Figure Skaters Can’t Take A Hit…

Posted on Wednesday, December 24th, 2008 at 10:09 am

Hello Giants Fans! Merry Christmas and Happy New year! I must say this season has been an exciting experience thus far. The people of Belfast have been great, my girlfriend Jillain and I have been fortunate enough to take in some of the local attractions with our free time. We’ve managed to take the train south to Dublin where we walked the waterfront, ate seafood, and drank some of the local Irish beverages at the Guinness Factory. We drove to Giants Causeway which was something I will never forget, I am not one to take the time to flash some photo’s however the coastline was absolutely out of this world. I have traveled throughout North America and Europe and the sites of Northern Ireland are world class to say the least. We also visited the Belfast Castle, Stormont, Victoria Square, St. Georges Market and the Continental Market. Needless to say there have been plenty of things to do to occupy our free time.

Promotionally I can say I have had a first. Somehow I was nominated to take a trip down to the Grand Opera House with George Awada. I was told that I was going there to do some interviews and what not. Only to find out upon arrival that I will be attempting to figure skate with professional figure skaters who were in town for Cinderella on Ice. The experience was humbling, I learned that hockey players can hardly skate and figure skaters can’t take a hit. I must say that the atmosphere in the Grand Opera House was an experience in itself. I had never been in a building quite like that; I found myself in awe the historic landmark, truly a unique piece of architecture.

Additionally I have thoroughly enjoyed the various school visits and skating with the Giants Programs. It gives us all an opportunity to relax, touch base with the community and give back to the programs which have helped us achieve our goals in life. Gordy has been great to work with, he oozes passion for education. It’s very evident that Gordy absolutely loves teaching kids, it’s in his blood.

The skating with the Giants program has brought back memories of my minor hockey days where hockey interfered with Sat. morning cartoons. Some of those young hockey players have so much to learn, it’s amazing how much skill is required to become a hockey player. I enjoy passing down my hockey knowledge to the younger generations, and it’s great to see that there is a passion for the sport here in Belfast. In my opinion, it truly is the greatest sport out there. I am a fan of football, tennis, golf, baseball etc. All are great sports in there own right however hockey is a team sport that offers skill, speed, power, toughness and aggression all on ice surrounded by boards. I can’t think of another team sport or individual sport that provides the same attributes and level of entertainment.

I seem to be going off on a rant here obviously I am a little bias when it comes to hockey. Which brings me to our season, so far Games like Coventry at home with a depleted roster, our shootout home win versus Sheffield and our volatile win in Nottingham are three games that stick out in my mind where our true colors were displayed for the hockey world to see. Three games I’d like to forget are the two Hull games and Manchester at home. Hat’s off to Tony Hand who recently reached a milestone, 4000 points is a ridiculous number, he’s a class player I just wish he had of stuck it out in North America a little longer. It would have been interesting to see him along side the best of the best. Needless to we have already had our share of injuries however injuries are a part of every hockey season and the great teams rise above all obstacles. I like the fact that we have been able to win games and battle night in and night out regardless of who is in our lineup. I am truly looking forward to the second half; I believe we have the team to win championships.

I will leave you an unreferenced quote “nothing good comes easy”… I believe it’s true. I encourage all Giants fans to hang tight so you don’t miss the party. Referring back to Bobby Robbins article in Top Shelf Magazine, “Rising Stock”, there will always be peaks and troughs in a season or a stock market however long term as long as things are going in the right direction, ultimate goals will be accomplished. I believe in what we are doing and I am looking forward to raising some trophies. I am predicting a strong bullish second half for the Giants, I am listing them as a Strong Buy!

Yours truly,

Evan Cheverie