"Borje" biographical series based on the life of... who do you think?

[MeHateHe]

Has anyone else seen this series? I came across it on Crave. It's created by Viaplay, so I assume it's available somewhere in Europe. No idea about US streams.

It features Jason Priestlay as Gerry McNamara, and I have watched three episodes and I only discovered that credit by seeing the IMDB listing.

Die Landarztpraxis (TV Series 2023) ⭐ 7.3 | Biography, Drama, Sport

Die Landarztpraxis: With Valter Skarsgård, Jason Priestley, Hedda Stiernstedt, Jack Langedijk. Follows the story of Börje Salming, the first Swedish player who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, exploring his journey from his humble roots to becoming an NHL legend.

www.imdb.com

Some interesting bits that made me curious. They show a bench-clearing brawl in Salming's last season in Brynas, a game in which Salming slugs a ref. Did that actually happen? If so, how is it not in the lore of him now?

They make a big deal about how he's a tough player, not the stereotypical Swede, and they contrast him with Inge Hammerstrom, who they show Salming acting as a protector of.

No one comes across particularly sympathetic, at least in the episodes I've seen. Salming is portrayed as being passive and insecure, which is why he acts like a tough guy, and he's seen as really deferential to his older brother Stige. Swedish hockey fans are shown as being sort of hooligans and racist (even his own team's fans call Salming a "Lapp bastard"). Canadians by and large are thugs: they show a game between Brynas and the Barrie Flyers where a Barrie player spits in Salming's face.

Funniest thing was at the beginning of an episode, they depict three fans standing outside Maple Leaf Gardens in 1972 talking about the upcoming game and the fans are played by Tiger Williams, Darryl Sittler and Lanny McDonald.

I'm curious if anyone has seen it and can fact-check some of it. I was only vaguely aware of Salming growing up, as I was a Habs fan and who cares about the Leafs?

Click to read more...

 

[sr edler]

Has anyone else seen this series?

My mom saw it and liked it, but she isn't interested in sports. She liked the 1970s props though (clothes, et cetera).

They show a bench-clearing brawl in Salming's last season in Brynas, a game in which Salming slugs a ref. Did that actually happen? If so, how is it not in the lore of him now?

Yeah, apparently parts of it did happen, between Brynäs and Timrå in February 1973, but it's a TV series so it's probably exaggerated a bit. I listened to a short radio clip just now with Timrå player Bo "Bulla" Berggren and he claimed one of their players ran over the referee, not Salming, but that Salming assaulted Timrå player Finn Lundström in some way which started some type of brawl.

Swedish hockey fans are shown as being sort of hooligans and racist

These type of fans surely existed, perhaps not straight out hooligans though as in a more modern football context with ultras or gangs and such. But rowdy, foul-mouthed and probably a bit racist, yeah sure.

Even in the 80s, I know Djurgården's fans had specific homophobic chants targeting Färjestad's star player Håkan Loob, et cetera. It was just a different time.

 

[Hobnobs]

My mom saw it and liked it, but she isn't interested in sports. She liked the 1970s props though (clothes, et cetera).



Yeah, apparently parts of it did happen, between Brynäs and Timrå in February 1973, but it's a TV series so it's probably exaggerated a bit. I listened to a short radio clip just now with Timrå player Bo "Bulla" Berggren and he claimed one of their players ran over the referee, not Salming, but that Salming assaulted Timrå player Finn Lundström in some way which started some type of brawl.



These type of fans surely existed, perhaps not straight out hooligans though as in a more modern football context with ultras or gangs and such. But rowdy, foul-mouthed and probably a bit racist, yeah sure.

Even in the 80s, I know Djurgården's fans had specific homophobic chants targeting Färjestad's star player Håkan Loob, et cetera. It was just a different time.

There is still that kind of racism from the stands in swedish hockey and isn't isolated to the 70s. Of course it was more back then since theres been rules implemented against it.

Odoya and Enok are two players off the top of my head that I can think of thats had racist remarks thrown at them from fans. As well as some racist scandals involving players and management.

Whole stands chanting racist or bigoted things have mostly gone away sure but thats mostly because they'd get identified in todays climate and banned plus the threat of having to play in empty arenas.

 

[MeHateHe]

I finished the series - only six episodes. I thought it was pretty good. They touched on his suspension for cocaine use, although I suspect they airbrushed the reality of that situation, and the way it was portrayed, they showed Salming essentially being tricked into admitting he used cocaine one time, and only the day he found his best friend was being traded. I mean, whatever, but it again shows Salming as being naive at best.

The series was filmed while Salming was still alive - he makes a brief cameo in it - but finished after his death. It ends just after the skate-in-the-face incident and makes no metion of his season in Detroit or returning to Sweden, or his second marriage. These are all choices, I suppose, but if you're going to document someone's life, it seems to me, cutting out the bits that aren't flattering makes it seem like you're mostly interesting in lionizing the guy. Salming was a great player; the stuff that happened after 1986 doesn't diminish that, in my opinion.

Anyway, worth a watch, since this now feels like a movie review. Spot the cameos; in addition to McDonald, Sittler and Williams, there are cameos by Stig Salming and Jim Mckenny and maybe a couple others. If you ever watched Beverly Hills 90210, you'd never think that was Jason Priestley playing Gerry McNamara.

 

[NotASheep]

Bjorge

 

[57special]

I went to numerous games in Maple Leaf Gardens, and The Montreal Forum during the 60's and 70's. I would say that the crowd was pretty well behaved in most instances. The Montreal fans would be passionate, but very knowledgeable, and classy. While there are always cases of boorish behavior, the security in both places was pretty good.

Can't speak to places like Chicago, and Philadelphia, at the time, nor some of the minor league rinks.

When I think of badly behaved fans during that period, I automatically think of European Soccer, especially English and Scottish leagues. Hockey fans weren't even close to bringing that sort of mayhem, except in isolated instances.

 

[Boxscore]

I'm absolutely furious that there's no way for me to watch this in the States.

 

[Moose Head]

I'm absolutely furious that there's no way for me to watch this in the States.

I think it might be available on Apple TV.

 

[Boxscore]

I think it might be available on Apple TV.

Maybe in Canada, not in the States. Just checked.