I don’t know how to say this eloquently enough for it to make sense, but there comes a point in every hockey fan’s life where you have to make peace with the majority of players in the sport and on your team being conservative. If they’re American, they’re likely Trump supporters. If they’re Canadian, they would likely vote for him if they could (just ask Gretzky). Even the PWHL isn’t immune from terfs and MAGAs.
There also comes a point in every hockey fan’s life where you decide that loving the sport, even if it doesn’t love you back, means wanting to make sure that hockey really is for everyone. It’s not letting the conservatives force you out of your fandom just so that a right-leaning space becomes even more of an echo chamber. It means doing your part in growing the game and making it a safe place for all.
And yeah, it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. The reality is nothing like the fics we read and write on here (which are fictional for a reason … because the fiction is meant to be enjoyable), but that doesn’t mean hockey isn’t for you! It doesn’t mean you have to stop cheering. It does however mean that you quickly come to understand that you can’t place players on a pedestal.
That’s the reality of being a hockey fan.
So believe me, I know. I’ve lived it for twenty years. And it’s not pretty. But it is getting better, and I like to believe that one day hockey really will be for everyone.