Ussr-canada 1972 Hockey Series Dvd

[antonkk]

Just finished watching the 72 legendary series "Team of the century" DVD. WOW! What a hockey. It happened a year before I was born so I wasn't able to watch it back then for obvious reasons and the DVD is not out yet in Russia so I had to order one from amazon.ca. The picture quality is acceptable for the first 4 games in Canada and pretty awful for the Moscow games (I wonder why they didn't use the russian tapes but went for the broadcasts instead?) so I had to watch the last ones on my comp as the plazma screen revealed all the ... in such a crappy picture. The interviews are nice though they are done only from Canadian side and deal more with national pride then the game itself. Since the series are regarded milestones in both Canada and Russia (nobody remembers them as a failure here, as the Soviet Union was put on the map as a hockey superpower after them and went on to rule the world ice for 2 decades so it's as much a sourse of national pride for us as for canadians) the more balanced commentary would be more then welcome. But anyway, this is as good as it gets so far. I guess next time I visit my mother's grave I'll put some flowers on Kharlamov's grave nearby (he and Bobrov who was a 72 national team coach are buried on the same cemetary). The guy was fantastic (though of course he became The King late in the 70's). What really surprised me about the DVD is canadian commentator's style- it's much different in style to russian commentators who were/are much more emotional and analytical throughout the game. Now I wonder if they gonna put out other series from the 70's and 80's?

[eelkiller]

Before that series all the so-called experts were assuming it would be an 8-0 sweep. The first game was an eye-opener for all in North America who saw that this was going to be no cake-walk. Kharlamov, Yakushev, Tretiak became household names in Canada as well as the Soviet Union. I still do not like Bobby Clarke's wicked slash on Kharlamov, it was like they were saying if you can't beat them, beat on them.

Great memories but the Canada Cup games with Gretzky and Lemieux playing together is my favorite International Hockey series. The finals were amazing. Dan Kelly did an absolute amazing job calling those games.

[Mike F]

Before that series all the so-called experts were assuming it would be an 8-0 sweep. The first game was an eye-opener for all in North America who saw that this was going to be no cake-walk.I believe the initial loss was debated in Canadian parliament! Editorials in the newspapers. It was an impending national crisis!
Pretty funny now to think back. :)

[antonkk]

I think there was that guy, a journalist who promised to eat his own article if Team Canada will lose even one game! And of course he had to eat it after the very first one... :D And of course the other legendary moment (for the russian fans) was when the first fights and violent playing by canadians happened (and nobody ever saw anything like that in russian hockey before) our great TV commentator Ozerov said an immortal phrase: "We don't need SUCH hockey!" It went on to become THE phrase (and the joke) of the year and was used for years to come on almost any occasion in life.

[Mike F]

And of course the other legendary moment (for the russian fans) was when the first fights and violent playing by canadians happened (and nobody ever saw anything like that in russian hockey before) our great TV commentator Ozerov said an immortal phrase: "We don't need SUCH hockey!"There was another thing that was probably not seen before by Russians and it could only be provided by those kings of irreverent comedy the Canadians, also a nice touch of needed humanity and levity for the occasion.

"Phil Esposito became an unlikely legend in Russia much like Vladislav Tretiak became a legend in Canada. Much of that had to do with his great play and his charismatic emotions which were totally foreign to Russian hockey followers.

One of the funny moments of the series came during the introductions of the first game in Moscow. Prior to the intros, the Canadian players were given flowers in the pre-game ceremonies. Somehow Esposito's flower had broke and the stem fell on the ice. When public address announcer Karil Yugorov announced Esposito's name, big Phil took a step forward and ended up stepping directly on the stem. Espo embarrassingly fell right on his butt!

Espo was able to turn that otherwise humiliating moment into a great one for the fans. As the stadium filled with laughter, Esposito, to the great delight of the fans, got up, bowed and blew a kiss towards the crowd.

As it turns out, Esposito was blowing a kiss to a specific person, and no it wasn't his wife or Miss Russia 1972 - it was Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.

In Brian McFarlane's book Team Canada 1972: Where Are They Now? Esposito recalled the incident.

"The whole world was watching when they introduced me. I stepped on the stem and fell flat on my *ss. I'll tell you, that broke some of the tension. But the ironic thing was, (Leonid) Brezhnev was president then and when I looked up, I made eye contact with him. There was the Soviet president staring right back at me. everybody in the arena was laughing at my pratfall - everybody but him. His look was as cold as the ice I was sitting on. So I put my hand to my lips and SMACK I blew him a kiss. And he still didn't laugh. But the guy beside him did and Brezhnev turned and gave him a look that almost paralysed the poor guy. I said to myself, 'Holy Christ, we may not get out of here alive!' " "

I can't find a picture at the moment but it's pretty funny. :)

http://www.1972summitseries.com/staredown.html

[SVL]

Brezhnev probably would not mind, since he was well known for his fondness of, and prowess in kissing various world politicians, mostly of Communist persuasion:)

This brings an old Brezhnev joke to mind:

- Mr. Brezhnev, why would you want to meet with that guy (East German Communist leader) Erich Honekker so often? Do you think he is important enough?

(the response should be very slow and almost unintelligible, as Brezhnev had severe speech problems at his old age, partly because of badly fitting dentures), and it goes:

- As a political figure... the guy is a complete and utter piece of ####... but... a great kisser.

:D :D :D

[antonkk]

There was another thing that was probably not seen before by Russians and it could only be provided by those kings of irreverent comedy the Canadians, also a nice touch of needed humanity and levity for the occasion.

"Phil Esposito became an unlikely legend in Russia much like Vladislav Tretiak became a legend in Canada. Much of that had to do with his great play and his charismatic emotions which were totally foreign to Russian hockey followers.

One of the funny moments of the series came during the introductions of the first game in Moscow. Prior to the intros, the Canadian players were given flowers in the pre-game ceremonies. Somehow Esposito's flower had broke and the stem fell on the ice. When public address announcer Karil Yugorov announced Esposito's name, big Phil took a step forward and ended up stepping directly on the stem. Espo embarrassingly fell right on his butt!

Espo was able to turn that otherwise humiliating moment into a great one for the fans. As the stadium filled with laughter, Esposito, to the great delight of the fans, got up, bowed and blew a kiss towards the crowd.

As it turns out, Esposito was blowing a kiss to a specific person, and no it wasn't his wife or Miss Russia 1972 - it was Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.

In Brian McFarlane's book Team Canada 1972: Where Are They Now? Esposito recalled the incident.

"The whole world was watching when they introduced me. I stepped on the stem and fell flat on my *ss. I'll tell you, that broke some of the tension. But the ironic thing was, (Leonid) Brezhnev was president then and when I looked up, I made eye contact with him. There was the Soviet president staring right back at me. everybody in the arena was laughing at my pratfall - everybody but him. His look was as cold as the ice I was sitting on. So I put my hand to my lips and SMACK I blew him a kiss. And he still didn't laugh. But the guy beside him did and Brezhnev turned and gave him a look that almost paralysed the poor guy. I said to myself, 'Holy Christ, we may not get out of here alive!' " "

I can't find a picture at the moment but it's pretty funny. :)

http://www.1972summitseries.com/staredown.html

Yeah, that was hilarious! Actualy it's strange that Brezhnev showed little emotion as he (like Khrustchev) was known for having a good laugh. He even collected all the anecdotes about himself (and there were plenty of them, I tell you!). He was also known to be a hardcore hockey fan never missing a single game on TV! Well, Esposito sure became a houshold name here after the series. The guy had such a "stage presense" as they say in rock'n'roll! :righton:

[antonkk]

Brezhnev probably would not mind, since he was well known for his fondness of, and prowess in kissing various world politicians, mostly of Communist persuasion:)

This brings an old Brezhnev joke to mind:

- Mr. Brezhnev, why would you want to meet with that guy (East German Communist leader) Erich Honekker so often? Do you think he is important enough?

(the response should be very slow and almost unintelligible, as Brezhnev had severe speech problems at his old age, partly because of badly fitting dentures), and it goes:

- As a political figure... the guy is a complete and utter piece of ####... but... a great kisser.

:D :D :D


Another great one about Brezhnev: he comes to Azerbayjan (which was a part of USSR back then of course) and the locals are giving him a royal welcome, kissing his *** 60 times a minute. After 3 days of endless honours given by Geydar Aliev (Azerbayjani leader for 30 or 40 years) Brezhnev is sick and tired of it and wants a rest. So he goes to the beach and lays in the sun for hours. Suddenly a puppy comes up and starts licking his balls. Brezhnev (without opening his eyes): "Comrade Aliev, I know you admire me but don't you think it's way too much?" :D

[antonkk]

Well just finished watching the russian documentary DVD. Great one, superb comments from both russian and canadian players and lots of rare footage. Some surprises too. One is that we have to thank Brezhnev (!) for the fact that these series happened at all. It was a political dessision back them and most members of Communist Politburo were against the idea as everybody expected a disaster. The sports minister promised that he will resign if our team fails to win even a single game (nobody could have imagined that it would become an equal battle but the guy was pretty smart - he knew that Munich Olympics would take place at the same time and USSR was expected to win so he would be forgiven and in the end he was as we got 50 golden medals in Germany) and Suslov (the grey cardinal of the Kremlin back then, a harline arsehole equal to none) was hystericaly against the idea. The guy never thought about sports, he only thought that a 0:8 result against a capitalist country would be a horrible propaganda move. Then Brezhnev (who was a hockey maniac) insisted that "it's not a tragedy, let's see what happenes!" I guess deep inside as a fan he simply wanted to see the game and was curious to see the legendary canadian pros in action as well! Of course he had a final say and thus it all happened. Another great moment: a famous russian magician Julius Kio (russian Copperfield back then) came to the first game in Moscow without a ticket. The cops said: "we don't care who you are, you've got no ticket - you can perform the trick of a lifetime here, try to penetrate the Luzhniki walls!", so then his manager (who had an invitation) got inside, came up to the coach and said: We got a real magician here, do you want to win this game or not?" And of course the coach got the guy a ticket. The game (game 5) was won so then a coach came up to Kio and asked him to be a guest for the last 3 games. But Kio had to go on tour and the rest is history...

P.S. Too bad the russian DVD doesn't have an english translation or subtitles, you guys would have a blast watching it! :righton:

[rpd]

Still would have been a good series, but please remember, the greatest hockey player of all time did not play in this series. If a heathly #4 was in there, it would have been a different series....

Remember have good 4 was in the '76 Canada Cup, on one leg???