Sarah and the Goon Squad
Draft Day Suit

Submitted by Sarah on Sat, 10/14/2006 - 05:00
 

Right on, Sarah!

I just came back from cheering the Mets on, and I noticed that I was the loudest person in the bar. (I guess those 2 Diet Cokes I consumed just threw me over the edge.) Sure, orange makes me cringe, especially coupled with royal blue. (Who came up with those team colors?) But damn it, I will wear at least the blue and stand with my team loud and proud. (Although for some reason I love Yankees caps in pink. I think it is because I hate the Yankees.)

And that off the shoulder shirt picture will be giving me nightmares. Thanks a lot.

Suzanne, BlogHer Contributing Editor - Feminsim & Gender
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS)& Other Rants

Submitted by Suzanne Reisman on Wed, 10/18/2006 - 20:11
 

This past weekend I started

This past weekend I started to write an entry about the pink women's cut team jerseys that I've started seeing all over the place and how much they irritate me. My thought, "Do I really need to wear a pink jersey to remind myself that I'm a woman? Are there really men out there who would MISS the fact that I am woman at a game without me wearing the bright pink jersey? And if there are men out there who really are THAT stupid...I would hope they wouldn't be fans of one of my teams."

But then I saw your post and you hit all the points I wanted to make and a few I hadn't thought of. So thanks!

-CL

The Caffeinated Librarian [Blogger]

Submitted by Caffeinated Librarian on Fri, 10/20/2006 - 04:04
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