#meanwhile he literally only uses ig to fuck with his teammates & gush about his family. again an icon

[brockachu]

sorry, i just realized last night that when i shared this image:

[image description: Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat in full game gear blowing on a referee whistle with a rainbow-striped tassle. end description.]

that i assumed everyone got the context. which i am now realizing — most people did not get the context unless the saw the campaign on twitter or unless they watched the ad breaks during the canucks pride night game. and since a lot of people stream games, the ad breaks are usually cut out. i think i also saw the campaign on mid-game banner ads a couple times, but i’d like to share the full video that bo horvat & the team shared on twitter:

[video description: Video opens with a hockey player in a white jersey making a hit on a player in a black jersey. It is implied to be interference or some missed penalty call. Bo Horvat narrates, “Nobody likes a missed call.” Video cuts to a scoreboard with no time left on the clock, then cuts to Bo Horvat skating with the puck and taking a shot on an empty net. Narration continues, “Letting the game play after an obvious offside.” Video cuts to a single player in a red and blue jersey standing alone in a dimly lit hallway. Narration continues, “Looking the other way when something’s right in front of us.” Video cuts to Bo Horvat in full Vancouver Canucks game gear, speaking in an unlit hockey rink. The video syncs to the narration of Horvat speaking: “So why do we all keep missing the call on hateful language in hockey? We need to step up.” Video cuts to a stick and skates shown from below the knees entering the ice. Text on-screen states, “81% of Canadian athletes have witnessed homophobia in their sport.” Narration continues, “Because 81% of Canadian athletes surveyed have witnessed homophobia in their sport.” Video cuts to Bo Horvat preparing to make a shot with a puck, with text reading, “Together, let’s #MakeTheCall”. Video cuts quickly over the faces of three different hockey players, synced to the narration of three different voices saying, “Make the call.” Video cuts to a puck bouncing out of the net after a shot into the goal, then transitioning into the image of the TD Bank logo. Narration ends on, “To support a more inclusive game.” Sound transitions to a crowd cheering and upbeat music over the image of a white background, the TD Bank logo centered on the screen, and a lower caption stating, “Together, let’s #MakeTheCall to support a more inclusive game at Canucks.com/MakeTheCallWithTD. Proud Fan and Official Bank of the Vancouver Canucks.” end video description.]

In Bo’s own tweet about the campaign, he says: “Sadly, homophobic language still exists in the game of hockey. Join us tomorrow for Pride Night presented by @TD_Canada. Together, let's #MakeTheCall to support a more inclusive game. Visit the link below to learn more.” The link to the campaign is here. All shares of the video and hashtag on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter will make a $1 donation to the Cutting Edges, a Vancouver-based LBGTQ2+ hockey club.

i wanted to specifically share this because while i of course find the image i originally cropped for a meme fun, it comes from a campaign i actually really like. as i’ve discussed with friends on twitter, the canucks did a few notably crucial things with this campaign that we don’t often see in corporate pride campaigns — they named homophobia as it is and set a specific and attainable goal of speaking up about homophobic language in hockey spaces, and they focused their donations on a local cause in their community. i’m not interested in being some big home-biased fan that thinks my team does the best, most perfect, infallible work. i don’t think they do and i remain constantly critical of it, whether i voice it loudly and publicly or not. i do think, however, that this campaign is really well-done for what we usually see in hockey. more than that, i think the campaign itself deserves boosting, regardless of your feelings on bo horvat or the canucks.