by Lyse, AllHabs.net

QUÉBEC CITY, QC – A year ago I was just another anonymous Habs fan amongst millions worldwide, posting on hockey message boards, trying to fill up a suddenly freed up schedule as I was forced to leave my day job for an extended sick leave. One thing lead to another and as with a lot of other stuff happening in my life, I accidentally became a blogger without any pretense. A few months later, I stumbled onto Twitter, and in true All Habs fashion, started mingling with other Habs fans and got to know quite a bunch of fellow fans and bloggers. Joining the staff of All Habs during the off season was already something out of the ordinary, and meant an awful lot for the vieille matante or an ex IT girl-geek ready to be put to pasture..

But this particular adventure has been unbelievable (for me, at least): I made it into the pages of a fashion magazine!

Yes! I’m in this November’s issue of ELLE Québec!

As I see myself more of a feminista  than a fashionista, I guess it would be only fitting that I ended up in their annual Men’s issue, but… sharing the same issue as coverboys Brian, Hal, Michael, Andrei, and, gulp, Maxim, this is out of this world!

I was first approached in late July for a report on female hockey bloggers, not knowing exactly what the precise context would be. Actually I didn’t give it a second thought as I was more preoccupied with leaving my comfy Labeaume City surroundings for my (relatively) disconnected refuge in the woods of Temiscouata for a week, far from the hockey and the Internet worlds. A few days later I heard my friend Julie, @metricjulie as she is known in her stomping grounds, on Team 990 where she was filling in on The Franchise show happily bragging about an upcoming magazine article, so I thought the whole thing fell into the “could have been” category as they had found their blogger…

Lo and behold, a couple of weeks later I get another email, asking me to show up for a photo shoot along with Julie at the old Forum! I wasn’t really prepared for that…

This is the end result:

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to meet the famous coverboys during the photo shoot.  With any luck, I’ll be able to have (at least one of)  them to sign my own copy of Elle Québec tomorrow as I’ll be at the Colisée for the last preseason game of the Habs.

Whether Jacques Martin turns into a pumpkin or not – hmm, there’s a thought… – I truly believe the best is yet to come with lots more good Habs hockey and more writing about my own passion for the game.

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To place the report in its context, in a feature article in their annual Men’s issue, featuring our beloved Habs players, Elle Québec also addresses the growing presence of us girls in the hockey-related circles: be it as serious hockey fans – like my friend Vicky Ng (AKA bebehabs on the Internets and Twitter) who is also featured in the report, to hockey players, reporters and hockey moms… Julie and yours truly made it as representatives of the wonderful world of hockey bloggers.

The following is a transalation of our mini feature…

They score goals and blogs

They picked the blogosphere to share their views on their favorite sport.

Lyse

This ex-IT analyst from Quebec City who self qualifies as as scribblogger posts on her personal blog tout éparpillée and shares her views on Tricolore.ca under the zone Appelez-moi Lyse (Note: I was writing as a contributor to this fan site at the time of the interview.)

Who are you? A fifty-something  who wants to prove that a girl can be as interested and knowledgeable in hockey as guys playing in a beer league.

Why do you blog? For the sheer pleasure of it… and to try to get Habs fans more aware of the new realities of the NHL.

You write on… the game, the history, anecdotes, the business side of the sport, media coverage and its impact on the fans (a sociological study in itself!)

The Montreal Canadians are… written in my genetic code!

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Julie

This 26 year old translator from Montreal is can be read and heard on many platforms. She has her own blog www.metricjulie.com, writes comments and articles on www.ringsidereport.net and on www.thefourthperiod.com. She also is a regular a show about MMA airing on Team 990.

Who are you? A girly tomboy with a passion for fighting, writing, hockey and life’s delicacies, like chicken wings and beer.

Why do you blog on hockey? Because it’s a fixture in our everyday lives.

You never blog on… rumours. I can’t stand those.

When do you blog? All the time, except when I sleep. And I don’t sleep a lot!

Last season’s high point? The Centennial game. The entire downtown area was never this quiet during the game’s opening ceremonies.

Your prediction for this year? This team will be healthier more bound together. And we drafted good prospects.