Posted: Sunday 20th January 2008

Sky Sports made its way to Northern Ireland once again but this time for a game not too many people knew about. I remember hearing about the football game between Cliftonville and Linfield weeks before it happened. Every sports report pre and post game had something to say about the game, which is great. I am sure the boys were all geared up for the TV game just as any athlete would be. A chance to be seen by your friends and relatives that don't make it to games is a great feeling. And it's always cool to hear the commentators talk about your performance and if you score an unbelievable goal, everyone will see it.

Well Sky picked our Wednesday game against Newcastle which is always an interesting one; depending upon what team they bring to play. Normally our mid week games have smaller crowds than our weekend games, which is understandable. So other than our loyal fans and some new ones, there was no build up at all. I didn't see any media coverage before or after the game on any of the news stations. Being the Giants first televised game in six or seven years, you would think there was a story there. Not too mention our current winning streak. The Citybeat morning show, Mark and Vicky were doing the MC during the game and built up the game on the radio. And of course the Telegraph's coverage is always there.

It turned out to be a great game with great goals, great goaltending and of course there were a few scraps. That's hockey, and we all know it is a minority sport and it's not apart of the culture. But the Giants were never created to come here and take over the whole sporting front in Northern Ireland. There are a lot of people and businesses that put time and money into it for the love of the game. In turn, the Giants have given Belfast some recognition to a lot of people around the world that wouldn't normally associate ice hockey in Ireland and the U.K. And I think the Giants deserve some more consistent endorsements.

This may seem like another article complaining about how no one cares about ice hockey and poor Giants. That's not it, I am just a player on a team, which has gone from the outhouse to the penthouse and would love more people to know about it and share in the excitement.

George Awada