A KING IN HIS HOMELAND NHL: L.A.'S KOPITAR WILDLY POPULAR IN NATIVE SLOVENIA.Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer Thousands of people in Slovenia might have a hard time getting up for work Monday. Anze Kopitar is to blame. The Kings forward will become the first Slovenian player in any sport to participate in an All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. today. The game in Atlanta starts at 3 p.m. on the West Coast but the nine-hour time difference means it won't be over until around 3a.m. in Kopitar's homeland. "It's pretty crazy how they keep up with me, despite the time difference," Kopitar said. "I hope nobody gets fired to watch me." Of course, many in Slovenia are used to much worse. Some people, including Kopitar's grandfather, plan their schedule around watching Kings games that can go until 7 a.m. Coffee must be a key import in the small European country that borders Austria. People don't seem to mind sacrificing sleep to see Kopitar, the first Slovenian player in the NHL NHL Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, see there . "He's a hero back home," said Marko Mayver, who works for the Slovenian Consulate Consulate, 1799–1804, in French history, form of government established after the coup of 18 Brumaire (Nov. 9–10, 1799), which ended the Directory. in Washington. "He probably has Wayne Gretzky-level fame. He's one of the most famous athletes in Slovenia. Everyone is so proud of him." When Kopitar returned home last summer following his rookie rookie a novice; often an athlete playing his first season as a member of a professional sports team. [Sports: Misc.] See : Inexperience season, he was mobbed at the airport by reporters, television cameras, photographers and fans. His making the All-Star team was front-page news in Slovenia. Despite being the future of the Kings, Kopitar often can go to dinner in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. without being recognized, since hockey still takes a back seat to the other major sports in the city. He can't go any place in Slovenia without someone stopping him to talk and ask for his autograph autograph Any manuscript handwritten by its author; in common usage, a handwritten signature. Aside from its value as a collector's item, an early or corrected draft of a work may show its stages of composition or “correct” final version. . "There are people who recognize me on the street and everything but it's not really as bad as maybe rock stars have in their lives," Kopitar said. "Here (in Los Angeles) I can kind of disappear in the big city." Soccer and basketball have long been the most popular sports in Slovenia. There are sixNBA players from Slovenia, including Lakers See Lake poets guard Sasha Vujacic. But Kopitar, a rising 20-year-old star, already has a higher profile in his sport than any of them. "He's making the path for the rest of us (abuse) for The Rest Of Us - (From the Macintosh slogan "The computer for the rest of us") 1. Used to describe a spiffy product whose affordability shames other comparable products, or (more often) used sarcastically to describe spiffy but very overpriced products. 2. ," Vujacic said. "Hopefully we'll have an All-Star in basketball soon." In his year and a half in the NHL, Kopitar has substantially increased hockey's popularity in his country. Slovenia has an odd makeup makeup In the performing arts, material used by actors for cosmetic purposes and to help create the characters they play. Not needed in Greek and Roman theatre because of the use of masks, makeup was used in the religious plays of medieval Europe, in which the angels' faces where two cities -- Kopitar's home of Jesenice and the neighboring neigh·bor n. 1. One who lives near or next to another. 2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. 3. A fellow human. 4. Used as a form of familiar address. v. Ljulbjana -- are big into hockey and other areas favor different sports. If Kopitar grew up 20 miles away, he might have been a basketball player. He does have the height for it at 6-foot-4. "It's strange for people here to understand," said Matjaz Kopitar, Anze's father. "You can drive across Slovenia in maybe an hour and a half. Jesenice is an old steel town. The people like hockey because the tough life working in the steel factory compares to the way hockey is a tough sport." Matjaz was a hockey player himself and coached the Jesenice adult team while Anze was growing up. When Anze was 16, Matjaz sent him off to Sweden to play with the higher-end European clubs. It was an unprecedented move for a Slovenian player and Matjaz drew criticism, but the risk paid off when Anze was drafted by the Kings in the first round in 2005. Anze opened the door for other Slovenian hockey players to leave the country for better opportunities. Now there are a number of Slovenian players competing around Europe and in the U.S. junior system. Anze's 16- year-old brother, Gasper gasp·er n. Chiefly British Slang A cigarette. , plays for the junior Kings. When Anze returned to Slovenia last summer, he held aweek-long hockey camp for the area's younger players. Hockey is growing in the towns outside of Jesenice and Ljulbjana. "Little kids are maybe looking up to me and want to be like me," Kopitar said. "I'm really glad because everything I can do for hockey back home is great. We don't have a lot of players. Most guys chose something else for different reasons. Every kid who decides to play hockey is special." When Kopitar returns home this summer, it will be as an All-Star. matthew.kredell@dailynews.com NHL ALL-STAR GAME 3 p.m., today, at Atlanta. TV: Versus. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Anze Kopitar enjoys "Wayne Gretzky-level fame" in his country, a Slovenian Consulate worker said. Harry How/Getty Images (2 -- color) Anze Kopitar will make his All-Star debut today. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion