No Puckbunnies Here!

A letter from a wrestler's wife on a board I read at kind of gave me the idea for this page. As a matter of fact, it put a lot of things in perspective for me. I see lots of things, nice, nasty, and everything in-between going on on message boards and in chat rooms all over the internet. Since last August when things went down about this site, I haven't gone into chatrooms, and my message board posting level is at bare bones. To put it frankly, there are people out there I just don't care to deal with. In wrestling, it's the "ringrat" crew. In hockey, it's the mysterious "puckbunny" crew. "Ringrats" and "puckbunnies" are one in the same, I've learned. Just a different term for each sport. To put it kindly, both refer to women (fan or not) who want more from the individual than just a picture and an autograph. You can figure it out.

But let's clarify some things before I go too much further with this train of thought, as it'll allow you to climb aboard and grab a seat. Since when do you have to have testosterone instead of knowing your sport to be a fan? You have to know the players, and sometimes, I suppose that means so well that if you were asked their shoe size and what they eat for breakfast, you'd know in a quick second. Stats are a must....we women all know that in order to be "one of the guys", we must know every NHL goalie's GAA and how many shots they face every game....as well as how many reps they're able to make in weight-lifting. It's a double-standard: men can be attracted to cheerleaders, but if a woman mentions a hockey player's eyes after seeing a close up shot, she's nailed with that god-forsaken label.

In many cases, I've met up with fellow fans of the game who know stats like the back of their hand, a majority of them being female. This website is run by a 25-year old female Dallas/Florida fan. Boy oh boy.....who got me into becoming a Dallas fan? One Mike Modano. But how? I saw a hockey card and thought he would be interesting to collect. His team became one I followed by choice. Yeah, initial thought: he's cute. But so what? Now I see a top line centerman who's got a big heart, is a great leader and gives back to the community, especially the kids. That's how I matured into liking him as a player. Egads....Florida? Easy. In 1996, I met up with one of my closest friends (my ex-boyfriend) and he took me to games and practices. At my first game, I grew to like Brendan Shanahan of the Hartford Whalers, but the Panthers shut them out 6-0. Stayed after to meet the Florida players and my love grew pretty fast to become undying, even as much as they aren't playing well right now. Adam? Was watching game six up in Michigan last spring. Was thrilled to see LA bump the Wings out of the playoffs, and they interviewed Adam after the game. I don't remember what was said, but the Mike Modano thing was revisited. So I noticed Adam's eyes. *Shrug* Look where that has taken me.....and you, since you're reading this. September is what made it come together for me as far as this site goes. I feel that I'm required to keep the daily updates going, and it's made me a stronger fan of his because of it. Prior to September, I wondered heavily, not only if I wanted the site at all anymore, but if I did....would I be able to keep up with the pace of the upcoming season and the passion of the Kings fans, seeing as I'm not one? (I'm trying not to admit to myself that I have a third team to follow, but I'll save that for another time) Anyway, back to the puckbunny label and why it is what it is.

I want you to read the letter from the wrestler's wife and give it some thought as to why it's here.......

 

Hi Patty:
This is <name>, <wrestler's name's> wife. I wanted to let you know that I have been reading your site for a long time and have been reading the hot guys board a lot lately. I also have read many other boards and websites. I want you to know how much I, as the wife of a wrestler, appreciate the way you draw the line between fantasy and reality. The women on your board don't pretend to have been with a wrestler, and if they ever have been, they are classy enough NOT to spill things to the world that could potentially damage a marriage or a relationship.

I really liked that you posted that article about ring rats on the board. It seems to me that you and everyone on that board understands and realizes that those kind of women are not only a real problem for the women in the wrestlers' lives but are very hurtful as well. On your site, I never once read anything remotely hurtful to the wife of wrestler.

We all know that women like to watch our husbands and that they enjoy talking about them and that comes with the job. In fact, I am flattered that so many women find my husband attractive. I think it is great and I enjoy it all. It is when a site or a message board goes too far and starts trashing the women in the wrestlers' lives or talking about things that should be kept quiet, that things get hurtful. One group of women on a different board decided that if they killed me, they would have a better chance of getting to <wrestler's name>! I take that seriously because who knows what people would do?

I respect that you, as a woman in the business, run your site with respect to everyone in wrestling. You know so much yet you tend to stop and back off when you could tell stories which would make it all over the net. That is class. And class attracts class. The women on your boards and who write for the site are just that: classy.

I only wish other sites were as down to earth and friendly as yours. I know when I go over to your message boards, even the hot guys one, that it will be funny and interesting and that all the women who post are posting about the persona and the men they see on television and not REALLY trying to ingratiate themselves into the wrestlers' lives. I was so impressed with how people answered some of the tough questions thrown at them about what they would do if a wrestler came onto them or whatever.

Anyway, <wrestler's name> and I both read the site. He likes to know how he is doing both with his in ring work and on the hot guys board and I read it for the sheer fun of it and for all the information I get from the columns.

I thought of posting but wasn't sure people would want a wife being part of the discussions.

Still, I want to say that I love the site and hope you keep up the classy work!! Oh and <wrestler's name> thinks you should have a "best buns" page of the women in wrestling. I already vetoed that one for you. lol.

Thanks,
<name>

 

So with the above letter in mind, I honestly hope that this site is able to be considered in the same league as Patti's wrestling site in the respect that I'm providing an equal balance of information for the fans as well as showing enough privacy and respect for the Deadmarsh family. To me, there is a *really* fine line between classy coverage of Adam's career and personal life and being outright nosy and it's important that I stay on the classy side of that line. I'm hoping that I've maintained the status I received in September.

More clarification:

* Writing fanfic doesn't make you a "puckbunny"; it's another way of being a fan.
* Wanting autographs doesn't make you a "puckbunny"; it's a way of showing your support.
* Wanting pictures with the players doesn't make you a "puckbunny"; being able to prove that you've met the guys is nice, plus it makes for great conversation.
* Saying a player is "cute", "attractive" or anything else of the sort doesn't make you a "puckbunny"; it makes you HUMAN.

Why guys can't accept those as facts is beyond me....I'd like to know. Guys reading this, would you care to step forth and give a rebuttal?

What does make you a "puckbunny" is if you brag about being with a player (or wrestler if we're talking about "ringrats") and deliberately go after them, trying to hit on them, hang all over them, etc, even if they're married. I've seen it happen a lot at practices, and I've seen normal girls like myself go up to the guys while that's going on and tell the girl, "Hey look, he's not interested in you, got it?" It's insanity when that happens with somebody. Also, if you plaster it all over the internet...that's really not nice, or classy in the least.

Hopefully, I provided some insight into puckbunny-ism and what it is.....and isn't.