I've never been good at small talk...

Hey guys (well, ladies)! I'm Rachel. I've never really had to introduce myself like this before and I'm not big on awkwardness so let's just get right to it, shall we?

1. Where you're from, what you do - basic things.

So I’m from Nashville (born and raised) but no, I don’t have one of those cute/annoying Southern accents. Everyone who lives here seems to have come from somewhere else so I’m pretty proud to say that I’m a TRUE Nashvillian. I work for a healthcare company as a regional coordinator but I have recently jumped into the music industry as a manager for a multimedia company as well. For all those times in between hockey, I like to discover new bands and artists that no one’s heard of yet so for a brief moment I can feel cooler than you for knowing about an artist before “their time”.

2. Your team and why you like them.

My team, my boys are the Nashville Predators. And seriously, where do I start with all the reasons I like them? They’re so the underdogs of the NHL; they’re the team that everyone wants to hate and root against because that just seems like the right thing to do. They’re resilient in the face of adversity. They are a really great group of guys; very accommodating to their fans, very approachable, guys that you can totally see every kid wanting to emulate. They’re a team that sometimes plays with more heart than skill and yet we as fans love them even more because of it.

3. Your least favourite team and why?

I have absolutely no choice to pick any other team but the Detroit Red Wings. They are our biggest rivals and will probably always remain so; although we do have issues with shaking those pesky Sharks off of us in the playoffs. But I swear to you, Detroit pays off the officials to consistently make the most horrible calls in all of hockeydom when we play them. And it’s practically a prerequisite to dislike them if you’re a Nashville fan.

4. Your favourite player of all time & now?

I haven’t been what I would consider a hardcore hockey fan long enough to really know who my favorite player of all time is but Paul Kariya is pretty up there. And though July 1, 2007 will always be a day that I look back on with much sadness and a little bit of bitterness (seriously, Paul…St. Louis?!?!), I will always smile at the thought of him, no matter what jersey he wears. Current favorite: Martin Erat because I really feel like if he wanted to, he could become an Olympic speed skater and give Apollo Anton Ohno a run for his money.

5. Which hockey player is your least favourite and why?

Chris Pronger. He plays mean and dirty against the Preds and I always find myself really irritated at him when the game is over.

6. What do you hope to gain from joining HLOG?

A few more (female) friends who I can “talk shop” with; an increased appreciation for other teams so I’m not so one-sided with my hockey love; a larger fan base for the Predators because I think people are too quick to write them off and I would like to change that.

7. What role do female fans contribute to the game of hockey? What does female fan support do for the league/team/player she supports?

As women, we bring a lot of passion to the sport that can’t be easily compared to our male counterparts. We dive head first into the game and give of ourselves and our time to learn about the game, the players and other teams. We’re so detail oriented that you would be hard pressed to find other fans with more knowledge of any player’s weight, height, shoe size, hair color, favorite restaurant, vacation spot, etc. And let’s face it, we generate a lot of revenue for the league because we like our shopping and we’re going to continue to buy all kinds of merchandise to show our support for our team(s)/player(s). I find myself popping into the local sports store to check out the latest merchandise far more often than anyone probably should. I don’t think I can ever have too many t-shirts emblazoned with a Predator head or a player’s number, you know? And we’ve gotta stay cute for our boys because somewhere deep down inside, we hope that us looking cute is going to help them score that extra goal or throw a harder check.

8. Hockey just isn't the same without: the ZZ Top-esque playoff hair growth; although I do also enjoy when players shave off all their hair as kind of a “reverse” take on the tradition.

9. If you could make your own team, regardless of whatever players, what would it be called and where will it be/how would it be like?

There is nothing better in the world than seeing tiny, tiny children try their hardest to play hockey through all the padding and the helmets and the gloves so I would totally have a termite team comprised solely of all professional hockey player’s children, ages 6 and under. The team name would be the Little Doots and I think they could totally get a sponsorship from like, Willy Wonka and the Oompa Loompas or something. Seriously, this is genius…why hasn’t someone thought of this before?

10. Who gets your squee and why? (keep it short & sweet, y'all!)

Henrik Lundqvist because well, honestly…just yum.