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Alex Ovechkin reveals his favorite movie, who he thinks is the best athlete of all time, and whether he would choose pancakes or hot dogs

By Chris Cerullo

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May 19, 2023 1:14 pm

Alex Ovechkin was asked a slew of quickfire questions to end his lengthy Russian-language interview with It’s Football, Bro! last week.

During the segment titled “Blitz: Best of the Best” Ovi was asked a wide variety of questions including what he thinks is the best movie, who he thinks is the best athlete of all time, and confusingly whether he prefers pancakes or hot dogs.

The Great Eight did his best to stick with the intense interrogation and came up with some interesting answers. Here are some of his best.

Best movie: Gladiator

The 2000 hit, Oscar-winning film starring Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius has long been a favorite of Ovechkin’s and that has apparently not changed. Back in 2013, in a magazine handed out at the then Verizon Center, Ovi first revealed his love for the epic historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott.

Four years later in 2017, Ovechkin confirmed his pick in a weird interview with Ilya Bryzgalov at that season’s All-Star Game.

Best soda: Coca Cola

Coca Cola is perhaps one of the most well known and documented favorites of the Caps captain. He has also partnered with them on many initiatives like helping promote the Special Olympics.

Here’s a sampling of Ovechkin-Coca-Cola RMNB headlines over the years.

Best car: Mercedes

Ovechkin has owned many Mercedes vehicles over the years including a Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG and a Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series. At one point in his career, he boasted a collection of seven cars which also included a BMW M6 and a Porsche Cayenne GTS.

During a Russian-language interview in 2013, Ovechkin said that collecting cars was his “main hobby, my dream, and there is nothing I can do about it.”

It’s safe to say that explains some of his confusion when he received a free Lada at the KHL Awards on Thursday.

Best soccer player: Lionel Messi

Ovechkin is a documented fan of FC Barcelona, the Spanish club that soccer great Lionel Messi spent his entire career with until departing in 2021. Messi is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, if not the greatest, and has won a record seven Ballon d’Or awards for world player of the year.

The two sporting legends met after an international friendly match that Messi’s Argentina played at FedEx Field in 2015.

Earlier in the interview, Ovechkin documented a family vacation to Spain that he went on when he was just 12 years old.

“We once rested in Spain when I was 12 years old,” Ovechkin said. “And we went to the market. I have been a Barcelona fan since childhood. When Rivaldo played there, the De Boer brothers – all the T-shirts that hung there. I asked my dad, God rest him, to buy. He’s like, ‘Sash, well, it’s expensive.’ I’m like, ‘Dad, this is Barcelona.'”

Best meat dish: Beef stroganoff

Perhaps playing to the home crowd a bit, Ovechkin went with the Russian dish beef stroganoff. The hearty dish consists of sautéed pieces of beef in a sauce of mustard and sour cream. Mushrooms are also common to be included.

The meat dish Ovechkin is perhaps most connected to though is chicken parmesan, particularly from DMV area establishment Mamma Lucia. He sparked a bit of a rush to the Italian restaurant in 2018 when he revealed his pregame meal tendencies.

Stroganoff does check out though as back in 2017, Sports Illustrated Kids asked the Capitals star to list some of his favorite foods.

“I like the borscht, pelmeni, beef stroganoff,” Ovechkin replied. “I can eat everything. American steaks, hamburgers. All kinds of stuff.”

Best athlete of all time: Michael Jordan

Ovechkin did not go with a hockey player or a player from his second favorite sport of soccer for his pick as the best athlete of all-time. Instead, he chose six-time NBA Champion, five-time NBA MVP, 10-time NBA scoring leader, 14-time NBA All-Star, and two-time Olympic gold medal winner, Michael Jordan.

Ovi’s mother Tatyana Ovechkina is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in basketball herself so he does have somewhat of a connection to the hardwood.

Ovechkin was a huge fan of ESPN’s docuseries on Jordan’s Bulls teams titled The Last Dance. He talked about the special on a Russian podcast back in 2020.

“I think this is one of the best sports projects,” Ovechkin said. “This is a story, especially when you are an athlete, you understand what this person has achieved, and he begins to talk about his life, how everything went, how he moved after failures. Very cool.”

Beat Gretzky’s record or win Stanley Cup again: Win Stanley Cup again

Alex Ovechkin is just 73 goals shy of leaping over Wayne Gretzky for the NHL’s all-time lead in goals but he has made it clear multiple times that he would trade all of that for another Stanley Cup. That didn’t change last week as he again said he would go for more team glory over perhaps the greatest individual accomplishment in the sport of hockey.

Ovi has been asked that same question multiple times in recent years as his chase of Gretzky has continued and the Capitals’ first Stanley Cup victory has moved further into the past.

“For the rest of my career, my goal is to win the Stanley Cup again,” Ovechkin said to Match TV last August. “I would like to do just that. And our personal records, including this one, we will try. I’ll try to score, and then we’ll see.”

Pancakes or hot dogs: Hot dogs

In a question probably better suited for Phil Kessel, Ovechkin was asked whether he prefers pancakes or hot dogs.

“Hot dog,” Ovechkin answered. “Big sausage. Toasted white bread, pickles. Mustard. Ketchup. And another glass of good, cold beer.”

That reply also tracks as when asked last Decemeber what he was going to do to celebrate passing Gordie Howe for second on the all-time goals list, Ovechkin was ready to down a good ole frankfurter.

“Going to the bar right now,” Ovechkin said to media. “Hot dog. Nachos. Why not?”

Note: Transcription of this interview provided by sports.ru and translated via Google Translate.

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB