Illinois Hockey Team To Shake Off ‘Bad Blood’ With New Taylor Swift Jersey Night

It doesn't matter if you love or hate Taylor Swift, you have to appreciate one Illinois hockey team's creative effort to bring Swifties to their ice rink.

Taylor Swift Mania Is Hitting Ice

I saw this come across my Instagram feed today, and now I have so many questions...

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Ok, what is happening here, and who are the Chicago Steel? (Please excuse my extreme sports ignorance).

Who Are the Chicago Steel?

The Chicago Steel are members of the United States Hockey League (USHL) and the ONLY Tier 1 Junior League in the U.S.  It is the team serious Illinois area high school  hockey players want to be on because of all the college scholarship that can come from being a part of it.     The Chicago Steel play their home games at the Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, Illinois, and have even been called "the dopest non-NHL franchise in hockey" according to the Steel's Instagram. 

Chicago Steel: The Eras Night

On Saturday, February 17, 2024 the Chicago Steel will take on the Tri-City Storm at Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva for a special Taylor Swift inspired "Eras Night". The players will be wearing specially designed jerseys that will then be auctioned off to benefit the Geneva Academic Foundation, but that isn't my favorite part of this story...the event's press release is;

The Eras promotional night idea originated in a staff meeting last august at the end of a Cruel Summer following a tough loss in May in the Eastern Conference Final.  Rather than tolerate it, the Steel chose to Shake it Off, put aside the Bad Blood and play the role of Anti-Hero this season.  The Steel are hopeful Karma will do its thing and restore the team to its rightful place in junior hockey as the last great american dynasty.

It's obvious that the Steel put a lot of creative thought into the press release for this event (the above is just a small part of it), and they really knocked it out of the rink with the special Eras Night jersey design. Just look at all the cool Taylor nods they included...  

 

 

 

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Some people might call that jersey ugly, but I call it awesome, and I'm not even a huge Taylor Swift fan. I appreciate anything that is creative and unique, and that jersey definitely hits that mark!

Tickets for Chicago Steel: Eras Night

Tickets for the Chicago Steel's Eras Night are already on sale, and I'm willing to bet they will sell out soon, so you better get yours will you still can! Buy them online at chicagosteelhockeyteam.com, in person at the Fox Valley Ice Arena, or or by calling 855-51-STEEL.