To Jessie Liles, meeting members of the National Hockey League's Colorado Avalanche is nothing more than meeting her brother's co-workers.
Liles, a junior elementary education major, is the sister of Avalanche rookie defenseman John-Michael Liles, who has been one of the team's biggest surprises this season.
Jessie Liles grew up with John-Michael Liles and her other brother, Joseph Liles, in Zionsville, Ind. She and her family have followed the Avalanche since the franchise moved from Quebec to Denver in 1995, and although she never dreamed her brother would end up in the professional ranks, she now finds herself associated with one of the best teams in the league.
Friday, she and her family traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to see her brother and the Avalanche take on the Blue Jackets. After watching the Avs win 4-2, including a goal by Marek Svatos that John-Michael Liles assisted on, Jessie Liles and her family went down to arena level where they were able to see her brother and the other players.
Jessie Liles has the ultimate attention-getter when she asks any of the Avalanche players for an autograph. While she was asking the likes of Teemu Selanne, Adam Foote and Peter Forsberg to autograph her 00 jersey, she would say, "I'm John-Michael's sister!"
That drew quite a reaction from the players, and while Jessie Liles continued to get autographs, the man himself sneaked up behind the family and said to her, "I can get that signed for you."
Jessie Liles, however, said she knows better.
"The reason I don't send it out to him is because I know my brother," she said. "I'll send it to him and ten years later I'll get it."
Regardless of the reason, Jessie Liles has the chance of a lifetime to interact with players she's watched and cheered on for years.
"It's almost surreal, because you've been watching these people play for so long, and then you're down there, and you're watching your brother talk to them, and they're goofing with him," Jessie Liles said. "These people are awesome. They're best friends with my brother; it's incredible."
The most memorable moment this season for her was when John-Michael Liles scored his first goal. She was watching the game in her apartment, and when he scored 6:52 into the second period against the Minnesota Wild, she went wild.
"I'm sure my neighbors thought I was like dying because I was just screaming and going nuts," Jessie Liles said. "He scores and you're just like, 'Oh my God,' and it was such a great shot; it was awesome."
Jessie Liles has been able to see her brother at six games this season, during Christmas and during the All-Star break, but when they're apart they text message each other all the time.
"You just try to keep positive with him and keep telling him he's doing awesome and try not to focus on the mistakes he's made," Jessie Liles said about communicating with her brother.
Jessie Liles is now preparing to watch her brother and the Avalanche make a run for the Stanley Cup. Of course, distance is a major factor in getting to see playoff games live, but luckily for her ESPN will broadcast most of Colorado's first-round playoff games against the Dallas Stars.
With the quest for the Stanley Cup now officially on, Jessie Liles has definitely thought about spending time with the Cup, should the Avalanche win.
"(John-Michael Liles) would bring it to Zionsville, and I would be freaking drinking out of it," she said. "That would be so cool."
While that time is still a ways off, Jessie Liles will watch intently on television as her brother and the Avalanche push for the cup, unless of course it's game seven of the finals.
"If it's game seven of the Stanley Cup (Finals), and it's at the Pepsi Center, and I have a test the next day, I'm flying," Jessie Liles said. "I don't care what I have to do, I'm flying out there, and I'm going to be there at the Pepsi Center."
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