Hipcheck , Peter Lindbergh, and Reebok (The Karianna Spectrum)

One of the huge perks of playing on the Blades was the media opportunities that came our way. From being mentioned in “Women’s Sports and Fitness Magazine” to getting in for free to the New York Premiere of “Mystery, Alaska,” I enjoyed pretending to be a celebrity.

For the Mystery, Alaska premiere, I didn’t even know who Russell Crowe or Scott Grimes were. But I was on the same red carpet they were. Now I can laugh at Crowe’s antics and watch ER with amusement. Husband and I sat behind Danny DeVito & Rhea Perlman in the theatre. Jeannine Garafolo was just a few seats up. Gary Bettman was there. And so forth.

When a call for a photo shoot or other opportunity would come out over the Blades chat list, I would jump. I was photographed with a teammate for an article in the now-defunct Hipcheck magazine. We paid a cab driver to sit there while we pretended to stick our bags in his trunk. Then we went in and out of the subway turnstile as our friend took shots of us.

But the real photography experience was for a Reebok ad. I wrote an email to my mother afterwards:

Well, I am back from the photo shoot… What an experience! We got dressed in a trailer that had makeup chairs, mirrors, many phones, and big comfy chairs and a spread of bagels, bacon, coffee, and juice. There were about 25-30 staff people involved in the shoot, from photographers assistants to makeup people, to people who seemingly just stood there looking official. The photographer was Peter Lindbergh, quite a famous fellow who shoots important ad campaigns on a regular basis. He was a wonderfully relaxed, friendly man.

Everyone spoke with a foreign accent and addressed us as “babe,” “beauty,” and “honey.” The makeup lady told me I had beautiful skin. The hair guy told the hair assistant to mess up my hair so it wouldn’t look so “beauty pageant.” I, of course, had been careful about preparing my hair to look nice – but they were looking for the “sweaty,” “disheveled,” “just-finished-playing-hockey” look. So they matted and gelled my tresses.

They provided us with hockey pants, socks, and jerseys. The pants were way too big, as were the jerseys. There were two professional models posing with us. Their pants were exactly fit properly and their hair wasn’t so mussed; so, of course they looked pretty fantastic! One was from Germany, the other from Sweden. Both were ultra-blonde.

The finished ad should be quite spectacular. The rink where we shot is framed first by trees, then by an impressive skyline.

At the end of the shoot, they told us we could keep the pants, socks, and jersey. A Lincoln town car took me home – and there ends my experience as a model-for-a-day.

Shortly thereafter, Reebok sent me a thank-you note along with a duffel bag that I always use while traveling and a fancy sports watch that is somewhere in my room.

Ah, it was fun to be treated that way!