The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ran a brief article today about last night's Hockey In High Heels event at Mellon Arena. Out of the entire story, the following description really stuck with me:

"Just because I'm wearing high heels and eye makeup doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing," said Jackie Schaefer, 22, of Mt. Washington. "This is how I express being a female and a fan." Last night, Schaefer attended the first "Hockey 'n Heels" event sponsored by the Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena. She came decked out in a Pens shirt and baseball hat, accessorized with black-and-gold bangle bracelets and black-and-white, 3-inch high heels. She also has a pair of yellow heels she adds to her ensembles.

I'm not the only one who was slightly disappointed that out of all the women at the event, this particular one was profiled; CapsChick made a similar observation. Come on, not many Penguins fans are anywhere near that fashion-challenged. I'll admit, I was embarrassed for that woman. But hey, perhaps she fits in with the home crowd? (Kidding!)

I was curious if the crowd of 88 women was anywhere near the sellout the organizers projected. At $130 a ticket, that's still a healthy showing. Additionally, it was interesting to read that the season ticket base is evenly split between men and women. That makes me wonder even more about the need for events like "Hockey In High Heels" in Pittsburgh. In theory, the event is supposed to encourage women to come to hockey games, but they're already coming. Still, at least they're making an effort to reach out to the female fan base.