Canada Russia '72 (2006)

David Berni: Phil Esposito

Quotes 

• Phil Esposito : [referring to New York Rangers players]  All you need to know about those guys is spell Park's name backwards.

  Wayne Cashman : Brad... Krap.

• Alan Eagleson : Uh, listen. I just got a call from the Russians. There's some kind of mix up with the hotel rooms in Moscow. Something about being overbooked or something. So basically what it means is that there's uh, there's no rooms for your wives. Alright?

  Phil Esposito : Ah, tell them to go screw themselves, Al! Come on!

  Alan Eagleson : You know what, Phil? You know how much I'd love to tell those Commie bastards to go screw themselves, right?

  Phil Esposito : Right.

  Alan Eagleson : Okay. But it's not gonna do any good this time, okay? There are no rooms. You got it? There are no rooms.

  Phil Esposito : That's horseshit, Al.

  Vic Hadfield : That's stupid, Al.

  Alan Eagleson : For Christ's sake, we've got a job to do here! And the only way to accomplish that job is to stop all this goddamn whining, and bitching, and complaining and all this... crap! We are playing for our country here. We are on a leaky rowboat, and unless we all start rowing together...

  Phil Esposito : [interupting]  You know Al from day 1...

  [Phil stands up] 

  Alan Eagleson : ...we are gonna go down.

  Phil Esposito : From day 1, we've done everything that's been asked of us!

  Alan Eagleson : We are gonna go DOWN!

  Phil Esposito : Everything! And more! And what have we got in return, huh? Ridicule, and contempt. People coming up to us, saying they're ashamed of us. Ashamed to be Canadians because of us? Not one of these guys has anything to apologize for. Jesus! And as far as I'm concerned, my wife doesn't go to Russia, neither do I.

• Phil Esposito : To the people across Canada, we tried, we gave it our best, but for the people who booed us, I'm really uh - we're disheartened and we're disillusioned, and we're disappointed at some of our people. I mean, we cannot believe the bad press we've been getting, the booing in our own buildings. If the Russians boo their players, the fans... Russians boo their players, and I'm not saying all of them, then I'll come back and I'll apologize to each one of the Canadians, but I don't think they will. I'm, really, really disappointed. I mean, I cannot believe it. Some of our guys are really, really down in the dumps, we know, we're trying like hell. I mean, we're doing the best we can, and they got a good team, and let's face facts. But it doesn't mean that we're not giving it our 150%, because we certainly are. Everyone one of us, 35 guys. We came because we love Canada. And even though we play in the United States, and we earn money in the United States, Canada is still our home, and that's the only reason we come.

• Phil Esposito : Hey! These Swedes are pissed off, eh? Let's get goin'!

  Alan Eagleson : We can't. Somebody called in a bomb threat at our hotel.

  John Ferguson : Probably the Ambassador.

• Phil Esposito : Whoever scouted these guys should be killed.

• Phil Esposito : I don't know, boys. We're in a foreign land here...

  Yvan Cournoyer : Yeah, where we're hated.

  Phil Esposito : ...thousands of miles from home...

  Gary Bergman : Where we're hated even more.

  Phil Esposito : ...losing the biggest hockey series in the history of the world. And just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, we've been deserted. We're on our own, boys. Us against the world. So I say here's to us, and screw the rest of them. Screw the Sweedes, and screw the Russians, and screw the people back home who hate us. Screw the media, screw the governemnt, screw the referees, Cash.

  Gary Bergman : Oh yeah.

  Phil Esposito : Especially screw the referees! Did I leave anyone out?

  [Cashman, who has a swollen tongue, attempts to speak] 

  Gary Bergman : What's that, Cash?

  [Bergman leans up to Cashman to hear] 

  Gary Bergman : Screw the nurses.

  [Everyone laughs] 

  Phil Esposito : Screw the nurses, boys!

• Phil Esposito : You know what? These guys are such hypocrites, you know? Thay all want the same things we do: Nice car, big house. But they just won't admit it becasue they're commies.

  Wayne Cashman : Yeah, you tell 'em, Espo.

• Wayne Cashman : Espo, without me buddy you got no one to go into the corners. You want me to sit on the bench with ya? Hold your hand?

  Phil Esposito : Why don't you hold my salami, ass wipe!