In one of the funnier stories surrounding this year's surprise-filled World Junior Championship, a gaffe on the broadcasting of the Canada - Russia final match caused many Russian fans to believe Russia had won the gold.
Leading up to the semi-finals, all matches from the WJC had been shown on the MatchTV channel. However, the last two games were being shown on Channel One. Both channels are part of the basic television package and not everyone was aware of the change. It didn't help that MatchTV decided to broadcast the 2011 WJC Finals which featured a star-filled Russian team (Tarasenko, Panarin, Kuznetsov) beat Canada for the gold by a score of 5-3. Apparently, the switch took many by surprise, with many watching the whole game and then celebrating the Russian victory in person and on social media.
One of the more noteworthy gaffes came courtesy of Duma (Parliament) member Mikhail Degtyarev, who posted a congratulatory note to Team Russia on his Facebook. The now deleted post came under intense scrutiny and laughter, especially considering that Degtyarev heads the Committee on ... Physical Education, Culture and Sport.
An even more embarrassing error could have stayed private but for the sense of humor of Yana Tarasenko, the wife of 2011 WJC star and current NHL sniper Vladimir Tarasenko. On her Instagram account she posted that her husband was fooled as well. Apparently he turned on MatchTV, and muted the sound while watching and playing with his kids. It took him ten minutes and seeing himself on the television to realize he has watching the wrong game. "You're not alone," Yana wrote to the other fans.
Perhaps the best comment on the matter has come from MatchTV commentator Mikhail Polenov in a now-deleted Tweet. "If you fell for it, you're an idiot," wrote Polenov. "You can't tell the 2011 team from the 2020 team? Seriously? Then why do you even care who won?"
Source: Sport24.ru (various articles)
