Besides the typical "Go [insert team/player name here]!" proclamations seen at games, signs asking players to prom are probably the most harmless that fans (usually female ones) bring to hockey games. Yes, they're a little ridiculous. Realistically, most prom proposals are. I myself was asked to my junior prom with a soccer ball that said, "Alex, will you be my prom date?" surrounded by a heart of Hershey's kisses. Oh, and did I mention that I was presented with this ball in front of half my school and then later accidentally got that ball stuck in the gym rafters during P.E. class? Yes, ridiculous.

But I digress. Prom signs at hockey games are almost always scoffed at. I admittedly laugh at them a majority of the time myself. What's not funny about a girl who really thinks that Jonathan Toews is going to stop in mid warm-up to say yes to her prom proposal? I've convinced myself that most girls with prom signs at hockey games really aren't serious about asking a player to prom. They're probably just looking for a laugh or the possibility of being acknowledged by their favorite player. Not so outlandish when you think about it that way, right? I'd probably wet myself if Tazer winked at me again.

However, some player prom proposals (say that one five times fast) are serious. Take Jordan Homa for instance. She recently posted a prom proposal video for Chicago Blackhawks rookie Andrew Shaw, a video that quickly went viral and gained her a lot of attention, both negative and positive. Her video, unlike other celebrity dance invites, was very tasteful and clever. Jordan emulated the Blackhawks seasonal One Goal commercials, and had a friend narrate the video for her. Like I said, clever.

Now, we may never find out what Shaw thought about the video, or if he even saw it. Will he say yes to Jordan? Who knows. The fact of the matter is, her video, like prom proposal signs, is harmless. Silly? Yes. Offensive or degrading? No. She's asking someone to prom. Okay yes, he happens to make more money than I ever will in three lifetimes and plays professional hockey for the Chicago Blackhawks, but it's still harmless. Bullying her over it is completely unnecessary.

Shaw is a mature enough individual (he's only a year younger than me, so I'm hoping he is) where he can decide whether or not he wants to take Jordan's offer seriously. I'm sure he'll take into account the slight age difference (she's seventeen, he's twenty), his public standing as a professional athlete ("SIGN MY PROM DRESS SHAW!"), and the location (middle of Michigan, Wings territory). He's undoubtedly smart enough, and surrounded by smart enough people, to think about all that jazz before committing to renting a limo and buying a corsage.

Of course, if the Blackhawks progress to round two of the playoffs, his job as a hockey player will trump prom, something that Jordan happily accepts as she has said she'd "rather see them win than him come to prom."

A true hockey fan indeed.




(PS:  I don't blame her for asking Shaw to prom. That boy is CUTE. And probably nicer, cleaner and a better dancer than the guy I went to prom with.)

I have been watching hockey for more than a decade now. You would think after so many years of following hockey, there would be nothing left to surprise me. Injuries happen, fights break out, and in the end, everyone bleeds. Violence has always been an integral part of hockey. It is a never ending cycle, and if it is ever completely removed from hockey, it will not be hockey anymore.

In recent years, the league has tried to make the game safer for its players. Head shots have been labeled a no-no, arena modifications have been made, and punishments have been made harsher. As promising as this is, the lack of follow through by not only the NHL, but players and fans as well, is rather disheartening. It is only round one of the 2012 playoffs and already we have seen several head shots delivered by different players, fans calling for blood and bodily retribution, and lopsided suspensions handed out by the league.

And now I ask, have we forgotten our humanity?

Have we forgotten that at the end of the day, hockey is only a game, one that was created for recreation and entertainment.

I would like to hope that we have not. I would like to hope that in the next few years or so we will see significant change in the attitudes players and fans have towards violence. I would like to hope, but it is getting harder with every illegal play made, every unjust suspension handed out and every rage-fueled death threat tweeted by a fan. I know that for a lot of people, myself included, hockey is a huge part of their life and sometimes the thing they care most about. We want our team to win that shining, beautiful grail of victory, the Stanley Cup, but at what cost? Where do we draw the line? How many players have to have their livelihood unjustly taken from them over what is essentially, only a game, before we are satisfied?

I look forward to the day when I can watch hockey without any vicious, illegal hits (very doable), log onto the Internet without fans wishing bodily harm on others (very possible), and agree with every suspension the league does or does not hand out because they are fair (okay, that is a long shot). Call me hopelessly optimistic (or delusional), but I will continue to root for humanity to make a comeback in hockey.