Today's PJS column covering the Stanley Cup finals & Blackhawks
http://www.pjstar.com/sports/x1806087533/Blackhawks-fever-infects-fans-who-re-fuzzy-on-game
I found it a little insulting ..basically claiming that a lot of Blackhawks hockey fans are clueless..
The Hawks have been selling out for a ong time and their fans are rabid and knowledgeable - sure maybe some don't know everything but you think all the young women they show at the Cubs games know the pitcher's ERA??
Gimme a break...
Here's a few of the absurd things they seem to dwell on...
-that hockey jerseys are not called jerseys, they are "sweaters" - and anyone who knows anything calls them sweaters...
This comes as a bit of a surprise to me as I am a hockey & Blackhawks fan for half a century and I have never heard anyone dwell on this silly distinction before.
-hockey is "a mystery to many"
-"fans who don’t know the difference between the blue lines on the ice and the Blue Line train that runs out to O’Hare"
-"A lot of these people, all they know is that somebody in Chicago is going for a championship"
-"Those fans probably also don’t know that it’s superstition that keeps hockey players from shaving during the playoffs"
-"...why the jerseys are called sweaters (because, he said, it’s cold on the ice) to why the players suddenly stop playing for no apparent reason"
-"it’s also difficult to get people to admit they’re getting swept up in the frenzy over a game they don’t quite understand.
“I don’t think anyone wants to own up to it"
-".. when fans wanted merchandise with the name of Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, (pronounced TAVES), they instead would say “toes.”
http://www.pjstar.com/sports/x18060...fects-fans-who-re-fuzzy-on-game#axzz2WIsIc48W
BTW - for those who insist it's a "hockey sweater" and not a "hockey jersey" - I suggest try one thing..
Google both terms - you will get more than 30 times as many hits for JERSEY than for sweater - AND the very TOP hit you get when searching
for "hockey sweater" is a website titled "HOCKEY JERSEY"!! LOL..
so I think the guy is dead wrong or ignorant.
Actually - if there's anyone who might be a bit clueless it's the guy who wrote that column - he is not even a sports writer and has essentially never covered hockey before.