@@user-otzlixr I'm just picturing the Soviet referee as a commissar with a Red Army officer hat and a black and white shirt just yelling and hitting them with a cane if they played a move that went against the ideology
We Americans will never forget what happened in Munich back in 1972 (other than the terrorist attack against the Israeli athletes) in terms of the USA vs. USSR in the Gold Medal round.
I hope you're planing more episodes with Sergei. Such an interesting perspective from him about living in the Soviet Union. The episode about cars was so amazing :)
As a Canadian I found this discussion extremely interesting, especially the part where Sergei pointed out the irony that American sports are more socialist than in Europe, as compared to Soviet times where CSKA's hockey program reads like a hall of fame roster (Fetisov, Larionov, Fedorov, Bure)
I can just agree. A team of average players will beat a team of stars who cannot play together. Sweden's Olympic hockey team in 2002 was the strongest it ever had but yet it got defeated by Belarus.
We had a long list of NHL superstars: Peter Forsberg, Daniel Alfredsson, Nicklas Lidstrom, Tommy Salo, Mikael Renberg... But Belarus dominated the game and did beat the Swedish primadona team.
@@Perkelenaattori Seems like only Tommy Salo does things like that. He is very unreliable. One game he can be the best goal keeper in the world and take 40 shots in a game and rescue a team from the jaws of defeat. And the next game he lets the other team score 5 goals and he cannot even catch 10 pucks. He is also very clumsy, as seen in your video. And his legendary duel against Canada in the Olympic games in 1994 was only won because he accidentally stumbled upon his own leg pads. That gave us the Olympic Gold LOL
@@stephengayton5246 Its no lose of honor to lose against Canada, Russia, Finland, Czechia. And I don't think that it is shameful to lose against USA or Slovakia either. Even Latvia could produce a few NHL stars. But losing against Belarus is something which no top tier Hockey nation should ever do. Our players took victory for granted and played half-assed the first half of the game. Belarus played as a team , but we had no team at all. Only 5 solo players and a goalkeeper. Even the Belarus own team have prepared for losing this game. They even felt so sure that they had bought plane tickets so they could fly to Belarus from Salt Lake city. So their victory came as a surprise even to them. I remember many nasty jokes I read in Swedish newspapers and on the internet after this loss. Like one boy asking another boy "Why did your dad tell me that he works as a stripper at a gay bar?" And boy2 responds: "He lied about his job because he thinks it is to embarrassing to tell anyone that he was part of Swedish hockey team that played against Belarus".
For a guy with not much of a sports background Sergei actually has a pretty good handle on things. I am a subscriber to his channel and his comments on sports, especially the issues that plagued Soviet hockey were spot on. Just one comment though, about Soviet hockey's patterned plays and structure back in the day. (ie 1972) They didn't deviate from them, even though the players had great skills, they couldn't adapt to the changing game. As much self loathing as there was amongst some Canadian fans, our team adapted better than the Soviets once they got into shape and were able to properly compete. This was reinforced in 1976 when the Flyers played the Red Army. The old narrative was that the Flyers and their coach were a bunch of goons and clubbed their way to victory. People forget that Flyer coach Fred Shero studied the Soviets, used some of their methods, (ironically originally conceived by Canadian Lloyd Percival) and adapted by Russian hockey czar Anatoly Tarasov The Flyers also had some great players, even their "goons" had decent skills. Schultz was actually a fair scorer in his youth. Shero lined up all his players at the red line and broke up all the Soviet attacks. The didn't know what to do. Add the charged atmosphere and some Flyer intimidation and the Soviets were totally lost. My only criticism of Sergei is about something that you used to often hear, about Canadians shooting the puck into the offensive zone. Here is a quote from Soviet defenceman Gennady Tsygankov in 1972. "Our coaches didn't allow us to shoot the puck into their zone. We were instructed to cross the blue line only by passing. The Canadians would dump the puck into our zone and chase after it. I don't know why our coaches thought this was a bad play. They scored a lot of goals this way."
@@UshankaShow Keep up the great work on your channel. I used to be in broadcasting and one of my interests is TV history. I was (and still am) interested in what people were watching on TV in the Eastern bloc countries during the Cold War years. I know to counter West German TV coming into East Germany, the East Germans aired some racy stuff back in the day (topless dancer revues etc) Thanks for tackling the subject of Soviet TV.. You made me laugh out loud about the cartoon character who smoked and the story teller who got drunk and swore :) Crazy stuff happened like that here as well in the olden days of live TV.
Oh, one more thing, unrelated to team sports. My dad happened to be an athletic coach in the Soviet Union (triple jump, Spartak, Khabarovsk). He also had medals at the Russian SFSR level as a youth, before he shifted to coaching (which, come to think of it, is a very high level, since the champion of USSR in athletics usually had a 50/50% chance of winning the Olympics). He told me a cool story about what inspired him to become a coach. He was studying in the Physical Education And Sports Institute, Khabarovsk, and during his final diploma work presentation he had an epiphany. Basically, his diploma was very well-researched, he presented it to the board very confidently. When he was waiting for the results outside the room, a man from the board stepped out of the room and asked him to step aside. That man was Lev Zobov, a legendary founder of the boxing tradition in Kuzbass (Central Siberia). Zobov was rumored to have been a Soviet POW during the WW2, having escaped the concentration camps twice, beaten with iron rods, and eventually joining a POW uprising in Dahau in 1945 (the legend claimed he knocked out a German officer with a right hook). (My dad looked him up the other day, and apparently what the legend never mentioned, Lev Zobov was sent to a Gulag after returning to the Soviet Union, but he was rehabilitated in the 1950s). So, that giant man takes my dad aside and asks him: "Do you really want to be a coach, sonny?" My dad said, yeah, I'm already semi-officially training some folks down at the Spartak Manege. So, Zobov tells him, "Out of this entire graduate year, you're the only one with a real good diploma work. You're a real trainer. But the board members didn't like how confident you were, so they're gonna give you a 4 (grade B). I fought for you, but all for nothing. Everyone they give a 5 (grade A) are just hogwash, don't worry about them. You'll be a coach if you just keep doing what you're doing."
Euro 88 was definitely one of the best tournaments I've seen in football. Holland had Gullit, Van Basten, Rijkaard, Koeman brothers. Soviet Union had the world class Dassayev in goal, Protassov, Mikhailichenko, Belanov, Alejnikov. Italy had Vialli & Mancini at the front. A lot of the players are now world class managers like Ronald Koeman who just got appointed to Barcelona. Truly a stellar tournament and I would say it was one of the first tournaments with a modern style of football.
@@eelcoberg392 Sadly I'm not Dutch so I couldn't understand that. All I remember is the glorious football and the legendary Van Basten strike over Dasayev.
I'm from Khabarovsk, the Far East of Russia. Bandy was very popular in my region, as well as some other northern or Siberian parts of the Soviet Union. (It was commonly called "ball hockey" (хоккей с мячом), since bandy is a Scandinavian word, and you do play with a red, tennis-sized ball and a curved hockey stick). It was MUCH more popular than regular hockey in such places, since small towns didn't always have big, roofed arenas, and you're supposed to play bandy in the open air, on a big, soccer-sized field. So, in winter all those local soccer fields (especially the low quality ones, where the grass cover already sucks) would be iced over, and that's all you need to start your season. Now, the problem with this was that you had to possess Siberian or Far-Eastern fortitude (and attitude) in order to sit in the cold, at -30 degrees Celsius (0 degrees Fahrenheit) watching others play. People often wore those giant sheepskin coats, but it didn't always help. My dad played in the local bandy team as a junior, and he said that it was also pretty brutal AFTER the game. Because while you play, you feel very warm, especially at your core. But once you're in the changing room, your extremities start thawing away, and the pain is just unbearable. Anyway, didn't stop anyone from playing.
Thank you for sharing this! In Canada we have Broom Hockey, that sounds sort of similar...but is still played on a rink (indoor or outdoor) and is probably much warmer than bandy :D
Great episode. I really enjoyed this one. I lived in Moldova, and emigrated to the US in 1993 at the age of 9 years old. I went back to visit moldova twice after we moved to the states, and its so interesting to see how many people are interested in post Soviet Russia, and its satellite states. I remember taking pictures next to older Russian cars and old Russian military equipment that I never cared for previously because they are like a time capsule of the past from my life. But really likes this sports segment, its dead on, great to see you guys use guests. Take care and keep up the good work
@@darkoneforce2 I mean they played pretty well, my dad used to watched the Euro 88 with some Soviets in Vietnam at that time, the Soviets played an attractive style of football until they were crushed by the Dutch
Following the events of the Prague spring in 1968 The nation felt a lot of bitterness towards the Soviets, when the Czechoslovakian icehockey team defeated the Soviet team in the final of the World Championship in March 1969. it was like a national holiday. Dubcek points out: "It was much more than ice-hockey, of course. It was a replay of a lost war, and I was ecstatic when we defeated the Soviets 2-0. Thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate". Many of those celebrations turned into massive demonstrations. The office of the Soviet airlines, Aeroflot, in the center of Prague was set on fire.
@@UshankaShow Thanks, man, you also have many interesting videos. Here is a short bit about it from documentary called Cold War On Ice: th-cam.com/video/SzkWyE2YXSo/w-d-xo.html PS: You played CzechoSlovaks, not just Czechs...
Most Europeans - "Why don't Americans call it HANDball?" Most Americans - "Well like you do kick the ball a couple times a game, which is totally more important than the many times people hold the ball"
WRONG about "soccer", The СССР was CHAMPION of the EURO in 1960 and RUNNER-UP in 1964,1972 & 1988. What is even funnier the Ukrainian Valeriy Lobanovskyi is one of the GREATEST TACTICIAN all-time, alongside the likes of Helenio Herrera, Rinus Michel & Arrigo Sachi , mostly by his works at Dynamo Kyiv , YES the team than he is "supposedly" a supporter and which WON 3 EUROPEAN TROPHIES at club level.Finally , the СССР National team was leaded at the EURO 1960 by the GREATEST GK all-time Лев Ива́нович Я́шин (Lev Yashin) or just the "black spider".
@@geraldclydeabella3350 U r just basically confusing the ROLE of a captain with the player with MORE IMPACT on the team . For example at the WC62 Ramos was the captain of the "verde-amarela" but the team was basically leaded by Garrincha same on WC78 el "kaiser" Psarella lifted the cup but "el matador" carried "la albiceleste".
And to think that no one at the time believed that the Soviet Swimming Team could pull it off. Well those women proved everyone wrong--when they brought home the gold.
Cool conversation! Indeed, the Soviet team played a fantastic tournament in Euro 88 and they were very close to become the European Champions. Sadly, they had to face a formidable Dutch side in the final with superstars such as Van Basten, Gullit, Rijkaard, and Koeman! In my opinion, Soviet leadership had more interest in sports such as Hockey, Basketball and individual Olympic sports so that they could compete and eventually beat their political rival; the United States! I guess they could have become a football superpower if they had more focus on football than they actually did. They were still a good team but now as good as Germany, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, or even France! Once again, great video!
Football also strong . Im not born in soviet times , but my father ( we are vietnamese) . He said he know cska moskva , dynamo kiev .lokomotiv moskva .
The Dallas Cowboys are an interesting case study, in terms of how a team managed to have such a large and geographically dispersed fanbase. For many years, it was one of the few (or the only) team to accept black players, so many black Americans (and supporters of equality and freedom regardless of race) would pull for them. Of course, the team certainly was not free of racial controversy and was by no means a paradise for black players and fans. While not exactly welcoming them, the Dallas Cowboys at least grudgingly tolerated the presence of black players and fans during a time when that was depressingly rare. This won them many fans, and rightfully so.
My biggest memory of those days when USA would face against the USSR was in the 1980 Olympics. Anyone who was alive at that time in America remembers that game, when USA finally won the gold medal in hockey that year...That is still the biggest up-set moment I've have ever watched in my life...
Two things. 1: I'd say the draft is invented to keep fans invested in the competition, so they keep spending money on it. So socialism implemented for capitalistic ends. 2: The Soviet union football team actually won the European Championship in 1960. The Netherlands beat them in 1988 with 2-0, including a legendary goal by Marco van Basten.
also american sports work on closed leagues, no chance for new teams to appear it's an capitalist oligarchy although it looks more "socialist" and fair at a first glance
Windsor Ontario, the Canadian border with Detroit, I'm a lifelong Red Wings fans, in my teens in the 90's I was fortunate to watch the Russian Five formed together on the Detroit Red Wings. Larionov, Fedorov, Kozlov, Fetisov and Konstantinov, they brought a Soviet brand of hockey not only in Detroit but in the NHL, it was so fun and exciting to watch.
People don't realize that Vladislav Tretiak, the legendary goalie for the USSR legit blew every North American goalie away because he used his legs and feet so much more in saves than current NHL goalies. He genuinely invented the "hybrid" and "butterfly" techniques which have been the 2 top goaltending strategies in the top levels of hockey ever since those games in the US in 1976. Sergei gives me the same vibes when talking about the USSR as all my coworkers that fled in the years before and after the fall of the wall. Completely stoic, very contained and calculated in his speech. If someone that grew up in the USSR compliments you, you deserve it.
Bouncer at my local pub is a big Russian guy, I've talked to him about football in the Soviet Union. As a boy his favourite team was Dynamo Kiev, even though he was Russian. No surprise as they were the glamour team of Soviet football at the time, 11 Dynamo players were in the squad for Euro 88. Some seriously good players - Belanov, Protasov,Zavarov, Mikhailichenko, Rats, Kuznetsov & Coached by the Lobanovski.
Sports fandom and the formation of team loyalty is an interesting topic. The strongest predictor of team loyalty is to look at which team one's parents, older relatives, and peer group rooted for. To the extent anybody is interested in sports, it probably began with fond memories of watching games with parents, or tossing the ball around in the back yard as a little kid, etc. Anybody in that situation will automatically become fans of the teams that the people they care about are fans of. The second strongest predictive variable for team loyalty is geography. Naturally, people tend to root for the local team.
David: "I've used that same logic myself because it helps me to...not cry myself to sleep at night" Sergei: "I just use vodka. That helps!" Both are Me. xD
As an Eastern European who grew up in communism and did my PhD at Notre Dame ... it was so funny how he described the Leprechaun :))) Also, if you live in SW Michigan, that is Michiana and you can totally be a Notre Dame fan.
Im with you Sergi, the team that beats my team needs to lose and suffer. But I do every now and then find someone who wants that team to win so they can say they lost to the best.
Legendary goalie. If I had to think who is the GOAT goalie I would say it's either Tretjak or Hasek who coincidentally was a product of cold war Czechoslovakia.
GOAT, no I don't think that is fair to say. I would compare him to Ken Dryden (on the Canadiens), both had the best team in front of them. Their main skill was to stay alert and stop the few chances they had (which was a skill as well). Tretiak had great feet but I'm not too sure about his glove hand high, something I've noticed in a few Russian goalies back in the day. Canadians never seemed to try and exploit it (or couldn't) but there's a fair amount of video out there when they did.
@@jethro1963 Mental characteristics are the most important part of a goalie though. A hot goalie can stop everything but to do so consistently is a different matter. Just look at Binnington from the St Louis Blues who sucked in this years playoffs while my beloved Bruins had a hard time against him in the finals last time around. I admit that judging a goalie is hard though as other Bruins fan for some strange reason rank Tim Thomas above Rask because he had to do miracle saves simply because of the fact that he played himself out of position way more than Rask does.
The draft system is pure capitalism. If the game gets boring you don't sell tickets, TV rights, merch. There is competion for dollars, so the system pays. The Soviet system had no such competition for the limited amount of money from fans, so it was OK to have a few super teams.
Super great episode, definitely on the lighter side of topics that is different than the regular war, conflict, and human suffering that the world have endured. Huge thumbs up. I'd click that button more, but TH-cam won't let me. =))) P.S. It would be 'cute' if that tape recorder in the background was spinning, and "Nice Hat"!!
Saying the Wolverines have a better color scheme than the Spartans and a subtle dig at some of the hypocrisy in capitalism? Good vid, more Sergei please.
Vodka solves all of life ills, also can cure COVID....ok not that part. I really enjoy these collaborations with Sergei, he also such interesting tales to tell about his life in the Soviet Union. Hopefully you have some more coming up.
Part of the reason people will say, "Nice hat!" or "Nice shirt!" if you're wearing gear from a certain team is that they're fans of the team. Oftentimes, it's also that they're happy to meet someone from the same area. This is why you probably get more comments about U of M or MSU gear when you're outside Michigan. If I see someone wearing a Michigan State shirt in Detroit, I wouldn't even notice. If I'm in Hong Kong (or equally exotic locale) you bet your ass I'm going over and talking to someone wearing stuff from my old stomping grounds. When you're a Stranger In A Strange Land (or if you're reading the classic Heinlein novel by that name), it's usually very welcome to meet somebody from the same part of the country (or world). If you're from Michigan originally and living in Los Angeles, you don't see all that many people wearing Michigan State or University of Michigan stuff. They might be hoping to shoot the breeze for a minute or two, and wax nostalgic about the best off-campus pizza spots and bars in East Lansing or Ann Arbor.
Great hat story. My father-in-law grew up in Baghdad before moving to Tehran, and then came to the USA in 1981. He got a free hat that he wears everywhere. It is a New York Yankees hat. First off, I'm a die hard Mets fan, so everyone who sees me says, "Why are you hanging around with an old Yankee fan?" Second, people always go up to him, say "Nice hat" and then try to talk to him about the Yankees. We finally gave him a different hat without a logo to keep him out of trouble.
I would like mention that the Soviets did in fact win the Euros and had some absolute top level players in the game, including the greatest goalkeeper in history
The Detroit Lions made history in 2008 by being the first NFL team to go 0-16. Not undefeated... But rather, perfectly 100% defeated. When they were 0-15, I sure as hell was NOT hoping for them to pull out a W in the last game of the season. Add the Barry Sanders era to the already long list of reasons to be nostalgic for the 1990's. The Lions were just SO bad, for SO long, that it's sort of "Exhibit A" for why a lot of people from southwest Michigan rooted for Da Bears and other Chicago teams.
@@UshankaShow Back in the day, when I played regularly, I used to argue rather vehemently that chess is indeed a sport, though I understand most people don't think of it as such. Still, long standing soviet dominance in the world of chess is something that I believe deserves a word or two. Anyway, thanks for the reply. I enjoyed the episode so keep those coming :)
Thanks for a great video and awesome topic! i am just adding a bit more of information on the topic. one of the other sports that the soviet union competed in internationally, was Speedway. no soviet rider ever won the world championship, but Igor Alexandrovich Plekhanov, finished 2nd two times. in countries like Poland and the czech republic, the sport was very popular, and some parts of russia. some of the gear made on the soviet side of the curtain were very popular to use on the western side of the curtain. Bikes like Jawa were very popular and are still made today. So even though, that when it comes to motorsports in the previues century. The soviet Union is often ruled out due to lack of technology (think of top gears episode on cars LOL) or lack of participants. so just a bit of nuance on the topic :)
One interesting thing about team loyalty, is that in some more remote parts of the US without local teams at the professional top level, people will start to root for the team that they're able to see on a regular basis. If you're a baseball fan living in Montana, you could root for the Seattle Mariners, or maybe the Colorado Rockies, but those are far-flung cities to which you feel little or no connection. More likely than not however, 1980's Montana baseball fans probably rooted for the Chicago Cubs, becaue that's the team they were able to watch. WGN (The Chicago Tribune company's local Chicago TV station, initials standing for "World's Greatest Newspaper") upgraded itself to a 'Superstation' that was carried across the US on many cable and satellite systems. Meaning, people in rural America could finally watch baseball, and naturally they're going to root for the team they always see. For many years, prior to mlb.tv and other sports streaming services, the ONLY way you could watch a baseball game on TV in Montana was to watch the Cubs on WGN Superstation, or the Atlanta Braves on TBS Superstation. Many people in the rural south and Appalacia are fans of the Braves for similar reasons.
9:56 *It's like the [S]Wisconsin Packers nextdoor Vs. The Vikings [ViQueens] here in Minnesota (I was born in Waterbury Connecticut BTW; can't please everyone, despite being 3rd-Gen Half Norwegian BTW)*
Another interesting thing about American Football culture is not only local teams rule, but you root also for regional teams. Moreso in college, where you have SEC conference better than all others
I recently watched the Soviet hockey doc "Red Army" featuring Igor Larionov and it was fantastic, so this video is timely! Also recommend "The Russian Five" which, for those non Red Wing fans out there, is about the All Russian line the Wings used during their 90s cup runs; goes into each players backgrounds, it's also fantastic.
I'm looking forward to probably another 2 or 3 episodes of The Cold War/Ushanka Show crossover special. Sergei must have made the trip to Toronto again to visit the Kings and Generals/The Cold War crew. This crossover special certainly ain't no The Jetsons Meet The Flintstones... but then, what is?! This is more like, I dunno... let's say... Nicolae Ceaucescu meets Kim Il-Sung. (Ceaucescu's visit to Pongyang and witnessing Kim Il-Sung's relentless hold over his people inspired jolly old saint Nic to try creating his own cult of personality when he got back home to Bucharest. It mostly didn't work, without the benefit of Korea's Confucian culture steering people toward respect for "the leader" on a fundamental level.)
I disagree about Ceaucescu‘s juche failing due to Romanian culture, cults of personality and dictatorship can work in any country with a certain level of actual progress delivered, see Stalin’s Russia or Franco’s Spain, however Romania was a total shithole in the 1980s where the power would only go on for 2 hours a day and nobody had any food or medicine
I think most American's enjoyed watching the United States and the Soviet Union (during the early and middle years of the Cold War) competing in a friendly (most of the time) and "spirited" manor at the Olympic games. Much of the daily news coming out of the Soviet Union seemed to be of the political nature, not much on sports/entertainment. The Soviet Union and their Eastern Bloc (Warsaw Pact Countries) allies had their share of talented athletes, it's just that we (Americans) had to wait every four years to see them (televised Olympic games).
It have been preferred to have a different point of view that just from our guest from Ukraine. Because Russians absolute loved CSKA and the Soviet Union Fearsome national hockey team. The Power Centers for Football were 5 regions with Kiev and the great Dynamo Kiev team which was the only Soviet team to win European trophies TWICE in 1975 and 1986 Cup Winners Cups; Moscow the trio of Spartak, Dynamo and CSKA Moscow Teams; Tbilisi, Georgia with the powerful Dynamo Tbilisi,; Eeravan, Armenia with Ararat winning the double in 1974, and Finally Baku with the Neftanic Baku and their great player in the 1960s Anatoly Banishefsky. Basketball power centers were Lituvenia, Latvia and Moscow. Free Style and Greco-Roman wrestling power centers were mainly in Moscow, Siberia and the Caucasus (Georgia, Azerbaijan and Chechnya). A broader perspective needs to be discussed on all other sports, as Soviet Regime only cared about winning on all costs even if it meant hurting their athletes mental or physical attributes such excessive training and use of illegal drugs and steroids.
sort of...it's about as socialist as you get with each player still earning millions of dollars a year. It's really a capitalistic monopoly because the NFL is a single corporation that actively tries to kill or supress its competition (XFL, AFL, NFA, NCAA)
@@lolwutyoumad When you view the NFL as 1 single big company instead of 32 separate teams, it's not socialism and just spreading your resources between your 32 offices. It's a monopoly, not socialism
Back in the day, during the late 1980's and possibly before, Sokol Kiev would go "on tour" through the US (like many Soviet teams, largely to make money for the Soviet government), playing mostly small-town to mid-size (and resourced) hockey teams. Typically these would be teams in the upper midwest IHL and Colonial hockey leagues like the Milwaukee Admirals, Flint Generals, and Muskegon Lumberjacks. It's interesting to see the announcers from the local TV station in Muskegon/Grand Rapids with the Lumberjacks broadcasters discussing the Soviet hockey system. It's impossible to talk about the team structure and style without talking at least a bit about contemorary views of the Soviet Union in small town Michigan in 1989. It's very respectful and nuanced, but as you might expect, Sokol Kiev are constantly referred to as "the Russians". Sokol Kiev versus Muskegon Lumberjacks, 1989: th-cam.com/video/5Jf4_9T87ys/w-d-xo.html I won't spoil how it turns out. (I am guessing the USSR will triumph on the world stage and survive well into the future!) 33:15 Between periods, they played a quick interview with the Sokol Kiev coach, interpreted by a local Russian professor.
Hi there. Greetings from Córdoba, Argentina. I loved the show about Soviet cars, the one about Chernovil disaster and this one too. Have you called Sergei to talk about Soviet food??
Aaand the last comment from me. I'm really looking forward to the LATE Soviet Union sports episode. Circa 1980s. Because that was the time when the organized crime got a huge injection of new recruits from various sports clubs (mostly, martial arts, athletics, and sports shooting). They were the groups of Soviet citizens with high self-esteem, strong health, individualist mentality, and nothing to lose. The latter factor is because before 1985 a sportsman or sportswoman could earn pretty good living by the Soviet standards, but during the Perestroyka the state funding dropped, and the yesterday's boxers and shooters started looking for other ways of making money. As an anecdote, my dad told me how once he spoke to a pneumatic pistol shooter who decided to reinvent himself as a hitman some time in 1988. Murky time, it was.
At the time one was local team supporter because the players were ... locals unlike today where some "local" teams have players from all over the country or the world.
ironically the most socialist draft system is for the most Captalist reason, all the owners make more money if its an even playing field and each brand is worth more together instead of just a couple run off success stories
It was funny listening to Sergei describe sports logos. As a fan of the "Yellow G", I can tell you that the Detroit Lions are a bad team, if you can even call them a team. If there are any others who follow "hand ball", or football as we call it here in the states, you might remember the year that the Lions went 0-16. I was at that game.
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USSR had a really strong basketball team back in the day. A lot of Lithuanians like sabonis played for the Soviet olympics team.
@@user-otzlixr damn
oh is there any logos of those teams? must be cool with soviet influence
@BxxDxx Hoodoo yea and??? USSR may have been no yugoslavia, but it was one of the best teams.
@@user-otzlixr I'm just picturing the Soviet referee as a commissar with a Red Army officer hat and a black and white shirt just yelling and hitting them with a cane if they played a move that went against the ideology
We Americans will never forget what happened in Munich back in 1972 (other than the terrorist attack against the Israeli athletes) in terms of the USA vs. USSR in the Gold Medal round.
I love your collabs with Sergei. It's so interesting to hear about the USSR from someone who actually lived there!
Exactly what I am saying. I Totally agree with you
Sports in the Soviet Union = "I must break you."
If he dies, he dies.
@@TheColdWarTV you beat me to it
In Soviet Union hockey puck shoot YOU!
If I can change you too can change
@@shadowpresident4203 "Russian Machine Never Breaks..."
I hope you're planing more episodes with Sergei. Such an interesting perspective from him about living in the Soviet Union. The episode about cars was so amazing :)
Check out his ushanka show friend,it's very informative
Thanks!
Sergei's unrelentingly mournful, deadpan delivery makes all his jokes that much funnier.
Excellent way of putting it
@@JTA1961 in Soviet Union, you don't make the jokes, the jokes make you.
As a Canadian I found this discussion extremely interesting, especially the part where Sergei pointed out the irony that American sports are more socialist than in Europe, as compared to Soviet times where CSKA's hockey program reads like a hall of fame roster (Fetisov, Larionov, Fedorov, Bure)
I can just agree. A team of average players will beat a team of stars who cannot play together.
Sweden's Olympic hockey team in 2002 was the strongest it ever had but yet it got defeated by Belarus.
We had a long list of NHL superstars: Peter Forsberg, Daniel Alfredsson, Nicklas Lidstrom, Tommy Salo, Mikael Renberg... But Belarus dominated the game and did beat the Swedish primadona team.
I still remember the glorious moment Tommy Salo suckerized that puck in so adroitly.
Sweden losing to it's former colony 😂
@@Perkelenaattori Seems like only Tommy Salo does things like that. He is very unreliable.
One game he can be the best goal keeper in the world and take 40 shots in a game and rescue a team from the jaws of defeat. And the next game he lets the other team score 5 goals and he cannot even catch 10 pucks.
He is also very clumsy, as seen in your video. And his legendary duel against Canada in the Olympic games in 1994 was only won because he accidentally stumbled upon his own leg pads. That gave us the Olympic Gold LOL
@@stephengayton5246 Its no lose of honor to lose against Canada, Russia, Finland, Czechia. And I don't think that it is shameful to lose against USA or Slovakia either. Even Latvia could produce a few NHL stars.
But losing against Belarus is something which no top tier Hockey nation should ever do.
Our players took victory for granted and played half-assed the first half of the game. Belarus played as a team , but we had no team at all. Only 5 solo players and a goalkeeper.
Even the Belarus own team have prepared for losing this game. They even felt so sure that they had bought plane tickets so they could fly to Belarus from Salt Lake city. So their victory came as a surprise even to them.
I remember many nasty jokes I read in Swedish newspapers and on the internet after this loss.
Like one boy asking another boy "Why did your dad tell me that he works as a stripper at a gay bar?"
And boy2 responds: "He lied about his job because he thinks it is to embarrassing to tell anyone that he was part of Swedish hockey team that played against Belarus".
For a guy with not much of a sports background Sergei actually has a pretty good handle on things. I am a subscriber to his channel and his comments on sports, especially the issues that plagued Soviet hockey were spot on.
Just one comment though, about Soviet hockey's patterned plays and structure back in the day. (ie 1972) They didn't deviate from them, even though the players had great skills, they couldn't adapt to the changing game. As much self loathing as there was amongst some Canadian fans, our team adapted better than the Soviets once they got into shape and were able to properly compete.
This was reinforced in 1976 when the Flyers played the Red Army. The old narrative was that the Flyers and their coach were a bunch of goons and clubbed their way to victory. People forget that Flyer coach Fred Shero studied the Soviets, used some of their methods, (ironically originally conceived by Canadian Lloyd Percival) and adapted by Russian hockey czar Anatoly Tarasov The Flyers also had some great players, even their "goons" had decent skills. Schultz was actually a fair scorer in his youth. Shero lined up all his players at the red line and broke up all the Soviet attacks. The didn't know what to do. Add the charged atmosphere and some Flyer intimidation and the Soviets were totally lost.
My only criticism of Sergei is about something that you used to often hear, about Canadians shooting the puck into the offensive zone. Here is a quote from Soviet defenceman Gennady Tsygankov in 1972. "Our coaches didn't allow us to shoot the puck into their zone. We were instructed to cross the blue line only by passing. The Canadians would dump the puck into our zone and chase after it. I don't know why our coaches thought this was a bad play. They scored a lot of goals this way."
Great comment, thanks! I quoted by memory from the Soviet-era newspaper
@@UshankaShow Keep up the great work on your channel. I used to be in broadcasting and one of my interests is TV history. I was (and still am) interested in what people were watching on TV in the Eastern bloc countries during the Cold War years. I know to counter West German TV coming into East Germany, the East Germans aired some racy stuff back in the day (topless dancer revues etc) Thanks for tackling the subject of Soviet TV.. You made me laugh out loud about the cartoon character who smoked and the story teller who got drunk and swore :) Crazy stuff happened like that here as well in the olden days of live TV.
Oh, one more thing, unrelated to team sports. My dad happened to be an athletic coach in the Soviet Union (triple jump, Spartak, Khabarovsk). He also had medals at the Russian SFSR level as a youth, before he shifted to coaching (which, come to think of it, is a very high level, since the champion of USSR in athletics usually had a 50/50% chance of winning the Olympics). He told me a cool story about what inspired him to become a coach. He was studying in the Physical Education And Sports Institute, Khabarovsk, and during his final diploma work presentation he had an epiphany. Basically, his diploma was very well-researched, he presented it to the board very confidently. When he was waiting for the results outside the room, a man from the board stepped out of the room and asked him to step aside. That man was Lev Zobov, a legendary founder of the boxing tradition in Kuzbass (Central Siberia). Zobov was rumored to have been a Soviet POW during the WW2, having escaped the concentration camps twice, beaten with iron rods, and eventually joining a POW uprising in Dahau in 1945 (the legend claimed he knocked out a German officer with a right hook). (My dad looked him up the other day, and apparently what the legend never mentioned, Lev Zobov was sent to a Gulag after returning to the Soviet Union, but he was rehabilitated in the 1950s). So, that giant man takes my dad aside and asks him: "Do you really want to be a coach, sonny?" My dad said, yeah, I'm already semi-officially training some folks down at the Spartak Manege. So, Zobov tells him, "Out of this entire graduate year, you're the only one with a real good diploma work. You're a real trainer. But the board members didn't like how confident you were, so they're gonna give you a 4 (grade B). I fought for you, but all for nothing. Everyone they give a 5 (grade A) are just hogwash, don't worry about them. You'll be a coach if you just keep doing what you're doing."
John Wayne cheeseburger!!!!!!love this guy!I dig comrade sputnikoffs perspective,it's a nice window to look into the Soviet system
This is a top-dollar/ruble crossover episode!
Euro 88 was definitely one of the best tournaments I've seen in football. Holland had Gullit, Van Basten, Rijkaard, Koeman brothers. Soviet Union had the world class Dassayev in goal, Protassov, Mikhailichenko, Belanov, Alejnikov. Italy had Vialli & Mancini at the front. A lot of the players are now world class managers like Ronald Koeman who just got appointed to Barcelona. Truly a stellar tournament and I would say it was one of the first tournaments with a modern style of football.
And don't forget the Dutch "fans" singing in the stadium to the Soviet players :" dat wordt Siberië" (you are going to Siberia)
@@eelcoberg392 Sadly I'm not Dutch so I couldn't understand that. All I remember is the glorious football and the legendary Van Basten strike over Dasayev.
I'm from Khabarovsk, the Far East of Russia. Bandy was very popular in my region, as well as some other northern or Siberian parts of the Soviet Union. (It was commonly called "ball hockey" (хоккей с мячом), since bandy is a Scandinavian word, and you do play with a red, tennis-sized ball and a curved hockey stick). It was MUCH more popular than regular hockey in such places, since small towns didn't always have big, roofed arenas, and you're supposed to play bandy in the open air, on a big, soccer-sized field. So, in winter all those local soccer fields (especially the low quality ones, where the grass cover already sucks) would be iced over, and that's all you need to start your season. Now, the problem with this was that you had to possess Siberian or Far-Eastern fortitude (and attitude) in order to sit in the cold, at -30 degrees Celsius (0 degrees Fahrenheit) watching others play. People often wore those giant sheepskin coats, but it didn't always help. My dad played in the local bandy team as a junior, and he said that it was also pretty brutal AFTER the game. Because while you play, you feel very warm, especially at your core. But once you're in the changing room, your extremities start thawing away, and the pain is just unbearable. Anyway, didn't stop anyone from playing.
Thank you for sharing this! In Canada we have Broom Hockey, that sounds sort of similar...but is still played on a rink (indoor or outdoor) and is probably much warmer than bandy :D
Great episode. I really enjoyed this one. I lived in Moldova, and emigrated to the US in 1993 at the age of 9 years old. I went back to visit moldova twice after we moved to the states, and its so interesting to see how many people are interested in post Soviet Russia, and its satellite states. I remember taking pictures next to older Russian cars and old Russian military equipment that I never cared for previously because they are like a time capsule of the past from my life. But really likes this sports segment, its dead on, great to see you guys use guests. Take care and keep up the good work
It's so interesting to hear Soviet citizens POV on things like this. Awesome interview!!
Amazing as always. All I'll add is a HUGE "thank you" to David for saying "football" after mentioning the s word.
USSR did win the euro 1960 (the first one )
And the only nation have the ballon is goalkeeper . They are strong team but in their era facing brazil , west germany , dutch so they cant win more
@@Huuduy1210 Yep Garincha in '58, what a performance.
@@darkoneforce2 I mean they played pretty well, my dad used to watched the Euro 88 with some Soviets in Vietnam at that time, the Soviets played an attractive style of football until they were crushed by the Dutch
@@thangrobin2858 The did, but the talent level wan't comparable with the team they faced (Garincha, Pele, Zico, Socrates, Van Basten).
@@darkoneforce2 At the time pretty much nobody was comparable to Pele and Garrincha. Zico and Socrates need the referee to beat USSR.
They should've mentioned Wrestling and Judo, the Soviet union absolutely dominated those sports
Those sports were required for police, KGB, etc, that's why they made a good selection of the best fighters.
And Russia still dominate till this day
Following the events of the Prague spring in 1968 The nation felt a lot of bitterness towards the Soviets, when the Czechoslovakian icehockey team defeated the Soviet team in the final of the World Championship in March 1969.
it was like a national holiday. Dubcek points out: "It was much more than ice-hockey, of
course. It was a replay of a lost war, and I was ecstatic when we defeated the Soviets 2-0.
Thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate". Many of those celebrations turned
into massive demonstrations. The office of the Soviet airlines, Aeroflot, in the center of
Prague was set on fire.
That's very interesting! I need to look it up. I recall some weird unfriendliness every time we played Czechs
@@UshankaShow Thanks, man, you also have many interesting videos. Here is a short bit about it from documentary called Cold War On Ice: th-cam.com/video/SzkWyE2YXSo/w-d-xo.html
PS: You played CzechoSlovaks, not just Czechs...
Most Europeans - "Why don't Americans call it HANDball?"
Most Americans - "Well like you do kick the ball a couple times a game, which is totally more important than the many times people hold the ball"
WRONG about "soccer", The СССР was CHAMPION of the EURO in 1960 and RUNNER-UP in 1964,1972 & 1988. What is even funnier the Ukrainian Valeriy Lobanovskyi is one of the GREATEST TACTICIAN all-time, alongside the likes of Helenio Herrera, Rinus Michel & Arrigo Sachi , mostly by his works at Dynamo Kyiv , YES the team than he is "supposedly" a supporter and which WON 3 EUROPEAN TROPHIES at club level.Finally , the СССР National team was leaded at the EURO 1960 by the GREATEST GK all-time Лев Ива́нович Я́шин (Lev Yashin) or just the "black spider".
Igor Netto was the captain of Soviet football team
@@geraldclydeabella3350 U r just basically confusing the ROLE of a captain with the player with MORE IMPACT on the team . For example at the WC62 Ramos was the captain of the "verde-amarela" but the team was basically leaded by Garrincha same on WC78 el "kaiser" Psarella lifted the cup but "el matador" carried "la albiceleste".
Arrigo Sacchi, spelled with two "c"s
@@Thaumazo83 The Prophet of Fusignano.
Fun fact:
An Olympic Russian swim team once grew mustaches because the Americans told them it would make them swim faster.
Ha ha ha nice fact
And to think that no one at the time believed that the Soviet Swimming Team could pull it off. Well those women proved everyone wrong--when they brought home the gold.
The Mark Spitz fantasy !
Nah, not Russian, it was the East German women in the 76' Olympics.
Been watching Sergei for a couple years, really enjoy his channel.
Cool conversation! Indeed, the Soviet team played a fantastic tournament in Euro 88 and they were very close to become the European Champions. Sadly, they had to face a formidable Dutch side in the final with superstars such as Van Basten, Gullit, Rijkaard, and Koeman! In my opinion, Soviet leadership had more interest in sports such as Hockey, Basketball and individual Olympic sports so that they could compete and eventually beat their political rival; the United States! I guess they could have become a football superpower if they had more focus on football than they actually did. They were still a good team but now as good as Germany, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, or even France! Once again, great video!
In WC 86 they were the best looking team until FIFA had a bright idea of putting US linesmen in their match vs Belgium
Football also strong . Im not born in soviet times , but my father ( we are vietnamese) . He said he know cska moskva , dynamo kiev .lokomotiv moskva .
I love when this guy comes on
Yeah go there it’s on the description Ushanka Show
check out Sergei's channel; it is excellent!
The Dallas Cowboys are an interesting case study, in terms of how a team managed to have such a large and geographically dispersed fanbase. For many years, it was one of the few (or the only) team to accept black players, so many black Americans (and supporters of equality and freedom regardless of race) would pull for them. Of course, the team certainly was not free of racial controversy and was by no means a paradise for black players and fans. While not exactly welcoming them, the Dallas Cowboys at least grudgingly tolerated the presence of black players and fans during a time when that was depressingly rare. This won them many fans, and rightfully so.
Oh B. S. it was the Cheerleaders.
It is said that every goal was dedicated to Lenin
Makes sense. Lenin was not unlike a god figure in Communist ideology.
Which is so ironic Because seeing how Stalin ran the Soviet Union would have made him turn over in his grave
The Ice Hockey Team were told that when the have to break the net everytime when they scored to show the power of the Soviet Union !
Not to the players, they just wanted to play hockey and not be the tools of propaganda
We should win the Olympics
Lmao
If they ever come back
Luxembourgish empire? U mean Indiana? LOL
Did I miss a Luxembourg world conquest ?
Salut
My biggest memory of those days when USA would face against the USSR was in the 1980 Olympics. Anyone who was alive at that time in America remembers that game, when USA finally won the gold medal in hockey that year...That is still the biggest up-set moment I've have ever watched in my life...
Hand egg ball 🏈
Egg plant ball
Nope nd get over it
@@quanbrooklynkid7776 Hand egg ball 🏈
PS: The US absolutely sucks. Mostly because of people like you inside it :D
I feel like this channel might gain some attraction soon with the next cod game being set in the cold war.
Who the hell still plays these shitty cod games? The last game I played was like the original Modern Warfare :)
Love those Special episodes !
Gives hockey draft a whole new meaning
Two things. 1: I'd say the draft is invented to keep fans invested in the competition, so they keep spending money on it. So socialism implemented for capitalistic ends.
2: The Soviet union football team actually won the European Championship in 1960. The Netherlands beat them in 1988 with 2-0, including a legendary goal by Marco van Basten.
also american sports work on closed leagues, no chance for new teams to appear
it's an capitalist oligarchy although it looks more "socialist" and fair at a first glance
Windsor Ontario, the Canadian border with Detroit, I'm a lifelong Red Wings fans, in my teens in the 90's I was fortunate to watch the Russian Five formed together on the Detroit Red Wings.
Larionov, Fedorov, Kozlov, Fetisov and Konstantinov, they brought a Soviet brand of hockey not only in Detroit but in the NHL, it was so fun and exciting to watch.
Here's the difference between hockey and soccer. Hockey you go to watch the fights. Soccer you go to be in a fight.
Wow! My favorite TH-camr on my favorite 20th century history channel! A welcome surprise indeed!
People don't realize that Vladislav Tretiak, the legendary goalie for the USSR legit blew every North American goalie away because he used his legs and feet so much more in saves than current NHL goalies. He genuinely invented the "hybrid" and "butterfly" techniques which have been the 2 top goaltending strategies in the top levels of hockey ever since those games in the US in 1976. Sergei gives me the same vibes when talking about the USSR as all my coworkers that fled in the years before and after the fall of the wall. Completely stoic, very contained and calculated in his speech. If someone that grew up in the USSR compliments you, you deserve it.
Bouncer at my local pub is a big Russian guy, I've talked to him about football in the Soviet Union. As a boy his favourite team was Dynamo Kiev, even though he was Russian. No surprise as they were the glamour team of Soviet football at the time, 11 Dynamo players were in the squad for Euro 88. Some seriously good players - Belanov, Protasov,Zavarov, Mikhailichenko, Rats, Kuznetsov & Coached by the Lobanovski.
Rats was my favorite player in Dynamo
@@UshankaShow Yes I remember him being a great shot from long distance. Zavarov was my favourite.
Ya I agree with u if a team beats your favorite team especially if it's a big rival u want them 2 loose really liked that 1 nice change
Sports fandom and the formation of team loyalty is an interesting topic. The strongest predictor of team loyalty is to look at which team one's parents, older relatives, and peer group rooted for. To the extent anybody is interested in sports, it probably began with fond memories of watching games with parents, or tossing the ball around in the back yard as a little kid, etc. Anybody in that situation will automatically become fans of the teams that the people they care about are fans of.
The second strongest predictive variable for team loyalty is geography. Naturally, people tend to root for the local team.
Thank you for video and great crossover! Ushanka and John cheeseburger discovered thanks to you! 👍
Excellent as always thx 😃
Big fan of Ushanka Show and The Cold War channels. Thanks much, great collab!
Loved the Special Episode!
I have been waiting for this
Oh, this is gold!
David: "I've used that same logic myself because it helps me to...not cry myself to sleep at night"
Sergei: "I just use vodka. That helps!"
Both are Me. xD
Win, lose, or draw; champion or relegation. Your club is for life. And sometimes, that just hurts lol
@@TheColdWarTV I feel this on a spiritual level.
Michigan v ND is almost as bad as the US v the Soviets! Great stuff Fellas!
You are not the only one who can relate to those stories.
As an Eastern European who grew up in communism and did my PhD at Notre Dame ...
it was so funny how he described the Leprechaun :))) Also, if you live in SW Michigan, that is Michiana and you can totally be a Notre Dame fan.
Im with you Sergi, the team that beats my team needs to lose and suffer. But I do every now and then find someone who wants that team to win so they can say they lost to the best.
))
Interesting video. My compliments to all those who made this video a reality.
Tretiak is still my favourite hockey player of all time
Yup! I remember...
Legendary goalie. If I had to think who is the GOAT goalie I would say it's either Tretjak or Hasek who coincidentally was a product of cold war Czechoslovakia.
Despite modern revisionist snowflake "thinking" on Bobby Clarke, Tretiak speaks well of him in his autobiography.
GOAT, no I don't think that is fair to say. I would compare him to Ken Dryden (on the Canadiens), both had the best team in front of them. Their main skill was to stay alert and stop the few chances they had (which was a skill as well). Tretiak had great feet but I'm not too sure about his glove hand high, something I've noticed in a few Russian goalies back in the day. Canadians never seemed to try and exploit it (or couldn't) but there's a fair amount of video out there when they did.
@@jethro1963 Mental characteristics are the most important part of a goalie though. A hot goalie can stop everything but to do so consistently is a different matter. Just look at Binnington from the St Louis Blues who sucked in this years playoffs while my beloved Bruins had a hard time against him in the finals last time around. I admit that judging a goalie is hard though as other Bruins fan for some strange reason rank Tim Thomas above Rask because he had to do miracle saves simply because of the fact that he played himself out of position way more than Rask does.
"Sokol" is not a "hawk" but a "falcon" :-) The same in Bulgarian.
Fuck yeah Sergie love your show it's great to see you here and for anyone else go see his show
Thanks!
Never expected Captain Cheeseburger the Cowboy here! Proud of you, man. Love from the Philippines.
Thanks! It's my third video here, actually
The draft system is pure capitalism. If the game gets boring you don't sell tickets, TV rights, merch. There is competion for dollars, so the system pays. The Soviet system had no such competition for the limited amount of money from fans, so it was OK to have a few super teams.
The Browns have been getting the top draft picks for the last 20 years and how has it helped them
@@lolwutyoumad Well, I didn't say it would actually make a team good.
🙄
Great episode.
Super great episode, definitely on the lighter side of topics that is different than the regular war, conflict, and human suffering that the world have endured. Huge thumbs up. I'd click that button more, but TH-cam won't let me. =)))
P.S. It would be 'cute' if that tape recorder in the background was spinning, and "Nice Hat"!!
Saying the Wolverines have a better color scheme than the Spartans and a subtle dig at some of the hypocrisy in capitalism? Good vid, more Sergei please.
This was a good video!
I love the story of the Michigan Wolverines shirt with Notre Dame Fighting Irish pants...lol
Vodka solves all of life ills, also can cure COVID....ok not that part. I really enjoy these collaborations with Sergei, he also such interesting tales to tell about his life in the Soviet Union. Hopefully you have some more coming up.
Part of the reason people will say, "Nice hat!" or "Nice shirt!" if you're wearing gear from a certain team is that they're fans of the team. Oftentimes, it's also that they're happy to meet someone from the same area. This is why you probably get more comments about U of M or MSU gear when you're outside Michigan. If I see someone wearing a Michigan State shirt in Detroit, I wouldn't even notice. If I'm in Hong Kong (or equally exotic locale) you bet your ass I'm going over and talking to someone wearing stuff from my old stomping grounds.
When you're a Stranger In A Strange Land (or if you're reading the classic Heinlein novel by that name), it's usually very welcome to meet somebody from the same part of the country (or world). If you're from Michigan originally and living in Los Angeles, you don't see all that many people wearing Michigan State or University of Michigan stuff. They might be hoping to shoot the breeze for a minute or two, and wax nostalgic about the best off-campus pizza spots and bars in East Lansing or Ann Arbor.
Great hat story. My father-in-law grew up in Baghdad before moving to Tehran, and then came to the USA in 1981. He got a free hat that he wears everywhere. It is a New York Yankees hat. First off, I'm a die hard Mets fan, so everyone who sees me says, "Why are you hanging around with an old Yankee fan?" Second, people always go up to him, say "Nice hat" and then try to talk to him about the Yankees. We finally gave him a different hat without a logo to keep him out of trouble.
That's awesome story! Thanks!
@@UshankaShow You're very welcome. Who knew hats could be so important?
Sergeis storys are hilarious especially the hat one. Best episode on the channel so far! Keep up the good work :D
Thanks!
I would like mention that the Soviets did in fact win the Euros and had some absolute top level players in the game, including the greatest goalkeeper in history
The Detroit Lions made history in 2008 by being the first NFL team to go 0-16. Not undefeated... But rather, perfectly 100% defeated. When they were 0-15, I sure as hell was NOT hoping for them to pull out a W in the last game of the season. Add the Barry Sanders era to the already long list of reasons to be nostalgic for the 1990's. The Lions were just SO bad, for SO long, that it's sort of "Exhibit A" for why a lot of people from southwest Michigan rooted for Da Bears and other Chicago teams.
You mean "throwball" lol..... The Soviet football team was formidable.
I was hoping for something about chess to be honest. Hugely popular in Soviet Union as I understand it.
It's not really in "sports" category in my understanding although I played chess a lot back in a day
@@UshankaShow Back in the day, when I played regularly, I used to argue rather vehemently that chess is indeed a sport, though I understand most people don't think of it as such. Still, long standing soviet dominance in the world of chess is something that I believe deserves a word or two. Anyway, thanks for the reply. I enjoyed the episode so keep those coming :)
we will be doing an episode on chess in the future; our Producer is quite the player and absolutely insists on it!
Thanks for a great video and awesome topic!
i am just adding a bit more of information on the topic.
one of the other sports that the soviet union competed in internationally, was Speedway.
no soviet rider ever won the world championship, but Igor Alexandrovich Plekhanov, finished 2nd two times.
in countries like Poland and the czech republic, the sport was very popular, and some parts of russia.
some of the gear made on the soviet side of the curtain were very popular to use on the western side of the curtain.
Bikes like Jawa were very popular and are still made today.
So even though, that when it comes to motorsports in the previues century. The soviet Union is often
ruled out due to lack of technology (think of top gears episode on cars LOL) or lack of participants.
so just a bit of nuance on the topic :)
One interesting thing about team loyalty, is that in some more remote parts of the US without local teams at the professional top level, people will start to root for the team that they're able to see on a regular basis. If you're a baseball fan living in Montana, you could root for the Seattle Mariners, or maybe the Colorado Rockies, but those are far-flung cities to which you feel little or no connection.
More likely than not however, 1980's Montana baseball fans probably rooted for the Chicago Cubs, becaue that's the team they were able to watch. WGN (The Chicago Tribune company's local Chicago TV station, initials standing for "World's Greatest Newspaper") upgraded itself to a 'Superstation' that was carried across the US on many cable and satellite systems. Meaning, people in rural America could finally watch baseball, and naturally they're going to root for the team they always see. For many years, prior to mlb.tv and other sports streaming services, the ONLY way you could watch a baseball game on TV in Montana was to watch the Cubs on WGN Superstation, or the Atlanta Braves on TBS Superstation. Many people in the rural south and Appalacia are fans of the Braves for similar reasons.
9:56 *It's like the [S]Wisconsin Packers nextdoor Vs. The Vikings [ViQueens] here in Minnesota (I was born in Waterbury Connecticut BTW; can't please everyone, despite being 3rd-Gen Half Norwegian BTW)*
This is funny and educational. Good guys to have some beers with.
Ushanka Show Ushanka Show USHANKA SHOOOOOOOW!!!
Another interesting thing about American Football culture is not only local teams rule, but you root also for regional teams. Moreso in college, where you have SEC conference better than all others
I recently watched the Soviet hockey doc "Red Army" featuring Igor Larionov and it was fantastic, so this video is timely! Also recommend "The Russian Five" which, for those non Red Wing fans out there, is about the All Russian line the Wings used during their 90s cup runs; goes into each players backgrounds, it's also fantastic.
The red jerseys really made it feel like the Soviets were still on the ice...
Quite sympathic guy and love the personal story :-)
I'm looking forward to probably another 2 or 3 episodes of The Cold War/Ushanka Show crossover special. Sergei must have made the trip to Toronto again to visit the Kings and Generals/The Cold War crew. This crossover special certainly ain't no The Jetsons Meet The Flintstones... but then, what is?!
This is more like, I dunno... let's say... Nicolae Ceaucescu meets Kim Il-Sung. (Ceaucescu's visit to Pongyang and witnessing Kim Il-Sung's relentless hold over his people inspired jolly old saint Nic to try creating his own cult of personality when he got back home to Bucharest. It mostly didn't work, without the benefit of Korea's Confucian culture steering people toward respect for "the leader" on a fundamental level.)
I disagree about Ceaucescu‘s juche failing due to Romanian culture, cults of personality and dictatorship can work in any country with a certain level of actual progress delivered, see Stalin’s Russia or Franco’s Spain, however Romania was a total shithole in the 1980s where the power would only go on for 2 hours a day and nobody had any food or medicine
Very interesting topic! Never heard much about the Soviet sports scene.
Soviets were good in Volleyball as well, there were some great challenges between the USSR and Brazil back in the day.
I think most American's enjoyed watching the United States and the Soviet Union (during the early and middle years of the Cold War) competing in a friendly (most of the time) and "spirited" manor at the Olympic games. Much of the daily news coming out of the Soviet Union seemed to be of the political nature, not much on sports/entertainment. The Soviet Union and their Eastern Bloc (Warsaw Pact Countries) allies had their share of talented athletes, it's just that we (Americans) had to wait every four years to see them (televised Olympic games).
It have been preferred to have a different point of view that just from our guest from Ukraine. Because Russians absolute loved CSKA and the Soviet Union Fearsome national hockey team. The Power Centers for Football were 5 regions with Kiev and the great Dynamo Kiev team which was the only Soviet team to win European trophies TWICE in 1975 and 1986 Cup Winners Cups; Moscow the trio of Spartak, Dynamo and CSKA Moscow Teams; Tbilisi, Georgia with the powerful Dynamo Tbilisi,; Eeravan, Armenia with Ararat winning the double in 1974, and Finally Baku with the Neftanic Baku and their great player in the 1960s Anatoly Banishefsky. Basketball power centers were Lituvenia, Latvia and Moscow. Free Style and Greco-Roman wrestling power centers were mainly in Moscow, Siberia and the Caucasus (Georgia, Azerbaijan and Chechnya).
A broader perspective needs to be discussed on all other sports, as Soviet Regime only cared about winning on all costs even if it meant hurting their athletes mental or physical attributes such excessive training and use of illegal drugs and steroids.
At the time that Soviet Top League is one of the top 10 European leagues
As was the win for the US Hockey Team in the 1980 Olympics at Lake Placid
It's funny they didn't mention the salary cap being socialistic.
sort of...it's about as socialist as you get with each player still earning millions of dollars a year. It's really a capitalistic monopoly because the NFL is a single corporation that actively tries to kill or supress its competition (XFL, AFL, NFA, NCAA)
Teams being limited in order to preserve parity is a socialistic concept.
@@lolwutyoumad When you view the NFL as 1 single big company instead of 32 separate teams, it's not socialism and just spreading your resources between your 32 offices. It's a monopoly, not socialism
Back in the day, during the late 1980's and possibly before, Sokol Kiev would go "on tour" through the US (like many Soviet teams, largely to make money for the Soviet government), playing mostly small-town to mid-size (and resourced) hockey teams. Typically these would be teams in the upper midwest IHL and Colonial hockey leagues like the Milwaukee Admirals, Flint Generals, and Muskegon Lumberjacks.
It's interesting to see the announcers from the local TV station in Muskegon/Grand Rapids with the Lumberjacks broadcasters discussing the Soviet hockey system. It's impossible to talk about the team structure and style without talking at least a bit about contemorary views of the Soviet Union in small town Michigan in 1989. It's very respectful and nuanced, but as you might expect, Sokol Kiev are constantly referred to as "the Russians".
Sokol Kiev versus Muskegon Lumberjacks, 1989:
th-cam.com/video/5Jf4_9T87ys/w-d-xo.html
I won't spoil how it turns out. (I am guessing the USSR will triumph on the world stage and survive well into the future!)
33:15 Between periods, they played a quick interview with the Sokol Kiev coach, interpreted by a local Russian professor.
Thanks for your comment and links! Many spasibos! Go Sokol!
@@UshankaShow I wish Sokol would come back to the US and play against the Kalamazoo Wings or Grand Rapids Griffins, or something.
Hi there.
Greetings from Córdoba, Argentina.
I loved the show about Soviet cars, the one about Chernovil disaster and this one too.
Have you called Sergei to talk about Soviet food??
Aaand the last comment from me. I'm really looking forward to the LATE Soviet Union sports episode. Circa 1980s. Because that was the time when the organized crime got a huge injection of new recruits from various sports clubs (mostly, martial arts, athletics, and sports shooting). They were the groups of Soviet citizens with high self-esteem, strong health, individualist mentality, and nothing to lose. The latter factor is because before 1985 a sportsman or sportswoman could earn pretty good living by the Soviet standards, but during the Perestroyka the state funding dropped, and the yesterday's boxers and shooters started looking for other ways of making money. As an anecdote, my dad told me how once he spoke to a pneumatic pistol shooter who decided to reinvent himself as a hitman some time in 1988. Murky time, it was.
this was awesome
At the time one was local team supporter because the players were ... locals unlike today where some "local" teams have players from all over the country or the world.
The title should have been "football and hockey in the USSR". As a Caucasian, I was waiting for combat sports like judo and wrestling.
Yep, you guys kicked butts in those fields. But I am from Ukraine. So Динамо Киев - Чемпион!
Oleg Blokhin and David Kipiani Soviet centre forwards at Espana 82.
I see sergei, I like and share. It's simple but honest work.
Oh, wow. Sports.
You also forgot one thing about Soviet football team is that they are also the first team to win the euros in 1964
ironically the most socialist draft system is for the most Captalist reason, all the owners make more money if its an even playing field and each brand is worth more together instead of just a couple run off success stories
Yep, greedy capitalists did figure that out, didn't they?
Soviet football/soccer team did win european championship um 1960.
It was funny listening to Sergei describe sports logos. As a fan of the "Yellow G", I can tell you that the Detroit Lions are a bad team, if you can even call them a team. If there are any others who follow "hand ball", or football as we call it here in the states, you might remember the year that the Lions went 0-16. I was at that game.