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No, check that: This is Russian national team head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov being thrown in the air by his players after they defeated Slovakia and captured the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship on Sunday.
Is hip-hip-hooray people tossing a staple of Russian celebrations? Frankly, we wouldn't mind seeing this after a team wins the Stanley Cup. Preferably the New York Rangers ("Enough with the [expletive] [expletive] [expletive] tossing, you [expletives]") or the St. Louis Blues, a Herculean test of strength.
Here's are the Russians, throwing the old man:
Dude caught some air on that. Luckily for the coach, that went better than when Semyon Varlamov attempt to raise the IIHF trophy at center ice: (s/t Marat Ryndin)
Best save of the tournament.
Coming up, celebrations of the Russian ice hockey victory from back home and in Helsinki, as well as the scene from Slovakia.
First off, check out the scene at Eurovea in Bratislava, Slovakia, for the championship game:
Alas, the Slovaks lost 6-2 to the Russians in the title game, as the flag-toting fans in Helsinki subtly mentioned after the game:
Here's what the celebration looked like back in Kirov, complete with creepy "Cloverfield"-like cinematography.
Lest you believe this isn't a major tournament for hockey fans in Europe, here's the scene after the Russian's captured gold … from a bar in London in the UK.
And here are the final moments of the game at a viewing party in Prague.
Congrats to the Russians and their fans. But please know that honking car horns and chanting has a long way to go before it reaches the true championship euphoria of the Finns. Now that was a party.