We have started a new Washington Capitals Spirit Squad. Sponsors have asked us to do this for many years.
We need the revenues to pay for the huge increase in player payroll. We will develop this team in the best manner possible and we will not offend anyone. This effort is one that is fairly consistent across the league and across sports.
But when you grow a payroll like we have, a team must develop all available sources of income. It is the nature of the business. I am hopeful that people will give it a chance but we are moving forward with this effort. I am a family man with a wife and a daughter. I promise we will not offend anyone with the Capital Spirit team.
Tags: Hockey, Ted Leonsis, Ted's Take, Washington Capitals, Washington Capitals Spirit Squad
There’s gotta be another way to earn revenues. Cheerleaders in hockey just don’t make sense. It’s cheesy and yes, objectifying women, even if you try to be “tasteful with it.”
Football and cheerleaders go hand and hand. In many ways, basketball too. Just select random high schools all over the country and you’ll find cheerleaders at their sport. You’ll find pep bands too. But you don’t see cheerleaders at hockey games, or baseball games!
Baseball hasn’t slummed to this level, why does hockey have to? And I really thought that Caps organization was better than this! I hope that their inclusion won’t take away from the “Mites on Ice” during intermission.
Do anything else! Heck, put advertisements on the back of my chair. Give me sponsored napkins when i buy my chicken fingers. Just not this!
Ted, I love the idea. It is years overdue. I really don’t see what all the fuss is about. They show the Storm Squad on TV all the time when we are playing in Carolina and there was nothing classless about them.
Having come grudgingly to terms with the incoming Spirit Squad, my biggest gripe is really just the single-sexedness of it. As much as I hate to invoke Pittsburgh as an example, the Penguins have a co-ed spirit squad, which takes away a little of the edge on what always seems to be an attempt to play into mens’ need to have boobies with their sports. At least if the squad was co-ed, I could have hot guys in spandex along with my hockey, right?
Actually I disagree with Mr. Leonsis’ basic premise. The players get a cut of the pie - the more that’s earned via revenue, the more the players get. I believe this is how the CBA works - the players get roughly 50 cents out of revenue dollar and exact player salaries for the year aren’t set until the end of the year. So, more revenue or less, the players get 50 cents anyway on each dollar. Maybe I’m wrong and apologize if I am on this.
I suppose what isn’t being explained is that the ice dancers must be performing at off-ice events, things that are sponsor related. I will take Mr. Leonsis at his word that it will be tasteful. If it like at college basketball, and if the emphasis is on athletics, then it would be much more palatable than if they are dressed the way the gals in Tampa dress.
Mr. Leonsis: Check the way they dress in Tampa, and please don’t dress them that way. Please give them college basketball cheerleader outfits and maybe include some men in the squad at least for the on-ice so it can be like ice dancing in the olympics. I doubt people will be offended in the end if it like ice dancing and not “shake your booty.” Thank you. The Greek wife by the way just came by the computer and I told her what I was writing and she said cheerleaders on ice was “cheesy.” I didn’t ask if that was like feta cheese or American cheese but you get the point.
Tom Orem
Orlando, FL
That’s comforting to know. I feel much better now. I can’t wait until the sponsors ask for their names on the players’ jerseys and shootouts in the playoffs. Seems like the players are the only ones in the organization with backbones.
This is not a big deal at all. I have been at other arenas with Spirit Squads and never found them offensive or distracting. People are assuming the worst case scenario with this (ie the girls will get in the way, be scantily dressed, be performing the same was as NFL cheerleaders) However, for the Spirit Squads I have seen, these assumptions could not be further from the truth. Wait until you see what their role is at Caps games before you condemn Ted and the organization for doing this.
Will they have advertising on their shirts or pants?
Will they be doing commercials for products during stoppage in play?
I will be interested in seeing how will they increase revenue?
Carolina and Long Island are two arenas where I have seen “snow ho’s” and I don’t see how they could possible increase revenue there. They do nothing but throw giveaways to the fans and stand up and “dance” and then in Long Island they also clear the “snow” on the ice during the TV time outs.
Thanks for explaining why the Caps have chosen to go down this road. While I realize that it is possible to have a dance/cheer team that is not dressed nor perform dance routines that are sexually suggestive, such as the Mystic Mayhem, I really hoped not to see this at Caps games. I realize other NHL teams have Ice Girls, Storm Squads, etc., and now it appears the day has come that the Caps will also have them. My concern stems from looking at what some other NHL teams do and how they promote the squad. The outfits of the Atlanta Blue Crew (very short shorts and small half tops)) and New York Islanders Ice Girls (really low cut tops), these are type of things I do not want to see and find objectionable. On the other hand, I don’t find the Carolina Storm Squad’s outfits objectionable or suggestive. I also hope never to see photos of Spirit Squad members in suggestive poses on the Caps website, such as the photos of Atlanta’s Blue Crew and Tampa’s Lightening Girls on those team websites.
Actually, baseball has slumped to this level. Have you not seen the young ladies in short skirts at Nationals’ games that fullfill the role of “ball boy” nowadays? And DC isn’t the only one.
I’m pretty sure more than half the league has cheerleaders by this point (Atlanta, Columbus, Dallas, Tampa, Florida, Carolina, New Jersey, New York Islanders, Buffalo, Ottawa, Boston, Philly, Chicago, Anaheim, and Pittsburgh off the top of my head), so it isn’t like we are breaking new ground here.
Just tell them to sit down when play is going on and I’ll be ok.
ted- I wonder what the original creator of in between period entertainment, mr. zamboni, would think. I know i am old school, but i miss the days, where during intermission, you simply watched the zamboni magically turn the ice into glistening perfection and then you picked up a hot dog or two; and during breaks in the game itself all you heard was occasional organ music. Yes in the “good old days” you could actually talk to the person next to you about the game, now in all nhl rinks you need earplugs so you don’t leave with a headache from the music et al.
Good luck with both your squads.
ps when the caps win the cup will the spirit squad members get to raise it and skate around the ice with it too?
I find it interesting that the justification for the so-called spirit squad is revenue generation. Why is it being introduced at a time when I assume revenue is going to be generated by the Caps organization at a much higher rate this year than certainly the last few years?
We’ve all heard that season tickets have been renewed at a hight rate (north of 90% if I remember correctly), along with new season ticket purchases of more than 3,500, and sold out games at the end of the regular season and throughout the first round of the playoffs. I assume that merchandise sales are up (rock the red and all that).
Where was the “spirit squad” early last year or in years past when we could have used some spirit and presumably the increased revenue this gimmick is expected to bring?
There is no tradition of cheerleaders in hockey. I think this is primarily because the only place to put them is either in the stands or on the playing surface. There are no sidelines in hockey. The enterprise is unnecessary (what’s wrong with the Caps Entertainment Crew except that they’re not scantily clad young women?), and objectionable.
As a woman, a hockey player, and a season ticketholder, this is disappointing on a number of levels.
@ Jordana:
Contrary to your post I have seen, increasingly, cheerleaders at high school baseball games. I do not have a daughter so can have no personal opinion on the effects nor reaction to the “objectification” of woman in hockey cheerleading. That said my son used to wear the “bobcat” suit and act as the mascot for his highschool. Whenever he appeared, he was accompanied by at least two cheerleaders (somebody had to make sure sophmoric fans didn’t rip off his tail, etc.) So I am speaking with first hand knowledge when I say cheerleaders are showing up, increasingly, at all high school sporting events in NO VA.
Finally, on the grounds of logic, it seems to be splitting hairs, if you think cheerleaders objectify women and are sexist (I don’t), it seems to me it wouldn’t matter what sport they cheered for, you’d be against them. I think, when they wear attractive but tasteful outfits and are brought out during the appropriate times (such as TV Timeouts which can be long and boring),and NOT brought out when they distract from the flow of the game (such as during a review of a goal by off ice official reviews),then they will likely add to the experience of watching a Caps game.
How does the Spirit Squad help build revenue? Do you mean ticket sales will increase because there will be half-dressed women running around? From what I’ve heard, ticket sales are doing just fine based on the merits of the team.
Otherwise, I don’t understand how the addition of a Spirit Squad creates an additional revenue stream…unless they will be sponsored as they are in Dallas (they sport the name of some tanning salon on the back of their crop-tops)? At least the girls there do some work (they clean the ice) rather than just shaking their “assets” for the crowd, which is what the audition for the Caps’ squad implies.
I can’t believe the sponsors are dictating how the organization is run. I have worked in corporate sponsorship for five years and have never compromised the integrity of organization I represented in order to bring in more sponsor dollars.
Ted:
I don’t pretend to know how to operate an NHL team, but I have to believe that there are other ways to drive revenue. Ticket prices have gone up, seat sales have increased dramatically and attendance is phenomenal. I can only assume that store/online sales are up, as well. Winning makes that happen - not cheerleaders. Surely there are other places you could invest the money that a Spirit Squad will cost to drive revenue.
With all due respect, to say that this is “fairly consistent across the league” is a stretch - most NHL teams do not have cheerleaders. In fact, I would argue that it is more of a southern hockey thing than a good ol’ northern hockey thing. It certainly was not a part of hockey when I was growing up in the north. Hockey originated in the north - I would rather see us align with the teams that embrace the history and traditions of the sport than with newer clubs.
Furthermore, to say this is consistent with other sports is also a stretch, as well as irrelevant. There are plenty of sports that do not have cheerleaders (baseball being the prime example). For those that do, it is a part of their history and traditions. In addition, those sports have the physical space for cheerleaders. There are no sidelines in hockey … the Spirit Squad will just get in the way of the game. In other words, there is no place for cheerleaders in hockey - literally and figuratively.
Ted, quite frankly this feels like the Caps are selling out. It is both disappointing and embarrassing. I am a STH who has ALWAYS supported you and the team (even when times were tough and we were not winning). I plan to continue that, regardless of what happens with this. However, I sincerely hope that you will reconsider. If not, I hope you will at least keep the girls fully dressed (for example, in red sweat suits, like the kids wore who gave things away last season). It would even be more palatable if they wore jerseys. Lastly, if this must move forward, I think it would be wise to include men. Has that been considered?
Thank you for hearing me out. I look forward to next season and cheering our boys on, regardless of the outcome of this issue. Best of luck to you, the Caps, the coaching staff and the management team.
If the revenue is so badly needed to pay the players, why are the girls themselves being paid for being a part of the squad???
Do you actually think substantially more people will buy tickets because there are cheerleaders? I really, really doubt that. I question the wisdom of a marketing effort that is clearly divisive to the fanbase, as this one is. I also question the wisdom of an up and coming team in trying to imitate the nouveau “we’ll try any stupid thing if it gets us some attention” teams rather than the acknowledged high class teams in the league, none of which have cheerleaders. But then, in order to show some class you have to have some class. Sadly, the Caps are falling short in that regard.
I believe the term is “selling out”.
I need to correct myself in one regard (good thing I apologized in advance). The revenue split between the players and the league is not done on a team-by-team basis, but in total. Therefore if the Capitals are able to increase revenue through secondary measures, most of the money will be kept by the team. In this regard the teams are actually in competition with themselves over revenue. The players don’t get 50 cents (roughly) from each individual dollar, just from the total. As fans, we need to support whatever the team needs to do to remain viable. That said, we can only hope that any activity undertaken by the club is done so in a tasteful fashion.
I have to say that I’m disappointed the Caps are going in this direction.
Since it’s going to happen, I have to keep an open mind, but I reserve the right to sound off at a later date if I find I get any whiff of cheese-y from their act.
I meant to say that I reserve the right to sound-off at a later date!
Jordana, what percentage of high schools in this country have an ice hockey team?
Very few, especially as a percentage. So of course you don’t see cheerleaders at high school ice hockey games, since usually those things dont’ exist.
They aren’t strippers.
I’m dissappointed but I understand your position.
I agree with the first person, Jordana. “Cheerleaders” or whatever you are calling them, do not belong in hockey. They belong to football, and football only. Sorry Ted, this is a huge mistake. I don’t agree with this one.
Then have the squad made up of men and women.
Ted,
I have to agree with Jordana. How many guys are gonna pay for a ticket just to see a Spirit Squad. I think cheerleaders are for football and basketball. Just imagine what baseball would look like with cheerleaders running around the infield.
I have asked fellow Caps fans, and I haven’t gotten one positive remark about this.
I just don’t see how it will make a difference in a positive way for a family or anyone attending a game.
Believe me Ted, I am all for looking at beauties of the opposite sex, but this just feels wrong.
A good team is all we need (and we already have it).
Thanks
Relax–it’s no big deal. If they’re anything like the other teams that do it, you’ll hardly notice them. They wont have many more duties than the ones now who run around handing out t-shirts and burritos. If you’re still bugged by them–then just don’t go to the games!
How exactly does a “Spirt Squad” bring in advertisers? It’s by them giving away items? Doesn’t the current crew at the VC do this already (ie. Verizon t-shirt toss and Chipotle burritos - as long as they don’t hit Kozzie as they’re thrown over the glass)?
I could care less about the objectification of women issue that it appears most women have. I just don’t think they belong. Cheerleading in pro sports is marginalized (ie. they’re only seen during commercial breaks during NFL games) and is more useful at the high school and college levels.
There were several games last year that I attended where I did not receive a door giveaway, isn’t that another road for revenue? How about offering the Breakaway magazine free with additional advertising in it? Giving away coupons for products at the door?
I just don’t see how hockey and cheerleading mix - maybe I’m thinking too traditional in the sense of “sis-boom-bah” and this Spirit Squad will actually be useful to the crowd. Are they helping seniors find their seats in an enthusiastic manner that the VC ushers don’t have? Are they running orders to concessions for me as I stay seated? Probably not.
Ted, could you explain a bit more of what their purpose is going to be?
Thanks.
Do what you have to do Ted. The game is changing daily.
I will say how cool it was to see on the Hockey channel (Directv #215) a replay of Detroit at Toronto from 1/2/71. The cool thing about this game was it was in black and white and there were no ads on the boards or ice. Non loud music between plays either. Just hockey.
Hope they show more of these old classics.
Another cheesy American gimmick finding it’s way into our great Canadian game.
I understand the need to increase revenue to pay for payroll, and if you do have to go the route of cheerleaders, then why not make it a squad made up of both males and females. Don’t call them cheerleaders, call them the Caps team or something. Oh, that’s right, we already have them, and they really add little to the “fan experience”, except for people cheering more to get a free t-shirt as opposed to cheering for the game itself.
Beyond that, did we have cheerleaders at the end of last season or the playoffs? No, and weren’t all of those games sellouts and loud with cheering fans? What made those fans come to the game and cheer like that was winning, nothing else.
We are told the season ticket renewal rate was over 90%, and that somewhere around 4,000 new season tickets have been sold. All of this was because of having a team that plays well and wins, not because there are cheerleaders in the stands prompting us to cheer.
Serenity now.
I have to admit that I hate this idea as well. I would take you at your word when you say that it will be done in a tasteful manner and won’t objectify women but in your ad about trying out for the “spirit squad” everything is about form fitting clothing, wearing your hair down and wearing make up. If that’s not a straight road to objectifying women I don’t know what is. How can we tell our children not to judge a person by their looks when everytime we turn around we’re slapped in the face with society’s version of the perfect woman? I really really hate this idea. It doesn’t sit well with me at all.
as a transplanted caps fan down here in Raleigh I will say that the Canes do a good job with their storm squad. They don’t have a huge roll durring games, but they are great to have for promotions both in the rink as well as around town. down here it is in no way taseless and really helps out with some of their promotions such as the Canes cool bars for away games. Everyone needs to settle down and give it a chance
I was one of the women who was selected for your focus groups last month re increasing interest in the game among women with particular attention to a fan club. My group did not mention this and I’ll bet anything none of the others did, either. I will withhold judgment till I see what these women are called upon to do and how they are dressed while doing it. But I am … concerned. And they don’t have to know how to skate? Sheesh.
As a season ticket holder, I agree with Jordana. This has nothing to do with the traditions we have established in hockey. Just how much revenue do these squads generate?? I can’t believe it is that much. Are they going to be wearing branded names on their tops or bottoms or something in the vain hope that drunk guys will stare at them and then go out and buy the product they are pushing? I encourage the team to “think outside the box a bit more” if you really need revenue…but do something that is keeping with the traditions of hockey and the Caps. This is not Raleigh, NC.
I am SOOOO disappointed to hear that you’re doing this, Ted. Hockey fans do not need or want cheerleaders. Your Spirit Squad is going to get hooted and hollered at for the first few games, and then booed, mocked, and laughed at after that. One reaction promotes the objectification of women, and the other promotes ridiculing them. It’s a lose-lose situation. I certainly don’t think that this is “the nature of business”. That’s bogus.
I must also tell you that the lack of scantily clad women is one of the things that attracted me to live hockey! Please do not turn the Verizon Center into Hooters. There aren’t enough female fans of this sport to begin with — you certainly aren’t going to score any points by alienating and pissing off the ones you do have.
How does booty shakin=revenue? The cheerleaders will need to be paid and housed, etc. One of the reasons I like hockey is the fast moving action focused on the sport. Cheerleading itself is a SPORT and should be treated as such,not just used as an accessory to decorate another event.
I am really disappointed to see this occur. Mites on ice make this sport family oriented - skimpy outfits and shrill voices don’t. I really think this would make would make me disinclined to attend games because the atmosphere will be be different (and cheesy). I really liked fact that ALL the fans seems like cheerleaders and led the cheering; now we have to listen to lame cheers and cat calls.
DONT DO IT! Hockey is a UNIQUE sport- keep it that way/
Who in the world ever thought this was a smart idea. There is no room in the hockey world for cheerleaders/spirit girls. And talk about demeaning. When we did the women’s focus group, just talking among ourselves before it started, just about every woman didn’t want “ice girls”. This is a huge step backwards. Instead of coming to see a game, men are going to come in to see t&a. If they want to see that, go to Hooters before the game or something. This is terrible and I thought this organization had more class than this. Find another way to make money. Put sponsor logos on everything else. You’ve just managed to alienate just about all of your female population that comes to these games for the love of hockey.
And furthermore, upon reading the rest of the requirements. If this were truly about the spirit of the Caps, why must it be restricted to only very petite, or as it is so delicately stated on the site “The uniforms demand a lean athletic figure”. If this were truly about those women who have spirit for the game and the team and the town….open it up to women of all sizes instead of making it a something only for society’s standard of “pretty”
In response to Jordana…
If it makes business sense for the Caps to have cheerleaders, than why not? It made business sense to sign AO for the next decade. Why not complain about the amount of money given to him?
(Answer: becase it makes business sense.)
Just because there aren’t “traditionally” cheerleaders in hockey doesn’t mean it can’t get there eventually. If I’m not mistaken, there are at least 11 or 12 NHL teams that currently have cheerleaders. And if it is done in a tasteful way, the Caps won’t be “slumming” to any level.
If having cheerleaders at hockey games will “objectify” women, then why is this not the case for football and basketball?
You know what would be cool? A contest for fans to think of a way to raise revenue if it means that it would keep ticket prices down, or even drop if it’s so successful.
Jordana has a good idea to put ads on the back of chairs. Heck, might as well put in mini TVs at the mens room stalls and urinals so you’re looking at several ads, maybe with replays or a feed of the game, too. Or something small and cheesy like a photobooth where you can select a Cap to make it look like you’ve just met your hero.
I’m sure there are better ones than those, but as long as there’s an incentive and a good reason for the fans (like keeping the team together or lower tix prices), some of us will bite.
BTW I like the Spirit Squad as untraditional as it is. At least us guys will have something to admire while the ladies ogle Brooks Laich.
Oh, and Jordana, baseball has “slummed to this level.” I was at the July 4 White Sox game in Chicago and they had ladies in spandex prance around the field throwing T-shirts to the crowd. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch one.
It doesn’t matter how you try to slice it and dice it, Mr. Leonsis. It’s tacky. It’s cheesy. It’s sexist. It doesn’t belong in hockey. And you know it.
There must be a hundred other ways to raise revenue. Heck, even Jordana came up with a few good ones.
So long as it adds to the experience with out getting in the way. Then so what? People are over-reacting. I bet by December people won’t so much as mention the Spirit Squad because they will to busy watching, oh you know, THE TEAM.
Who, exactly, are the sponsors?
And how are these girls going to raise revenue?
I’d appreciate honest answers.
@ Jordana. Where does it say that this squad will be female only? I don’t see that written anywhere. You should let this play out first before whining about it. And how messed up is it that you basically say objectifying women in football and basketball is fine, but not hockey?
Winning will grow revenues. Hiring sponsored cheerleaders won’t. I highly doubt that whatever the sponsors are willing to pay for these girls in skimpy outfits will cover the payroll for the players.
There are no spirit squads in Philly, New York, Chicago or Detroit. These cities are traditional hockey markets which don’t need to resort to cheap gimmicks to make money. If DC wants to have any credibility, cheerleaders are not the way to go. Being successful and winning championships are the proven method.
Besides, the fans in DC don’t need paid employees to tell them when to make noise. The action on the ice dictates fan reactions better than any other motivator.
I agree with Jordana.
-A new full season ticket holder
[...] Count me among those with a more inclusive spirit — one who will approach the scheme with an open mind. I take the owner at his word (”I am a family man with a wife and daughter“). [...]
I couldn’t agree more with Jordana and just about every other Caps fan out there. Seeing cheerleaders for other teams always made me laugh and remark smartly to my wife about how the fans in Carolina, for example, know nothing about the game and need cheerleaders to look at since they don’t understand anything else.
Now you’re adding us to that list.
How about a sponsored decibel meter instead? Would it have hit “120″ during the playoffs? I don’t ever remember the old Capital Centre being as loud as the Verizon Center was. That would have been something to see and would have made for great colloquy on the discussion board. I would imagine some stereo or home theater company would be more than happy to pay big bucks to sponsor it.
Anyways, as much as I like seeing women in spandex and short skirts, I don’t feel it has a place in Washington Capitals hockey. I’ll be “Rockin’ the Red”…in embarrassment, since that’s the current color of my face in response to this decision.
I have repeatedly praised your decisions with the team over the years — I even still think you made the right move on trading for Jaromir Jagr at the time. I’d tell you to make that deal every single time. However, I am far from excited about this “Spirit Squad” debacle.
I turn 30 this summer and have been a Caps fan for 27 years of them, but I ask you, in respect for your growing fan base, please reconsider your options.
Ok first off what revenue would a spirit squad bring in. This is one occasion were big boobs in tight sweaters is the last thing we want to see. Thats not what the fans filled the seats for during the run last season. I think we all know that hockey fans arnt the ones to test things out on. Dont ham up my caps. How about you take a poll on the web sight and see what the fans say before you go wasting revenue. Thats what a spirit squad would do, COST revenue not bring it in. One bad idea amongst a bunch of good ones in the last few years isnt bad thow.