Member story: Marko from Finland
In its 10th season, Eurolanche introduces its members through its weekly "Member stories" series.Marko Keipi, 29, was born in Finland, but he has spent the recent years of his life in various countries. He currently lives in a small Mediterranean country called Malta. His lifestyle slightly differs from that of an ordinary working man, as his main job is to play poker. But first, how did he become a Colorado Avalanche fan? “It was around 2000. I am not sure why I chose the Avalanche, but my brother and I always loved their best players. Sometimes, you can’t explain your childhood heroes by logic,” said Marko.
Marko’s fan story is quite similar to the stories of other European fans. He used to check the game results of the Avalanche first thing in the morning after waking up. Soon, he began to follow the team in slightly different way. “During our school years, we’d listen to games on an online radio during the night every time we had the chance. That was insane, though, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone! We would wake up in the middle of the night to listen to Avalanche games broadcasted on an internet radio. We must have been crazy to do that,” remembers Marko, adding that he is mostly talking about the 2003/04 season, when the Avs were what he describes as a dream team.
Marko joined Eurolanche only couple of years ago, but he already took part in the Eurolanche Invasion project. To be more specific, he was part of the most recent Invasion – Invasion IX. “My dream came true. It was amazing to see Los Angeles, Denver and San Francisco. It makes me a bit sad to write about it when I think back to all the awesome moments we experienced in the US. For me, it was the trip of a lifetime and the entire trip was well-prepared thanks to Eurolanche. I think the highlights of the trip were the away games in Anaheim and San Jose. We were chanting ‘GO AVS GO’ so loud, even the home fans got annoyed. I loved every minute of it!,” said Marko with a glimmer of hope that he will eventually return to the US one day, maybe even live there.
Marko is a professional poker player. His brother inspired him to give it a shot, which he really appreciates. Thanks to his poker career, he can travel all around the world and live in different countries. He doesn’t want to have a normal job in the future. “I have been playing online poker for a living for the last 6-7 years, and I’m going to continue doing that in the foreseeable future. Poker is a great challenge. As a kid, I always loved playing games and what better way to make money than play a game?,” explained Marko, adding a warning to unexperienced players: “You need to be mentally strong to play poker, because sometimes, your results are up to luck. Especially short-term results can be very cruel. You might play perfectly, but you can keep losing for months. It can happen, and it has happened, but that’s part of the game,” concluded Marko.
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
01/04/2017 - 18:00
