North St. Paul vs. Apple Valley
at St. Louis Park Rec Center
Soccer moms get all the attention (at least from politicians), but all I seemed to see yesterday at the St. Louis Park Rec Center, watching a bit of the North St. Paul vs. Apple Valley high school hockey game, were hockey dads (I was there for my son’s ice skating lessons in the adjacent arena).
Lots and lots of hockey dads.
The most usual grouping was about a half dozen such stubble-faced, middle-aged dads, wearing their baseball caps and sweats, clutching cups of coffee (the game was at 9 a.m.) and looking over the boards or leaning on one of the rails in front of the bleachers.
Hockey Demographics
In fact, the first sign of the hockey dads was outside, where the unusually crowded parking lot was filled with SUV’s that looked like they had just returned from deer hunting — or were ready for the fishing opener.
The prize for most vocal fans didn’t go to the laconic dads, though, who at most mumbled their words of approval after a nice play.
That would be the hockey players’ (presumably) teenage girlfriends, whose screaming intermittently seemed to fill the arena.
