The Washington Capitals have gotten a little more silly this season, and that’s right up our alley. Sure, they’re still all business on the ice and they still give straight-laced interviews– sometimes, but there’s also been a strong undercurrent of zaniness. We love it.
Ovi did penalty push-ups, Ovi played soccer at Six Flags, Ovi entered a contest to win himself. (Lots of Ovi in this list…) Tom Wilson fought a child— which wasn’t as bad as it sounds, Nate Schmidt weirded out everyone with his word salad, and then the team’s backup goalie doing multitasking. It’s been a busy season for nonsense.
Whatever you think of the team’s on-ice product, at least we’ve been thoroughly entertained. And at the heart of all that fun has been Troy Brouwer. He made a mess of a goal celebration in the preseason, celebrated his 100th goal in style, and got a mustachioed bobblehead. But his main gag, if you ask me, has been Brouwerbombing.
Brouwerbomb (noun) — the act of sabotaging an interview by grinning like a goon in the background. Popularized by Capitals 20-goal scorer Troy d’Artagnan Brouwer.
On Saturday I had the chance to ask Brouwer– who had at that point not yet scored his 20th goal– about his antics. He had surprisingly deep thoughts about it all.
So I wanted to ask you about the Brouwer Bomb.
I just want to have some fun. I mean, interviews and this kind of stuff can get a little bit boring every morning when you do it every day. It’s good to have a little fun with it and lighten up the mood sometimes.
What is the art of a good Brouwer Bomb?
Timing. It’s all about timing. You’ve got to make sure the guy is unsuspecting when you’re coming in. If you do it properly, you can get in and get out without anyone noticing. But most of the time the camera crew laughs and gives it away.
Nicky Backstrom has done two, I think Brooks Laich has done one…
I just think Laich enjoys being in front of the camera though. It’s not a Laich bomb. He just wants to be in front of the camera.
The Brouwer Rangers tell me that that they told you about our bet.
Yes, they did.
I wasn’t actually betting against you scoring 20 goals. I was betting basically to be a Brouwer Ranger because I was that confident in you.
Good! You know what, when you word it like that I’m a little more inclined to talk to you. Before that, I was a little sketchy.
So you’re definitely going to get 20?
I’m not going to say definitely, but I’m going to work hard towards it. You know, personal goals are on the back-burner. We gotta make the playoffs first.
Brouwer scored twice the very next day to hit the 20-goal mark.
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