The current Washington Capitals roster is filled with guys who love to have fun, as their Stanley Cup celebrations will attest. Some of them are also genuinely funny. Evgeny Kuznetsov peppers his interviews with a dry sense of humor and the stray curse word. Some have appeared in humorous commercials like Alex Ovechkin for ESPN, and Braden Holtby for Geico.
As funny as those commercials were, they can’t compete with a series of commercials produced for the team in 1999 and 2000. As part of the Caps’ “Always Intense” advertising campaign, team owner Ted Leonsis hired movie director Doug Liman to produce television spots to broaden the team’s appeal. The resulting ads, similar in style to the “This is SportsCenter” ads running on ESPN, were goofy spoofs of the sport, depicting distinctly hockey actions, such as face-offs and line changes, integrated into real life. The comical ad campaign further cemented fans’ love for the players involved. In this post, NoVa Caps takes a look back at the fun.
In perhaps the most memorable commercial, Olaf Kolzig sips wine as only a goalie would:
Coach Ron Wilson kept track of all the details:
Chris Simon got into the act, proving he provided protection on AND off the ice.
Olie the Goalie returned to stare down his paperboy:
The paperboy may not have beaten Kolzig, but somebody scored in this racier spot:
Fan favorites Steve Konowalchuk and Andrei Nikolishin have a “business” lunch:
We at NoVa Caps think they are all terrific. Which is your favorite?
By Bryan Hailey
Loved these!
Some of these you would NEVER see today. Too edgy for today’s PC world.
Great Job, Bryan Hailey! Thanks for collecting these all in one place! I’ve been hunting for them on internet and they’re disguised pretty well. The Ron Wilson Caps were terrific. Constrained by the penny-wise and Pound-foolish owner, Dishonest Abe, Caps were always five steps behind the NHL elite teams. Wilson took the fall for a non-replenished roster that fell apart after the 1998 Championship run.Thankfully we have these commercials to remember these “good old days” when the Caps had their first real taste of success. The Andrei-vs-Konowalchuk FaceOff is immortal! And Yes, the humor was FABULOUS and only possible in pre-911 America. In the permanent police state we have had since 2001, all six of these wonderful commercials are politically unacceptable.
Great memories!
Chris Simon taking out the old lady is absolutely hysterical! My favorite! Kolzig’s evening dinner and the Konowalchuk/Nikolishin “faceoff” are close behind. Perhaps they could update them with our players today.
Maybe my fave.