Swedish hockey team continues historic LGBT campaign with music video
Back in June, we brought you the story of Kiruna IF, the Swedish Division 1 hockey team that made it their mission to become the first LGBT-certified sports franchise in Sweden. To that end, they retired their old jerseys and introduced some amazing (and amazingly gaudy) rainbow-coloured jerseys.
That's what the team is wearing above. Look at these monstrosities! You can practically see the players reminding themselves this is for an incredible cause.
But the mission doesn't end at sweaters. This is hockey, after all, where every goal is accompanied by a goal song, and now Kiruna's goal of "promoting acceptance and diversity in Swedish hockey and in society at large" has gotten one as well, thanks to Johannes Timander and Tony Lindmark of the Jovian Channel, as well as Anton Josefsson from electronica group A-TEC.
Behold, "We Are One", in all its Eurodance glory:
The Kiruna IF players singing backup are pretty good. I'm pretty sure they played the same role on that one Bastille song.
I'd make fun of the tune's inspirational nature, since it's a bit cheesy, like all other songs that believe in things, but it's tough to mock a mission that's so good, and necessary. From a release:
A core value of Kiruna IF is that anyone who wants to participate shall be able to participate on equal terms and be treated with respect. For the club’s elite program a broad recruitment base is a vital prerequisite for reaching talented young people with the will to invest in elite training. Through LGBT certification, Kiruna IF take one step further and aim to become a source of inspiration in the work for acceptance and diversity in Swedish hockey, while at the same time playing an active role in the building of a new and more attractive Kiruna. The hope is that if the most laddish sport in the most laddish city takes a stand, others will soon catch on!
It's all pretty great, although I dispute the claim that Kiruna is the most laddish city. Have they ever listened to Boston sports talk radio?
Anyway. If you feel so inclined, you can get the song on iTunes here.
