PHOTO: Bildbyrån
The tributes to Börje Salming never seemed to want to end during the 1976 Canada Cup.
And although the time during which the celebration took place may have been turned up a little over the years, sports journalist Peter Wennman, who was there, believes that the scenes were almost shocking.
– We emissaries were completely taken to bed, he says.
The moment then Börje Salming had to receive a standing ovation during the Canada Cup in 1976, was earlier in the autumn named the “Moment of the Ages” in Swedish ice hockey. It was when the Swedish starting line-up was to be presented that the audience in Toronto stood up and paid tribute to Salming, a tribute that went on for several minutes.
“Were taken on the bed”
Peter Wennman was there as a journalist, and has previously described the moment as something of a shock.
– We emissaries were completely taken to bed. My old Gävle colleague Anders Wedén had the chair next to him and sobbed: “That he was so damn big!”, he has previously told Aftonbladet.
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However, Wennman believes that the tributes did not go on for the five minutes that have been rumored, and that that figure has probably been modified slightly over the years.
– It didn’t last as long as is implied in the exaggerations these days, it wasn’t about five minutes at all, two at the most. But Tre Kronor, not least brother Stig, almost burst with pride in the players’ booth.
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Salming’s greatness
The now-retired sports journalist was also present during the match between Canada and the Soviet Union, at the same time that Tre Kronor faced Czechoslovakia in Quebec.
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During the meeting between Canada and the Soviet Union, something happened that really proves Börje Salming’s greatness.
– I remember the running text strip that lit up the short side in Maple Leaf Gardens during the Canada-Soviet meeting. Tre Kronor played at the same time against the Czechs in Quebec. The text began to move and announced: Czechoslovakia 1 …………… Hymn 2. The jubilation that followed … you get the idea, says Peter Wennman.
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