[Interview] Philly, Meet Our New Best Friend, John Tortorella
Oooooo, this season’s gonna be good.
We had a chance to chat with the Flyers new head coach, John Tortorella this morning. Mind you, it’s on the heels of Bill Clement telling us on Friday morning that Torts is going to rip players faces off. We played that clip for coach, he giggled and said Billy may have exaggerated a bit.
That was an introduction that we weren’t expecting, but really appreciated. Turns out Torts is a really nice guy. He kicked off the interview by congratulating his dear friend Bill Clement on his recent induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Then he agreed with all of our statements about rivalries.
“I think hate is a real dangerous word nowadays, but that animosity towards the other team, I think that’s healthy. I try to look for things so that I have animosity toward the other teams.”
Remember how Michael Jordan talked about manipulating other players and getting into their heads during The Last Dance? Coach was fascinated with MJ’s candor and admits that he does the same thing.
“I try to get my team that way, it’s part of coaching.”
Yes, John Tortorella knows that he’s walking into a rough situation. He has talked to Chuck Fletcher, he has listened to the fans, but his plan is to block out the ‘noise’, meet the players, watch them play and find out everything he can, first hand.
“[The fans] are not too happy, no one is, and I get it, rightfully so.”
Here’s what we learned: if you bump into Torts on the street, try talking about Ted Lasso or animal charities before you unleash on the organization. Listen to the interview and make your own opinions:
Jump right to the interview (02:29:00):
