Coach Drops 10 F-Bombs in 26 Seconds. It Worked

John Tortorella's gone-viral speech seems to have done the trick in NHL playoffs
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 13, 2019 8:31 AM CDT

The hockey world can't quite figure it out. The Tampa Bay Lightning ran away with the regular season and were the overwhelming favorite to win the Stanley Cup before the playoffs began. But the No. 1 seed has looked awful in dropping the first two games of its best-of-seven series to the No. 8 seed Columbus Blue Jackets. At home, no less. What gives? A memorable speech by Columbus coach John Tortorella before Game 1 probably didn't hurt. A camera in the locker room caught Tortorella dropping no fewer than 10 f-bombs in 26 seconds while trying to inspire his heavy-underdog team. Watch a bleeped version here via Fox Sports Ohio.

"Forget about skills, forget about Xs and Os," Tortorella begins. "It's a f---ing mindset of f---ing believing. It's amazing what can f---ing happen. So you f---ing stand in there, you stand in there and you don't take a f---ing backward step. Not for a f---ing second. It's a great f---ing opportunity to stand right f---ing face-to-face with 'em and go right f---ing to 'em. There is no one taking a f---ing back step here." End of speech. It "will make you want to run through 10 brick walls," observes a blog post from a site, GolfDigest, that covers a more genteel sport. (More Columbus Blue Jackets stories.)

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