Eric Lindros was arguably the most recognizable figure in Philadelphia sports during the 1990’s. What comes with a lot of people knowing who you are? Endorsements and badly-acted commercials of course! As the off-season slowly creeps along, let us take a moment to look back upon the storied acting career of Eric Lindros.
Ellio’s Pizza (1992)
A commercial for the famous and not-so-good frozen pizza, Ellio’s features Lindros along with Pelle Eklund, Mark Recchi and Bobby Clarke. The commercial starts off with Lindros slapping the rear end of Recchi asking his team mates “Who wants some pizza?”. The trio cooks the pizza in a toaster oven talking about how great is. Bobby Clarke comes in at the end to take the last piece of pizza thanking the guys for it.
Tomatometer rating: 90%
Showcase Store (1992)
A funky beat plays while Eric is shown trying on various sports apparel from a Sixers jacket to a Toronto Blue Jays jersey. The commercial ends with two customers fighting over a Lindros jersey (with more visible in the background). Eric walks up and takes the jersey saying the line “Hey boys, easy. I’ve waited a long time for this jersey.”
Tomatometer rating: 82%
ESPN Sports Center (1993)
Back when hockey was actually featured on the “The Worldwide Leader In Sports” network ESPN, Lindros filmed this ad singing along to the very catchy Sports Center jingle.
Tomatometer rating: 68%
Modell’s Sporting Goods (1995)
Gotta go to Mo’s! Yeah!
If you’ve ever wanted to see Eric Lindros in a full Phillies uniform, or Sixers uniform…well first of all, why? And second of all, look no further then this Modell’s commercial from 1995! At the beginning, Eric seems like he is trying to ask a store worker where to find hockey items, but she keeps telling him “Modell’s is more than hockey”. Which quite frankly is a very rude way to talk to Philadelphia’s biggest hockey player at the time. Anyhoo, Eric soon has an epiphany that Modell’s really is more than just hockey! He tries on various sports outfits from tennis to fishing to golf. The end brings our story full circle with the same store employee asking Eric about hockey, to which he responds “Modell’s is more than just hockey.”
Tomatometer rating: 95%
ESPN (1995)
In a short 15 second ad for a Flyers/Devils game, (which would have been not very good to watch considering it was 1995, mind you) Eric tells the audience (you) that he, John LeClair and Mikael Renberg do not like the nickname “Legion of Doom” and have changed the name to “The artists formally known as the Legion of Doom”. Which in my opinion is not as catchy, and does not roll off the tongue like the original name does. Their new name never seemed to catch on. Maybe they should’ve drawn a symbol?
Tomatometer rating: 42%
Bauer (1996)
Atmospheric violin music with beautiful narration can be heard while shots of a hockey rink are displayed. Eric does not appear until the very end where he walks out of the tunnel, having a staring contest with the camera. This was most defiantly not his best acting gig, but it is something.
Tomatometer rating: 20%
IBM (19??)
Don’t you hate it when you somehow stain a white jersey pink while washing it with other white jerseys? Well this equipment boy somehow did just that. After a game, the equipment boy is going around the Flyers locker room collecting jerseys, when Lindros hands him his jersey telling the boy “This is my lucky jersey, don’t mess it up.” FORESHADOWING.
The washing machine buzzer rings and the boy goes to remove Eric’s jersey. He finds the jersey has turned pink because it was also washed with Eric’s lucky sock.
Not so lucky anymore, are they Eric?
Tomatometer rating: 54%
“Rubbing Elbows with Eric Contest”
Do you know Eric’s favorite (music) video? Well if this was sometime in the mid 90’s you’d be in luck! Bauer and Cooper along with Much Music held a contest for fans to win tickets for themselves and three friends to see a Flyers/Leafs game in Maple Leaf Gardens as well as a pair of Bauer skates. Near the end of the video the words “Really Big Hint” flash on the screen, presumably to tell fans about a hint, that is really big. The intro to Van Halen’s “Right Now” starts to play, which we can only assume is that very big hint. Unfortunately, I was not able to find out who won this contest. But whomever you are, wherever you are, just know that you’re probably awesome.
Tomatometer rating: 66%
Interview on “Late Night with David Letterman” (1997)
David Letterman was one of the biggest names in late night television for decades. So Eric Lindros making an appearance on the Late Show is actually a huge deal. He comes out to Paul Shaffer’s band playing “Fly” by Sugar Ray. The interview features many basic hockey questions, but it does have some memorable moments such as Letterman asking Lindros if he is an enforcer. To which Eric laughed and says “No, that’s not me”. Letterman responds saying “You’re Zorro aren’t you?”
For an odd combination of funny late night television host and hockey player, the seven minute interview is defiantly worth the watch.
Tomatometer rating: 88%
Pond of Dreams (With Gretzky, Howe, Lemieux, Jagr, Kariya and Bure) (2000)
Hockey players are not good actors. This is pretty common knowledge. If you’d like to see sub-par acting from the best hockey players of all time, you’ve got the pond of dreams. Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux, and Wayne Gretzky all walk towards a frozen lake where they meet Eric Lindros, Jaromir Jagr, Paul Kariya, and Pavel Bure. Lindros skates up to the old guys and asks, “You guys bring your gear?”
Triumphant trumpet music plays as the camera pans over all the players. Wayne Gretzky responds with, “No thanks boys, its your turn now.”
The trumpets get sadder as a chorus joins in. Howe, Lemieux, and Gretzky all start to walk away. Jagr calls over the three players on the ice, starting a stick tap as a sign of respect. Violins start to fade in as the camera pans away from the lake. Simply a masterpiece.
Tomatometer rating: 99%
