Archive for November, 2009

Swedish ice hockey: from sex toys to somersaults

Miscellaneous: November 19th, 2009 by DL

Last season, it was flying dildos that made Leksand of Sweden’s Allsvenskan hockey league a household name.

And while sex toys sailing through the air may have been a one-time (albeit memorable) occurrence, the scrappy team from central Sweden has once again found itself in the international limelight.

Taking the mantel from Leksand’s Jan Huokko, who was the object of last year’s famed ‘dildo downpour’, is 18-year-old up-and-comer Henrik Andersen.

Normally, a goal by a virtual unknown in the country’s second highest league wouldn’t draw much attention…even if  it’s a rather nifty score.

But it’s not the goal that has everybody talking.

Rather, it’s Andersen’s jump for joy after notching his first goal in the league that has catapulted this budding hockey talent from obscurity to overnight sensation.

Andersen celebrated the score, the first in a 4-0 drubbing of opposing Björklöven on Tuesday night, by not merely jumping, but more or less taking a flying leap right through the plexiglass behind the goal.

The YouTube clip of Andersen’s unintentional celebratory somersault over the boards (see below), already linked to by sports websites across North America, is certainly on its way to becoming a highlight reel classic.

If only Andersen could have matched the grace he displayed in slyly slipping the puck past the goalie when he tumbled into the crowd. On the bright side, he’s likely caught the attention of NHL scouts, although not necessarily in the way he intended.

And speaking of Huokko, he announced on Wednesday – the day following Andersen’s acrobatics – that he’s retiring from professional hockey due to a career-ending knee injury. Hopefully he’ll be able to find something to keep him satisfied during all his new-found free time.

The question now is, who will be Leksand’s next international star?

(To see the clip with a classical music soundtrack, click here)

Is English becoming too prevalent in Sweden?

Miscellaneous: November 4th, 2009 by PO

The BBC sends a reporter to Sweden to seek out voices in the great language debate.

Says Swedish singer Samson for President:

“I do not believe in some sort of fascist regime where you protect the Swedish and exclude international cultures, I do not think that you are supposed to only be allowed to sing in Swedish about Karl-Åke that dances on some bridge somewhere in the archipelago.”

But not everyone is enamoured with the onward march of the English language. Read the article for more.