Why a Hockey Mom Refused to Wear a Team Shirt

Posted on Friday, January 20th, 2012

By Michelle Hutchinson

You know those obnoxious moms who loudly cheer on their kid’s team from the sidelines, always clothe themselves in the team’s spirit wear, and hit up all the other parents for an end-of-season gift for the coach? Well, I used to be one of those moms.

Hockey was the sport in our family. My son grew up playing the game, so when he went off to college, it was no surprise that he wanted to continue with the sport. However, since he attended a school that didn’t have a hockey team, he and some other students decided to form one. Seeing my kid take a leadership role made me one proud momma.

To help raise money to offset the costs of traveling to and from games, the team undertook several fundraising activities, including the selling of team t-shirts. My husband and I were happy to buy two to support our son’s efforts.

When the shirts arrived a couple of weeks later, I was mortified to see this:

As an editor, how could I wear a shirt with inaugural misspelled as inagural? The same mistake appeared on the front and back of the shirt! Notice how I cropped out the name of the school in the photo; no need to bring shame upon the institution.

Being who I am, I immediately asked my son if he had had a role in designing or ordering the shirts. He replied with an emphatic, “No,” so I can only hope that he told me the truth. Certainly, my child would know how to spell inaugural, wouldn’t he…or if he didn’t, he’d know to consult a dictionary, right? Ah, we have such high expectations of our children, don’t we?

My husband proudly wore his shirt to the games that were played in our city, but I kept mine in my drawer. My son understood. After all these years, he knows my idiosyncrasies.

So, am I a bad mom for not wearing the shirt, or am I just someone who stands on principle? Weigh in by leaving a comment below.

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