Tonya to appear with hockey team this week
Terry Hall
More on-ice action with Tonya this week. The Indianapolis Ice hockey
team has announced that Tonya will join the team this Friday in a match
against the Colorado Eagles. More details are in their press release,
below:
> Ice signs Tonya Harding
>
>
> March 8, 2004 - INDIANAPOLIS - The Indianapolis Ice announced today
> that it has reached an agreement with former figure skating champion,
> Tonya Harding. Harding will join the Indianapolis Ice as the team takes
> on the Colorado Eagles this Friday (March 12th) at 7:00 p.m. from the
> Pepsi Coliseum.
> Harding, 33, burst onto the public scene in 1994 when members of her
> inner circle were implicated in the attack on rival figure skater Nancy
> Kerrigan at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Known as a fiery
> competitor this will not be Harding's first “fight”. She pummeled
> Paula Jones in the Fox TV special Celebrity Boxing. She was also
> sentenced to three days in jail in 2000 after being accused of punching
> and throwing a hubcap at her boyfriend.
>
> Harding, who recently embarked on a professional boxing career, is
> anxious to put her past behind her and move on with her life. As she
> said in a recent interview with Christine Brennan of USA Today
> (October 9, 2003), “People can look at me and think whatever they want,
> but I'm not a quitter,” she says. “I've been run over and picked up so
> many times that it's like second nature to me now. And it's OK.
> I've heard it all. I just look forward to living my life the way I want
> to live it.”
>
> “We learned last season (with Manute Bol) that it's easier to teach
> someone to fight than it is to skate”, said Ice General Manager Larry
> Linde. “As far as I'm concerned Tonya represents the best of both
> worlds, she's already a world class skater and a professional boxer to
> boot”. “Some people have questioned our toughness this season and I
> intend to put an end to that this Friday. She certainly gives new
> meaning to the term “Are You Tough Enough?”
>
> All fans in attendance on Friday are guaranteed to see some sort of a
> fight as the Ice winds down its “Are You Tough Enough” season. If a
> fight does not break out, all fans will receive a free ticket to the
> team's last regular season game on Sunday (March 14th) against
> Colorado at 5:00 pm from the Pepsi Coliseum.
>
> Tickets for all home games can be purchased at all Ticketmaster
> locations including select Marsh Supermarkets, Karma Records, select
> L.S. Ayres and the Indiana State Fairgrounds and Conseco Fieldhouse
> box offices, or by calling 239-5151 or online at ticketmaster.com.
> Groups of ten or more can order their tickets through the Ice office
> by calling 925-4423. For all the latest Ice information, please visit
> www.indianapolisice.com.
This is not the first time that the Ice have invited a celebrity guest
to participate in their matches. In 2002 they signed 7-foot-7 former NBA
player Manute Bol for a one-game stint with the team, but he never made
it on the ice as his feet swelled inside his custom-made skates.
Note that it says that viewers are GUARANTEED to see "a bit of the old
ultra-violence" (as they said in "Clockwork Orange"), though whether
this will include Tonya remains to be seen! Either way, it sounds like a
great night out if your a Tonyaphile in the Indy area.
Also, it is now possible to purchase tickets for Tonya's March 20th
fight in Oakland - but be careful to click on the correct link:
otherwise you might end up with tickets to Barney the purple dinosaur
instead:
http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=2083
And that would be a real shame.
Terry Hall
Head of Special Duties Section
Portland Ice Skating Society - New Zealand's Tonya Harding fan club
http://www.geocities.com/portice