By Legend Killer of the Denim Demons

Emojis are the future, whether you like it or not.  Since their creation in the late 90s, emoji adaption has skyrocketed and shows no signs of slowing down.  Emoji was named Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the year.  Whenever Apple wants people to adopt to their latest iOS version, they simply tell people if they upgrade they get new emojis, and it works like a charm.  Books like Moby Dick (http://www.emojidick.com/) have been translated into emoji and of course The Bible (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/03/business/media/the-word-of-god-now-available-in-emoji.html) as well.

But what about hockey?  The “Ice Hockey Stick and Puck” emoji finally debuted last year, but different companies have different views about how they should look.

Like the rest of their style, Apple’s emoji is slick and simple.  Google’s is a mess however.  The tape on the shaft resembles a field hockey stick, and the puck is gigantic.  Samsung’s looks like clip art, and LG’s is sort of a mix between Apple’s and Samsung’s. Twitter focuses on the blade and uses a very strange looking orange wood.  Emoji One’s kind of looks like a child taped the blade and has a gigantic puck.  And last, emojidex looks like a family crest that I fully expect a BTSH team to adopt on their next t-shirt.

And speaking of BTSH, the lack of emojis is a very real problem.  And until Unicode 415 comes out in the distant future and gives each team their logo, let’s try to emojify each team.

Notes: The Martial Arts Uniform emoji won’t be released for a few weeks, but that shouldn’t stop Cobra Kai from using it. The words “Fresh” and “Kills” don’t really have emojis, so a nod to their Staten Island roots will have to suffice. Beer before liquor, never sicker for Gut Rot. And the Riots not only have the longest BTSH name, but also the longest emoji string, which seems appropriate.