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Who's John Noonan?
He's the guy who translates current Redhawks-events into English on malmoredhawks.com. Well, sure. But who is he? This is a short interview with John Noonan - born on Ireland and a dedicated fan of the Redhawks.
FACTS: John Noonan
| Full name: |
John Noonan |
| Age: |
37 |
| Born: |
Cork, Ireland |
| Occupation: |
Teacher of Middle and High School
(International School of Helsingborg) |
| Family: |
At the moment, assignments handed in by students (sad I know) and ibuprofen to help recover from the Christmas parties. |
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John Noonan. | Allright, let?s start this! You live in Helsingborg (?) and you?re a Redhawks-fan. How did you manage to have this good taste even though you live in the enemy-territory (so nearby Ängelholm)?
How did your interest in icehockey begin?
- I first visited Malmö in March of 1999. I went to a game which I think was against Farjestad, Malmö won 4-3(I think) and it was amazing game. Three minutes into the opening period a Malmö player smashed one of the opposition into the boards, so I guess from that moment.
When I was younger I played a lot of rugby and one of my favourite sports is an Irish sport called hurling. Both very tough and physical (especially the hurling) so hockey was right up my street. If you like ice hockey you will also have a great time watching a hurling match, check it out. Before that though ice hockey was the only sport I could watch at the winter Olympics without passing out of boredom.
Do you follow any other team/s and/or sport/s?
- Any sport that Ireland are involved in, especially soccer and rugby. You can expect to see me any time they are playing watching the game on television at Fagans, the local Irish pub. Apart from that in Gaelic games I make an effort to watch Cork. In soccer I am a life long follower of West Ham (I know, I know) and Glasgow Celtic of course. I really enjoyed seeing my home town team (Cork City) come here last year and beat MFF in the InterToto cup (sorry MFF fans but I really had no choice with that one).
I play a new kind of golf. Its called "Conservative Golf" - the aim of the game is to slice the balls as much as possible to the right, I'm very good.
For how long have you been following Malmö Redhawks?
- Tuesday March 21st, 1999, 7.04pm (!).
Which player is your all-time favourite Redhawk?
- Tough one to answer. Even though the season went poorly last year it was great to see the NHL players in town and I it was fun to see Pasi Nurminen in goal, and over the last few years players like Jesper Mattsson and Kim Staal stick to mind.
Which's your favourite player in today's team?
- Again another tough one. I think that what stands out for me this year is how well the team play as a unit, each of the lines has contributed something each night. Sure they have bad days (Växjö anyone) but for the most part it was been great watching the team play. Coach Bergström has to be given a lot of the credit for that. Given the experience of some of the squad you can't be but impressed at the performances of the younger ones in the "Dagiskedjan". If I had to mention one I think Corey Hirsch' performances seem to stand out from the rest that little bit more. I have always liked seeing Kim Staal play and it was great to see him come back from Modo. Andre Savage is getting better and better as the season progresses. Robert Tomik is a force in attack. Johan Norgren plays for the Redhawks with his heart and soul (and sometimes even more). On top of all that, being a patriotic Irish man, I have to mention Jonathan Coleman. I should stop here as I could go on and on. I will be watching the auction for those red jerseys with great interest.
How often do you visit Malmö Isstadion to catch a game?
- I have been to every home game with the exception of the game against Bofors (Spent all that day setting grades - the grades got better in the third period!!!!). I have also traveled to Rögle and Halmstad. I didn't buy a season ticket at the start of the year as I did not know for how long I would be available to go to games, I am sorry now but I will fix that for next year. The girls at the ticket office are well used to me asking for tickets in Section B, close to the centre and front (thanks girls, you have always been very helpful).
I stop asking dull questions and let John tell us anything he likes about himself.
- It has been great seeing a few Irish players play for the Redhawks over the last few years. Paul Stanton last year and Jonathan Coleman this year. For a country where there is only one ice rink (in the Republic of Ireland) and about 19 snowflakes a year on high ground it is nice to see a few of them play for my favourite team in any sport. I know that both are Irish American but we still count them all as being Irish.
On top of that I am trying to bring together the Irish community in Malmö and the surrounding areas and we are setting up a website to provide information to Irish people and those interested in Irish culture. The address is www.irish.se. There is nothing really up there at the moment but soon after the holidays it will be brimming with useless information.
Finally good luck to the Redhawks for the rest of the season but especially over the holiday period. I won't be there to see them for the next two weeks as I will be in Ireland. Section B, is safe for at least the next few weeks.
Elitserien 2006 , here we come.
Questions asked by: Johan Cedervall
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