Rush should champion a better cause than Christmas carol lyrics
Singalong of Baby It’s Cold Outside during halftime was a tone-deaf move by team
Ninety per cent of people polled said they believed the debate over the song Baby It’s Cold Outside was overrated. After briefly pulling the song from its playlist, the CBC restored the song to its airwaves. The world seemed to oddly unite over the lyrics of a Christmas carol.
Enter the Saskatchewan Rush … Even if I don’t know my own opinion of the song Baby It’s Cold Outside, I know I don’t like the Rush’s opinion of the song Baby It’s Cold Outside.
In a surprisingly tone-deaf move, during the halftime singalong program at the Saskatchewan Rush game on Dec. 8, the Rush projected the lyrics to Baby It’s Cold Outside on the big screen and encouraged the audience to sing along.
In an extra douchy move, members of the Rush lined the boards holding newspapers with the song’s title as the headline, while they encouraged the audience to sing.
At the end of the day, even if the fuss over the song was overblown, opinion was unanimous that the decision for an all-male professional sports team to wade into a debate about consensual sex was equally dumb.
The owner of the Rush seemed to take the attitude that it was the team’s job to instruct the rest of us as to how overly sensitive society has become. It was an odd move by the team. Since arriving in Saskatoon, the role of the Rush has been to successfully captivate a new market to the little known game of lacrosse. And they’ve done a pretty good job. One would think the Rush might want to focus on … well … playing lacrosse. When did they decide to take on the role of chief finger wagger?
Sure, people were irate about the removal of Baby It’s Cold Outside from some airwaves. But is this really the issue the Saskatchewan Rush wants to be known for? To its credit, within a very short time after arriving in Saskatoon in 2016, the team catapulted itself into the hearts and minds of local residents. Not to mention the creation of a huge fan base. So why not use their superpowers for good instead of stupid?
Traditionally, the players and administration of the Saskatchewan Rush are not looked to for thought leadership. However, given their fan base and professional sports team cachet, why not capitalize on their influence and bring awareness to issues that actually need to be debated and resolved, rather than the lyrics of a Christmas carol?
From global issues of poverty, the environment, peace, etc. to the local debates about whether to build an arena downtown, the Saskatchewan Rush could thoughtfully contribute to those discussions. With the lengthy list of issues ready for discussion and contribution, to wade into a debate on Baby It’s Cold Outside was questionable at best.
It’s not uncommon for professional sports teams to champion causes outside their actual sports, including issues that directly affect women.
Many CFL teams, including the Saskatchewan Roughriders, wear pink to games and assist fundraising efforts for cancers affecting women. It’s a nice thing to do (and the players and organizations should receive full credit for simply being good humans), and it’s a great promotional move as well.
Why not reach out beyond the all-male team and appeal to broader audience? Women are also football fans and, more importantly, have financial power to purchase tickets, merchandise, etc.
There are no female players in the CFL. However, the effort to acknowledge women through championship of causes that directly affect them (i.e. breast cancer) is a solid idea/classy move for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The Rush might consider learning some lessons from a team that has entrenched itself so far into the hearts and minds of the people of Saskatchewan, we are regularly accused of bleeding green.