'Resurgence of WAGs': Sport researchers say spouses of athletes growing in popularity
The woman behind the venture, seen at the event clad in a glittery pink dress, is Lauren Kyle McDavid, the wife of Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid.
'To have this star's wife putting money into our city and investing in our city is really special,' said Quinn Phillips, a spokeswoman for the Edmonton Downtown Business Association and a former sports reporter.
'Everything is kind of buzzing now in downtown.'
Kyle McDavid was not immediately available for an interview, but she is one of several modern WAGs — an acronym for wives and girlfriends — making names for themselves.
Judy Liao, who teaches sociology of sport and gender studies at the University of Alberta, says the buzz Kyle McDavid's business has been getting online shows how much of an interest people take in the lives of athletes' significant others.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, sports wives saw their social media followers go up as they began posting more, Liao says. The popular streaming service Netflix has also created shows following the lives of WAGs in recent years.
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