Funny anecdote

Wayne Coffey is the author of "The Boys of Winter"; he opens with scenes from Herb Brooks's funeral at the cathedral in St. Paul. He then rewinds to some stories of Herb's early hockey experiences before getting to The Game against the Soviets on February 22, 1980, telling the story of the rise of Soviet hockey as he does.

Anatoly Tarasov was the first great Soviet hockey coach, who essentially invented the Soviet style of play. He would travel to the US and Canada to learn the game, and while marveling at skyscrapers and other elements of Western society (including shows at Sea World), he developed a taste for, of all things, mayonnaise. He would be astounded to see the many different brands of mayonnaise (and lots of other foods) on supermarket shelves. He was also amazed that the Canadian style of hockey (too familiar to Flyers' fans over the years: dump-and-chase) had not evolved into something more like what he thought was a superior strategy of skating and passing.

Remarking on this back in the '50's or '60s to Lou Vairo, a US hockey honcho with later ties to the 1980 Olympic team, Tarasov said: "Your people can build the world's tallest buildings. You can make 49 different kinds of mayonnaise. You can teach dolphins to do the most complex tasks. Why can't you teach your hockey players to pass the puck more than two meters?"