On Monday, February 12th, Mr.Metz gushed to his first period APUSH class about his close cousin, the Olympic ice dancer. Students described the connection as shady, but the proof laid in the picture (seen above). Evan Bates is a three-time Olympic figure skater hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan but his true connection was something a little closer to home. Evan and Cresskill’s own famous Mr. Metz are cousins.

Evan Bates grew up in Mr. Metz’s home state of Michigan. He attended the University of Michigan actively pursued figure skating throughout his life.  Evan is a pretty essential figure skater to team USA and has attended the Olympics in Vancouver, Sochi and now Pyeongchang. His partner Madison Chock and he seem to be pretty successful earning themselves a medal at the previous two world championships.

Mr. Metz could not have been more proud of his little cousin. He is his first cousin’s son, and describes their relationship as extremely close. Mr. Metz remembers fondly watching Evan grow up, including when he started figure skating at ten years old and how talented he grew to become.

Mr. Metz describes him as, “Probably one of the nicest men you will ever meet.” He fondly remembers playing every sport imaginable together when Evan was growing up. Mr. Metz would take him to everything from golf to shuffleboard and said Evan was talented at every sport he tried.

The Olympics bring some of the world most talented athletes present on a global stage. This year’s global stage brought people from all 50 states and numerous countries, but it is nice to know that a little piece of home is tied to this year’s Olympics.