Nine times female sports fan engagement was condescending and sexist
By Dani Bostick
8. New York Islanders Hockey and Heels
What’s better than a gender-specific NHL promotion? How about a gender-specific NHL promotion that features a soap opera star! If that sounds too good to be true, you weren’t at the New York Islanders Hockey and Heels event on Valentine’s Day Weekend 2015.
First, the ladies were treated to a Hockey 101 panel since females don’t know anything about sports. Then, the ladies had an opportunity to interact with Will DeVry and Ryan Paevy of General Hospital. Since women don’t work, all females watch soap operas. These two actors made the Hockey and Heels event even more relevant to female fans than the Hockey 101 lesson.
Since DeVry is a man, he actually got to interact with players on the ice. He recounted, “I went skating at the Coliseum, which was great. I got to shoot the puck with some of the guys and do a few of the drills, so that was fantastic.” So cool that he got some much-deserved guy-time during the female fan engagement promotion.
The 2015 Hockey and Heels event was hard to beat, but the Islanders outdid themselves in 2016 when they offered a free makeover courtesy of Color Me Beautiful. Two lucky female fans won a makeover during the game (because what woman really cares about hockey, am I right?). The best part of this promotion was that the ladies’ progress was broadcast over the video board!
Next: 7. Washington Nationals Ladies Night