Of all the places in the world, I for one never would have thought you would have had sports fans based in California complain about showing a little skin – all from the Ice Girls and the Sharks?
Well that say’s a lot about society and where we are going in today’s world, but if is in good taste and helps promote the team, the game and overall the NHL is it really going overboard?
Women complain about showing a “little skin” yet they go watch the Chippendales and spend huge money to do it, but I guess what is right for them, can be taken as a double standard.
It seems that, to amp up the arena atmosphere for next season, the Sharks’ front office wants to employ a coed crew that will scrape and clean the ice during the two mandatory television timeouts per period. In past years, that duty was handled by building maintenance personnel.
This idea of an “Ice Team,” as the crew is being called, was expected to draw little notice.
When the team released pictures of the team’s preliminary uniforms, with the female members’ belly buttons exposed while the male outfits were more conventional sweatsuits, it led to criticism that the Sharks were (A) objectifying women’s bodies and (B) injecting a frivolous element into the intense hockey game experience.
Fans being fans, many Sharks followers also made a link between the “Ice Team” decision and the team’s ignominious playoff exit.
In case you have forgotten — and I’m guessing you have not — the Sharks lost four straight to the Los Angeles Kings after taking a 3-0 series lead. So the response to that horrible early elimination by our beloved Los Tiburones is … skating fashion models? Really?
Simply don’t think so as it’s all about selling tickets and getting fans in the seats.
“This has nothing to do with the playoff performance,” Sharks chief operating officer John Tortora said Tuesday. “If our performance in the playoffs was good or bad, we would be going ahead with some of these initiatives we want to implement.”
He then explained the big picture about the “Ice Team” in relation to those other initiatives.
Tortora came aboard as franchise COO last summer. He spent the 2013-14 season observing the arena and fan experience. Tortora then created a menu of changes he thought would be positive.
One was not raising ticket prices. Another was a draft party for fans. Another was moving the summer “Prospects Game” to SAP Center from the team’s practice facility so that more people could watch.
Another was pursuing an outdoor game for next season at AT&T Park or Levi’s Stadium. Another was forming a Sharks alumni association to bring more former players back to the arena for fan connections.
The “Ice Team” was just another item on that list. But it definitely has drawn the most attention and social media discourse. Tortora is diplomatic and cautious in discussing the topic.
“Our first priority is finding people who can skate and do a good job of cleaning the ice,” Tortora said. “We also want people who can represent the team in the community.
To date the club has had around 130 applicants so far, probably split 50-50 between males and females.”
Tortora also said those pictures of the “Ice Team” released by the Sharks are “not the final uniforms” and that the front office hasn’t decided what they will ultimately look like.
This is all meant to bring customers to the rink and you know while the guy’s will come, the Women will also come to see what all the hype is about.
Really – how far away is LA and what they are wearing – is this any different?
Other clubs do it, just not teams in Canada – WHY??
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