Eurolanche

Member story: Thiago from Brazil

As of the beginning of 2015/16 season, Eurolanche has 640 members from 39 countries worldwide. There is a special and unique story behind each Fan Club's member. Eurolanche will introduce a limited number of its memebrs in the regular season with a new story coming every week. If you would like to be a part of this series and share your story with the fans, contact us on eurolanche@eurolanche.com. There are still few free places in the limited series.

Brazil is the homeland of soccer. There is not a single person, who wouldn’t know the famous Pelé. How did ice hockey come into the life of a regular, passionate sports fan in this kind of a country? Thiago’s story serves as a great example in two ways. First of all, Eurolanche isn’t only for European-based Avalanche fans, but for fans from all around the globe, as it is the most effectively-functioning Fan Club in the world. Secondly, Colorado Avalanche fans live everywhere.

Thiago Simões, 36, started to follow ice-hockey in 1988 thanks to a video game. Watching real-life games was impossible due to the lack of information and internet. “Everything changed in 1992, when my family started using cable TV. At the same time, the Bandeirantes Channel broadcasted roller hockey games. The Brazilian national team was one of the best in the world,” said Thiago, who still plays roller hockey with his friends. Skating on ice isn’t a possibility, as there are literally no ice rinks in the entire country. Despite this, many Brazilians are fans of the game and you can find various Facebook pages dedicated to different NHL teams, too.

Thiago was a Quebec Nordiques fan, so it was a natural for him to follow the team after its relocation to Denver. “I followed both Stanley Cup Finals games live from Brazil. I love Joe Sakic, but my favorite player was Peter Forsberg. His skill, strength and courage always enchanted me,” said Thiago, who became a Eurolanche member in 2011. “I love the idea to be a member of an Avalanche fan club outside North America. Maybe I will participate in an Invasion someday,” explained one of the most die-hard Avs fans from Brazil.

Thiago works as a color analyst for EPSN Brazil. He started to cover NHL games in 2008 for one of the most famous radio stations in the country and then moved on to TV three years later. Aside from hockey, his voice can be heard during soccer matches. Various North American media reported about Thiago or his colleague’s Portuguese commentary of NHL games. The Ottawa Senators even published their version of “SCOOOORES” call.

Thiago is not only a fan, but a collector as well. For some reason, he decided to collect signed hockey cards of EVERY first overall draft pick ever. “It is really rare to own signed hockey cards in Brazil. The coolest thing about this collection is that it will never end, because every year, there’s always another draft,” concluded Thiago.

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