In the aftermath of Team USA men and women’s gold medal Olympic victories, Angel Reese’s name came up to support a bold claim that the WNBA and its players are more popular than NHL players. 

Angel Reese Has More IG Followers Than The Entire Team USA Men’s Hockey Roster

One X user, @hockeyhater, took that nugget as an opportunity to rip the popularity of the Team USA, reposting a graphic that read:

“BREAKING: Angel Reese has more Instagram followers than the entire 25 player USA men’s hockey roster * combined.” 

“this is why it’s so bizarre when people refuse to acknowledge that the wnba is rapidly (if not already) overtaking the nhl. people around the country know who angel reese or paige bueckers are in much larger numbers than they’ll ever know about the tkachuks or even mcdavid,” @hockeyhater posted. 

this is why it’s so bizarre when people refuse to acknowledge that the wnba is rapidly (if not already) overtaking the nhl. people around the country know who angel reese or paige bueckers are in much larger numbers than they’ll ever know about the tkachuks or even mcdavid. https://t.co/Ks9TYbEyQt

— faye (@hockey_hater) February 24, 2026

Team USA Men Win Olympic Gold For First Time Since 1980 “Miracle On Ice”

Team USA men’s hockey team scored an historic gold-medal victory over Team Canada in the 2026 Olympics in Milan. It was Team USA’s first gold medal since “Miracle On Ice” when they defeated the indestructible Soviet Union squad in the semifinals.

Naturally, the stars of the team have been getting plenty of attention. Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck was masterful, making 41 saves in the gold-medal game against Canada. The Hughes Brothers also left a mark with Jack scoring the OT goal to seal the 2-1 win. 

The team even went viral when they allegedly had everyone at a private event in Miami, including strippers, singing the national anthem.

Fans Chime In On WNBA vs. NHL Popularity Debate

The insinuation that WNBA is more popular than hockey caused massive backlash on social media, with Reese, who has more than 5.2M followers just on Instagram, at the center of it all. Without saying a word.

One fan got very triggered and followed up an offensive tirade with a revenue comparison of the two leagues.

“hope this helps you retard, you losers will just say anything out loud hoping it’s true, profound stupidity on display,” the netizen said.  

Revenue is not popularity and that’s what the original post referred too. One fan understood this and gave their own sarcastic take on the matter. 

“BREAKING… Livvy dunne has more than double the IG followers than Josh Allen… Women’s college gymnastics is overtaking the NFL as the top sport in America,” the fan wrote on X.

Even when agreeing with the WNBA’s superior popularity versus commercial appeal to the NHL, some fans defended the NHL as a league that won’t compromise just to gain fans. 

“I would say the athletes in WNBA are more popular than NHL absolutely. Peoples problem is WNBA is forced on people while NHL is for those who enjoy it. They want new fans but aren’t going to beg for it,” another fan reasoned.

“You all keep making a non point when comparing national WNBA tv numbers to local numbers of an NHL league. The NHL makes money and their players aren’t consumed with social media because they are adults,” quipped a third fan.

Voices of reason showed up to the post as well.

“Fans of Angel Reese are young girls mostly on apps like Instagram and TikTok. She’s also very active on Instagram. Most hockey fans are men who are not on Instagram. Those who are aren’t very active and are more likely to only be following friends and family and a few celebrities. Most the players aren’t very active and a good amount of them don’t have public accounts,” a netizen explained.

“As far as stars go, I definitely think the WNBA is producing more stars and fame than the NHL. Curious to see how the actual ratings and viewership for the games are. People may watch more NHL games for the product, but not follow the players as much. Both are good for different reasons,” commented one fan.

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Look at these WNBA fans trying to rain on the NHL and world hockey’s five minutes of Olympic fame. And using Angel Reese to do it.