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Meet the Toronto Furies: The women of winter carving their mark on the hockey rink | Toronto Star
Meet the Toronto Furies: The women of winter carving their mark on the hockey rink | Toronto Star
Howling Greek sister-goddesses who seek justice are painted across Sami Jo Small's goalie mask; their dark manes streaming, eyes alight. Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, is depicted with the Furies - her shield raised, sword drawn for battle.
There is a great video introducing the Furies in the link. It feels kind of late to be giving this kind of promo considering their season is over. Overall it's an interesting piece talking about the Furies, The CWHL, Natalie Spooner and Sami-Jo Small.
I'm surprised that in Toronto's hockey market that the Furies only have a weekly attendance of around 300. That's criminal IMO. There were some great stories and quotes in the article, but I like the one from Sami-Jo Small they ended with
“I’m hoping women get to play this great game,” she said. But “whether it’s hockey or something else, I hope women are part of that fabric of professional sports.”




This was a great video and article. I agree with you that it's strange timing, but it was very well done. I loved seeing Julie Allen dancing in the dressing room!
My favourite bits:
Apparently the 136,400 Sportsnet viewers of that TOR/MTL game roughly match the viewership of an average Saturday afternoon Major League Baseball game (one not involving the Toronto Blue Jays). That's huge!
Under Commissioner Brenda Andress' reign, the league’s overall budget has grown from $360,000 to about $2.2 million. A quote from her about salaries: “Paying the players doesn’t build the league. Building the league pays the players.”
The best part was the story of 5 year old Natalie Spooner at powerskating lessons, who had determined she wasn't going to play hockey anymore, meeting 4 year old Jess Vella who was playing hockey and encouraged Spooner to get back into it. Twenty years later, they're teammates and veterans on the Furies.
This is a great piece but the main thing I'm going to take away from it is that Shannon Moulson likes the smell of her hockey gear and I'm concerned for her.
The thing that bothers me is the Furies get all of the media love in the GTA. I like that they mentioned Brampton's barn that is home to the Thunder. It has been a bit of a journey in finding a place to call home. Cassie Campbell Arena, Century Gardens (on two different occasions) and Victoria Park Arena (which in its own right was a place that was more intimate than Cassie Campbell or Century Gardens, but was one of the coldest and uncomfortable arenas in Canada) all have been home ice to the Thunder. Brampton Memorial although ancient is a great place to watch the Thunder. I'm sure that all visiting goalies after having made a save and end up lying on their back have looked up at the ceiling trusses and stayed there an extra few seconds appreciating those dark wood trusses and thought, "God this is a beautiful old building-the nicest in the league". They have their own dedicated dressing room where they can leave their stuff for the season. The players love to play here and the smaller ice surface makes for some great on ice battles. Like I said I would really like Brampton to get some media love in this area. I guess we'll just have to keep pushing. Who knows maybe next season we'll see a Sports Net game live from Brampton Memorial Arena. It would be nice.
Oh yeah in terms of your take away. I'm sure every player loves the smell of their own equipment, as there is a story in every drop of sweat their equipment has absorbed. Who wouldn't love that?
I laughed at your comment about the goalies appreciating Brampton Memorial Arena's architecture while they're turtling!
I think the huge push in Furies publicity has been due to the Leafs' support. I believe the Leafs' marketing dept has been giving guidance to the CW. I think Brampton got the short end of the stick and I don't see a good solution to that. The Senators have no direct connections with Brampton, and at the same time, the marketing angle of the 'sister/brother' city teams is too good to dilute it by adding Brampton to the mix for the Toronto pairing.
While the sister/brother team thing is starting to raise the profile for Calgary, Toronto and Montreal (did you see that Flames players wore Inferno gear the other day?? I posted the tweets on my tumblr), there is an obvious downside to that, since two teams (Brampton, Boston) can't form an easy connection with a NHL team. Unless the league is careful, they risk leaving those two teams behind.