Women’s Hockey, represented officially by the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), has caught a lot of media attention after Team USA’s recent Olympic gold medal win. The team managed to win all seven of their tournament games with a combined score of 33-2.
Now, many Brandeisians, like myself, will not be convinced to watch a sport just because the players are good. For those of us who need a little bit more convincing, I have five words: real life lesbian Heated Rivalry. While the PWHL is still a hockey league, and as such has many conservative members, it is objectively more progressive than the National Hockey League (NHL). This more progressive nature and the more general acceptance of queer women in women’s sports has allowed for some fun romances between players and between hockey players and other athletes.
One of the most iconic of those relationships is the engagement of U.S. Olympic Captain Hilary Knight and Olympic Speedskater Brittany Bowe. Hilary Knight is one of the most decorated members of the PWHL, with five Olympic medals and 10 world championships gold medals. Brittany Bowe has two Olympic medals and eight world championships gold medals. Knight met Bowe for the first time at the 2018 Olympics and went on their first date at the 2022 Olympic games. They finally brought their Olympic love story full circle when Knight proposed the day before winning her gold medal at the 2026 Milan Olympics.
If romance is not a convincing enough reason to support women’s hockey, then maybe some good old fashioned FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) will convince you. PWHL viewership numbers have soared after the end of the 2026 Olympics. Recently, the New York Sirens sold out Madison Square Garden for an upcoming game, which is expected to set a new record for women’s hockey attendance in the U.S. Broadcast numbers are skyrocketing. Even searches for the PWHL are trending globally. Even the least sporty person you know is paying attention to women’s hockey right now; why aren’t you?
If nothing that I have said so far has convinced you that you need to tune into the next PWHL game with haste, then I have the most important reason for you: to spite everyone who belittles women’s sports. President Donald Trump’s comments about the women’s hockey team did not go unnoticed, and neither did the public backlash. There have always been men and women who look down on women’s sports, only paying attention to them when they can use them as an excuse to discriminate against transgender athletes. This is unlikely to change without continued, enthusiastic support for women’s sports of all kinds.
Even within the women’s leagues themselves, one can witness the discrimination the athletes face. Commentary at the 2026 Olympics often focused on the work female players’ husbands were doing to take care of their own children during active gameplay. Instead of focusing on the game or the immense effort the athletes have put into their sport in order to get to this place, the focus is on men doing the bare minimum.
However, it doesn’t have to stay like that. If everyone comes together and decides that women’s sports are serious and must be treated as such, they will no longer be able to get away with degrading women’s efforts. This was demonstrated through the response to the men’s locker room phone call. The public declared that phone call unacceptable and now the NHL is forcing the players to go on a damage control press tour.
It doesn’t matter if you’re watching women’s hockey for the romance subplots, to beat back FOMO, to spite the president, or because it’s an actually interesting sport with talented players, just tune into the next PWHL game.
