Published Wednesday, 07 December 2011
And having fought to build their fan base from scratch, the team are confident they will still be around in another decade's time.
"I think the big thing is no one gave us a chance ten years ago," general manager Todd Kelman told UTV. "And here we are a decade later - still flourishing and still getting good crowds."
Ice hockey is far from native to Northern Ireland's shores but, in carving out its own niche, it's arguably the envy of more traditional sports for having cross-community appeal and for attracting men and women, young and old, and families into the stands.
"I think when we started, people thought we were trying to take fans away from other sports - but the thing about Northern Ireland is that people are passionate about sport," Kelman said.
We win a lot at home but, if we lose, we don't want everyone going away angry or disappointed - what we try to do is give an entertaining night out regardless of the results on the ice.
Todd Kelman, Belfast Giants
"It's a great country for support for different sports and we didn't take fans from other sports - we created our own fans.
"Our big market is families and, surprisingly, about half of our fan base is women."
For forward Craig Peacock, like the rest of his teammates, getting involved in the communities the fans come from is a big part of being a Giant.
"I think it's very important as players that we're out in the community a lot," the Peterborough-born star, who is now in his third season with the team, told UTV.
"I was at a school today and there's a lot of awareness about the team - every school and youth program or community we go to, there's always a good knowledge of the Giants.
"That's great to see and it gives us a chance to give back to the kids around the city."
Their efforts certainly seem to be appreciated - while some Elite League ice hockey clubs have bitten the dust in recent years and others skate on thin ice as the recession bites, the Belfast Giants remain at the top of the table when it comes to pulling in the crowds.
Their home at the Odyssey Arena regularly packs in at least 4,000 fans per game.
The Giants - coached by Doug Christiansen - are also in with a real shot at title glory this season, leading the pack with 19 wins and just three defeats.
It's a position they've been in before, but will their luck hold out? Craig Peacock thinks so.
"It will be a big challenge - we've lost out by a point in the previous two seasons," he said.
"But this team has something, I think, that the previous teams hadn't and I hope we can hang onto it to the end."
And win or lose, it seems the fans in Northern Ireland will be sticking right behind their team.
The Belfast Giants are next in action in back-to-back away games - first against the Sheffield Steelers on Friday night and then the Fife Flyers on Saturday - before returning to the Odyssey on Saturday December 17 to take on the Dundee Stars.