Sometimes when you leave the house, you never know who you might run into. For lucky Washington Capitals fan Alex Mun, he had the encounter of a lifetime at a local Harris Teeter. There he was, Alex Ovechkin, the great eight himself, being just like us shopping for groceries.
It happened last Wednesday as Mun parked his car and went inside the supermarket. And then it happened. There was Ovechkin and his family crossing paths with him.
Mun said in an interview, “I was walking down the aisle, and Alex Ovechkin and his family were walking towards me. Immediately, I recognized them even though everyone was wearing their masks.”
Mun was able to recognize Ovechkin easily as earlier in the day there was a video on the great eight’s Instagram story of him playing indoor hockey with his son Sergei. He was able to spot the bright red Nike sweats from the video.
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Mun was initially shy and nervously waved as the two walked by. Then he had the guts to say, “Ovi, man I freaking love you. I named my dog after you.” Then Ovechkin laughed and Mun asked if he wanted to see a picture of the pooch.
Ovechkin said sure, as the great eight is a dog owner himself. The dog version of Ovi is a cockapoo which is a mix of a cocker spaniel and poodle. You can follow the dog on Instagram.
After Mun showed him the picture of his dog, the two took a selfie together. Mun then congratulated Ovechkin on reaching his 718th career goal for sixth most on the NHL’s goal scoring list. It was a quick exchange but Mun was appreciative of Ovechkin’s time.
Mun also talked about how meeting his favorite hockey player was emotional after feeling scared and a lack of belonging after the Atlanta spa shootings that happened earlier that day.
Mun said, “It had really been a tough week mentally and emotionally for us with all the hate and everything going on in the country so this was seriously such an uplifting moment. I’m just so appreciative that Ovi took the time to acknowledge a fan and be who he is.”
Late post but met @ovi8 yesterday & showed him a pic of my dog “Ovi” in his @Capitals jersey! 😁🙌🏼 seriously the best minute of what’s been a tough week mentally/emotionally with everything going on in the world... Appreciate you & CONGRATULATIONS again on reaching #6! 👏🏼🏒🐐 pic.twitter.com/IF04IoS6pS
— Alex Mun (@amuney9) March 18, 2021
Mun was at the viewing party with his wife at Capital One Arena for Game 5, the night the Caps won the Stanley Cup. They were inspired by that run which prompted them to name their dog after the Caps captain.
“My wife and I named our dog after him because of not only what Ovi means to me as a lifelong DC sports fan, but the entire DMV area for what he’s done and continues to do on and off the ice,” said Mun.