Introductions Are In Order

So, we finally got here….an actual Blog on the website!

It’s taken us a bit of time and while we all love recording the podcast, but it’s taken us months to get one of us to sit down and type something. Must remind us too much of school and university!

Let’s start with the basics, we are four eejits with far too much time on our hands, but that much was clear for anyone who listened to any of the 5 podcast episodes we’ve put out so far! We know very little both in general, but also about hockey, when you consider the history and just how much there is to know about it. We don’t have heads for stats, and we don’t have encyclopaedic knowledge of all the rules and regulations that govern the sport. What we do have however, is a deep appreciation for the game as fans. That’s all we are…fans. Fans with access to a computer, a few microphones and a bit of free software (oh and a couple of us who are very good at the computer, mics and free software too!). So that’s what you can expect from us; nothing but a fan’s perspective on the game both from home and abroad. We all came to the game from different places but we all ended up in one place, The SSE Arena in Belfast (but as far as we’re all concerned, it’ll be the ‘O’ for a long time to us) and proudly wear our teal, white and red jerseys every winter. Our name of course is not a tough one to decipher, anyone struggling to figure it out, get yourself to a Belfast Giants game!

With all that said though, we’re not about to gush over any team or any player anywhere – almost the opposite (especially if you’re Marty and follow the Leafs in the NHL!). like we said, we’ll give a fan’s perspective on what we see, and what’s a fan without wanting to vent about something every now and then? Without that passion and willingness to be negative, there would be no reason to be giddy and over the top happy when the good times come rollin’ in! FYI, beer helps in both cases…and good beer helps better!

So that’s the what and a bit of the who, but what about the why?

Well, as all great things do, this all started with a few drinks on a boat…OK, the boat may be slightly more unusual as idea creation locations go.
As three of the four of us gathered around a small table on the ferry back to Belfast after a weekend in Fife and Glasgow following the Giants, discussions kicked off about how the team had done, what could have gone better, and how I (John) had totally oversold the level of intimidation and fear that coming with the lads first visit to Kirkcaldy’s Fife Ice arena. I still stand the fans used to be a lot harder and swearier in that barn! This discussion quickly turned into one of how ‘cool’ and ‘awesome’ it would be if we were to put a microphone on the table and recorded what was said…and within 3 weeks, Dave had one bought and we gathered, this time, in a spare bedroom around a laptop, and knocking back a higher than healthy amount of tea and biscuits and under the guidance of our on-again off-again tech guru Aaron, we spoke into the mic with the aim of telling the world what we thought. One podcast has become 5, one mic has become 4 with a more professional feel, and zero listeners has become, we hope, a few more!

We’ve covered a lot more than we ever thought we would too. From KHL franchises trading entire teams worth’s of players, to the NHL and John Scott situation, and the pros and cons of our own EIHL DOPS at home.

The result so far? We love it!

What little interaction we’ve had so far from people all around the world has been great, and has really galvanized us to keep this up. From interaction with other podcasts, to fans around the UK league – we love it all, and we want MORE! And we’re willing to give more to get it.

Soon, all our episodes will be available all the time. Including our version of George Lucas’ “Episode I”, full of awful local radio voices and unnecessary effects! Did I forget to mention we’re all massive movie/sci-fi/comic book geeks….yeah, we’ve got that going for us too!
There are plans to enter into the realms of YouTube too, with lots of plans on that front. We’re already fairly accessible on Twitter and also on Facebook – and we’re always up for a chat on both. The blogs will also get to be a bit more regular as we each find something we feel strongly enough to publish for the world to see….we’ll try to stop short of causing major legal problems for ourselves….probably….and the website will continue to grow and grow too.

As I type this, Episode 6 is well in the planning and will be recording in the next few days, with something totally new….FAN INTERACTION! We can’t wait!

So there you have it, the what, a bit of the who and a smidge of the why of Door 14 Hockey. We’re only getting started, but there’s more to come from us which we hope you’ll like.

And like Marty says at the end of every episode (so far);

Have a good one!