Member story: Maja from Croatia
In its 10th season, Eurolanche introduces its members through its weekly "Member stories" series.Maja Andreuzzi, 26, lives in Labin, Croatia and is literally one of the few Colorado Avalanche fans who live in this country. In this series, we have introduced Avalanche fans from countries, which are kind of exotic and certainly not your typical hockey countries. This is also the case with Maja, but what makes this story even more interesting, is she the fact that she is a woman. How did a woman living in such a non-traditional hockey country become a fan of a team from the other side of the planet? “The first ice hockey game I ever saw was the game between Canada and Sweden at the 1998 Olympics, which was when NHL players were allowed to start at the tournament for the first time, too. I immediately grew to like Patrick Roy. I knew nothing about the players. I was just blown away by their speed and skills. Later, my friend gave me more information about the NHL and I decided to support the Avs,” said Maja, who works in the tourism sector. Since she has free winters, she used to travel. Moreover, she is a volunteer for the Red Cross.
Maja has her Avalanche jersey and pin that she wouldn’t change for anything in the world. “I try to follow their games as much as I can. I look forward to early or weekend games. Usually, I check the results of each game in the morning after I wake up,” explained Maja. As was mentioned earlier, there aren’t many Avalanche fans in Croatia. “Ice hockey or winter sports in general are not very popular in my country. There are only a few fans. I only know fans of the Penguins, Canadies and Flyers,” said Maja, who is the sole Avs fan in her region.
Maja joined Eurolanche last season, but she has been following the fan club for years. She came to know other fans from similar hockey-exotic countries. But did you know Joe Sakic has Croatian roots? “People who follow hockey here certainly know his name. There were rumors that he might make an investment to help develop ice hockey here in Croatia, but I don't think that will happen. We were also proud when the Avs signed Borna Rendulic,” said Maja. Her country has only eight top-tier teams (and not all of them have indoor arenas), the most famous team being Medvescak Zagreb of the KHL. Internationally, the Croatians are making improvements with each year.
Maja used to be an equestrian in the past until she was forced to retire due to injuries. She even owned a horse. Today, she remains a fan equestrianism and still rides these beautiful animals.
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
09/04/2017 - 21:00
