Quote:
Originally Posted by SkinnyPupp
Never knew Brent Sopel was gay.. Then again, I have no idea who in the NHL is gay, besides Jarkko Ruutu  Not that it matters...
He brought the cup to the gay pride parade in Chicago.. is that a first?
EDIT nevermind, he's not gay, he was with his wife. So why the fuck was he in the gay pride parade?
EDIT 2: Oh, it was in honour of Brian Burke's gay dead son. What? |
Yes it was a nice guesture by Sopel given their history together in Vancouver. I believe the Chicago Cubs or Whitesox also attended the pride parade.
As for the NHL being exposed to the gay community, as a straight man I think getting them interested in the sport, especially where it struggles for fans in the US, is a great move. This group often has high levels of disposible income so they are more likely to afford to go to games, purchase merchandise, etc. They also have shown they can exercise their buying power in solidarity, supporting companies and products friendly to their people while promoting mass boycotts of those who aren't.
Another factor to consider is the incredible influx of the gay lifestyle into mainstream media. Despite being a minority group in the world its to the point where I see another new tv show or movie and say "oh what a surprise, another family with a gay son"
What I am suggesting is that if they nhl can somehow latch onto their mainstream success the NHL could go hand in hand with it - maybe seeing gay characters wearing nhl jerseys or going to nhl games more or even shows depicting gay hockey players.
Now the negative is that some potential fans of the sport might say "Hockey is gay" but considering most ignorant sports fans in the US believe hockey to be too violent and full of fighting as well as bettman's efforts to turn it into soccer, I don't believe that it would have too much of an image issue in that reguard. There a number of gay men who are fans of the UFC, and there is much more opportunity to enjoy that sport in that way with the half naked men, the rolling around, etc and yet the UFC still has a reputation as being too violent to allow matches to be held in some states and provinces.