“To be respected, you have to be strong”: Boris Mayorov – 85

– You have a very bright sports life. Full of significant events that have become an integral part of the history of our country. What needs to be done, what should our young athletes remember in order to be like you?

– The most important thing is to love what you do. Selflessly love. Your work should be a pleasure for you. Every game should be fun for you. You can get distracted by other things, of course. Because life is in full swing around you, something is constantly happening. And you can’t ignore it. But you must remain true to the cause to which you dedicate yourself. If you treat sports, hockey as some kind of ordinary business, everyday routine, then nothing will work out. You won’t achieve anything. It is not necessary to set some sky-high goals – just love.

Today I often read in newspapers or watch on TV interviews of our young hockey players: “I have a dream to play in the NHL!”. What it is? No need to talk about this dream to anyone. Train, love your job, and everything will come.

How did hockey start for you?

– For me, hockey began with a yard box. There were no amenities. All of us, boys, pupils of the yard. Skiing, hockey, volleyball, gorodki, other games – all in the yard. Then the stadium was next to the Shiryaev field in Sokolniki, Spartak. I went there with my friends and signed up.

– In Soviet times, many world champions and Olympic champions came out of street hockey and football. Today, do you often see boys playing hockey in the yards?

– Today, I don’t see something that there are a large number of sites in the yards. Maybe they are on the outskirts of the city, but Moscow has grown to an incredible size. There was a hockey rink near my house, it was flooded in winter for several years. And now in its place is a playground. Near each house there is a playground. No matter how much I go to the store, none of the children are there. The boys had nowhere to play hockey. Of course, parents take children to sports sections. But this is two or three times a week for an hour they work there.

And when we were kids, we just disappeared on the street. Both in winter and in summer. Down the porch – and you’re free. Whoever wants to play what he wants. In Sokolniki, on Bolshaya Olenya Street, there are two ponds side by side. By November 7, the ice had already appeared. And immediately on skates. Yes, and two stadiums were close.

You will come from school at seven in the evening, I studied on the second shift, a sandwich in my teeth, skates on my shoulder, and ran through the snow. 250 meters to the stadium. Where do you find such conditions now?

– And when did you manage to do your homework?

– From eight to ten, until half past eleven in the evening, I was at the rink. And study in the second shift from two days – in the morning I did my homework. For me, studying has never been a problem. I graduated from school with a silver medal. So the question of lessons for me never stood. In general, I knew very well what to do first, and what to do next.

– Today our sport is going through difficult times. When you played, too, not everything was always smooth. Is it possible to compare what happened in your youth with how our athletes are now treated abroad?

– Not really. We somehow did not feel that we were treated badly. There was no such thing. In addition, the teams entering the hockey rink are already enemies in themselves. This is quite natural – there is a sports struggle for the result. For the championship, for the medals. This is fine.

As for the external environment… In the sixties, when the Caribbean crisis was, we had a tour in Canada in 1962, just a month after it. The team of the Soviet Union. Then yes, there was a bit of a wary attitude. But in general, no. This is first. And secondly, in order to be respected, you have to be strong. And then we were strong. We all looked in the mouth. We won. Therefore, the respectful attitude towards us was on the part of the rivals, on the part of the public. Probably, the leadership of international hockey wanted there to be a constant change of champions. But it did not work – we all won in a row. So I personally did not feel any negative attitude towards either the Soviet Union or our national team in those years.

– Who was the most important rival for you personally?

-That’s not the question. For one simple reason. The team is a very complex mechanism. Today she is in good condition, and she does not care about any rival. Tomorrow in physics is a little worse than it should be, and problems are already arising. And then already any opponent becomes uncomfortable.

If we talk about sports results, then the Czechs have always been such difficult opponents. At a certain stage – the Swedes. True, they then rolled back. And, of course, Canadians. Who have a thirst for victory on the ice in their blood. Their character of winners runs like a red thread through all the games.

– Our Continental Hockey League is 15 years old. What, in your opinion, has the KHL done the most important thing for our hockey during this time?

– Our hockey has changed organizationally. There are certain rules by which the league plays. Not gaming, but the rules for the existence of clubs.

Competitions among junior teams have become better organized. The truth does not suit me that 16-17 year old boys have to travel a lot. From Moscow to Vladivostok, from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok, to Sakhalin, and so on. These are absolutely terrible moves. At this age, children need to get an education, to be more in the family, in a familiar environment. And they are forced to travel around the country.

– How do you celebrate your anniversary?

– Today I am the vice-president of the Russian Hockey Federation, the chairman of the coaching council of the federation. At the same time, in Spartak, the chairman of the Council of Veterans. There are about three dozen people in its orbit now. We go to Spartak’s matches together, remember the past and think about the future … In general, I’m busy.

– Today’s “Spartak” …

– Disappointing. The game leaves much to be desired. It is unlikely that he will make the playoffs this season.

– What makes you happy?

– Thank God, with the exception of some diseases, health allows you to do something else. I went to my mother’s relatives because of my health, it is strong. Looking forward to the summer season to go fishing. Soon already, in the month of May, the fishing season will begin.

– Where do you like to fish?

– At the Uchinsky reservoir, not far from the dacha.

Moskovsky Komsomolets cordially congratulates Boris Alexandrovich on his jubilee and wishes him good health, good spirits and long life!