The Pride Of Utah

The state of Utah has a reputation of being socially conservative and highly religious. With the Mormon faith based there and the population continually putting conservative representatives in power, that reputation might be deserved, but it might please you to hear that attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community within Utah's borders are changing. A 2022 poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute showed that 81% of Utahns support non-discrimination laws for LGBTQ+ people. It seems the local hockey team in Salt Lake City understands its fanbase because they played on Friday night wearing the jerseys seen above!

The Utah Grizzlies wear white at home, so the white background of their Pride jerseys makes sense since they played at home on Friday. These jerseys were only worn during warmups, so the Grizzlies didn't spend much time in them, but these jerseys are rather amazing in their details from the striping to the logo changes to the numbers!

The stripes on the arms show the traditional rainbow striping associated with the LGBTQ+ community, but you may not recognize the light blue, pink, brown, and black stripes on the sleeves, in the logo, and in the numbers. That's because the Utah Grizzlies went one step further and used the colours of the Progress Pride Flag which celebrates the diversity of the modern-day LGBTQ+ community while calling for a more inclusive society.

The impressive part is that the Grizzles squeezed all the colours of the stripes into each segment of their jersey that had colours - the logo on the chest, the numbers on the back, the stripes on the sleeves, the Utah logo on the shoulders, and the bear claw scratch across the bottom of the jersey. There have been some cool Pride jerseys seen over the years, but the Grizzlies may be the first team that I can recall that worked all the colours of the Progressive Pride Flag into each of their jersey's elements in pro hockey.

For the record, the Grizzlies played the Wichita Thunder on Friday, and they showed some resolve! After falling behind 4-1 by 7:33 mark of the second period, it was time to cue the comeback. Ty Penner scored at the 13:00 mark of the second period, and Jordan Martel added a third Utah goal just 31 seconds into the third period. Tack on a pair of goals by Brandon Cutler - including the game-winner with 5:41 to play - and the Grizzlies rallied from the three-goal deficit to win 5-4! Garrett Metcalf picked up the win after stopping 27 shots, and the Grizzlies earned themselves a big win after it looked like Friday's game might get away on them!

The Pride of Utah is usually the unofficial name for the University of Utah Marching Band, but the Grizzlies borrowed it for one night when they rallied for a big win and, more importantly, showed up in a big way to help support the LGBTQ+ community!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

***Stick-tap to Jamie Rathjen for reminding me that NWSL teams have worn the Progress Pride Flag colours for some time now. I totally forgot they had, and the text has been updated to reflect that Utah is the first team in pro hockey to do so! Thanks, Jamie!