40 years ago today.......


"The Miracle on Ice!"

For those who weren't alive then or weren't living in America, it's hard to understand what a momentous event that was, even if you didn't care one iota about hockey or any other sport. You have to understand it in the context of the time. The US and the Soviet Union had been locked in the Cold War, driven by fear, ignorance and stupidity, with opposing views of how the world should be run. We came to the brink of war more than once, though the Cuban Missile Crisis was probably the closest. At this point,tensions were very high, as the Soviets had invaded Afghanistan, heightening tensions in Central Asia and between the superpowers.

Meanwhile, America had been through a decade of turmoil. The 60s ended in violence and tremendous upheaval, some good, much terrible, with assassinations, a never-ending war in Vietnam, protests on the nation's streets and university campuses, race riots and the economic upheaval that followed. We saw a a president abuse his office to gain information on political rivals, sanctioning a criminal break-in at an office in the Watergate building. That president was deeply implicated and was facing a likely introduction of multiple articles of impeachment that was very likely to lead to a vote of impeachment and possibly the first actual vote of removal from office. Instead, that president, Richard Nixon resigned the presidency and Gerald Ford was sworn into office, then issuing a pardon to Nixon. The OPEC Oil Embargo sent gas prices skyrocketing, further fueling inflation and the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

In Iran, a revolution overthrew the repressive regime of Shah Reza Pahlavi, who had been friendly to the US and British interests that put him into power, after a coup of the elected government. The new revolutionaries turned their sights on the US and invaded the US Embassy compound, in Tehran and took the staff hostage, apart from a few who were able to escape. They were held prisoner for 444 days, in part due to a failed military rescue attempt that ended in a tragic explosion and the scrubbing of the mission.

Crime rates were high, drug use was high, morale was low. The US seemed impotent and its people felt like the world was collapsing around them. They sought diversions where they could find them. However, we found heroes in the most unlikely place; a small city in upstate New York, Lake Placid. They had held the Winter Olympics in the past and were the host for the 1980 Winter Games. The Winter Olympics tended to be dominated by the European and Soviet Bloc nations, as the events featured sports that were deep traditions in those countries. The Soviets funded their athletes training, making them, in effect, if not name, professionals. The US wasn't expected to do very well, outside of a few possibilities in figure skating and speed skating. The Soviets had dominated Olympic Hockey for years and had even beat an NHL All-Star team. The US team consisted of a rag-tag collection of college players, most of whom had no experience in international play.

Coach Herb Brooks had assembled the team, with only one player from the 1976 team. Several were from the Univ of Minnesota, where Brooks had been coach, and some from Boston University, who were rivals of Minnesota. 20 players were selected, with goalie Jim Craig and team captain Mike Eruzione being the team leaders and Brooks' whipping boys. He trained them mercilessly and even had them doing line drills after a particularly bad loss to Norway, in exhibition play, where the lights were turned out on the rink, as the custodians thought everyone was gone. Whenever he yelled at the team, Eruzione and Craig were singled out, as the leaders of the group. Brooks emphasized European-style play, feeling it was the only way they could compete with the dominate Soviet Team.

At the Olympics, the US started with a 2-2 tie with a powerful Swedish team, that saw a late game tying goal, which ultimately clinched the US getting into the Gold Medal Round. The US followed this up with a 7-3 victory over Czechoslovakia, who were the favorite for the Silver Medal. The US racked up 3 more wins beating Norway 5-1, Romania 7-2, and West Germany 4-2. They were 4-0-1, going into the medal round, along with Sweden. The Soviets had dominated their group, with straight wins, though they had trouble with Canada and Finland. The Soviets and the Finns advanced.

The US team's success had captured the imagination of the country. In those days, ABC, with the top sports broadcasting team in the country, if not the world, had exclusive broadcasting rights. Their Olympic coverage had set the tone for broadcasting the Olympics, running profiles on athletes from around the world, to bring the human story to the viewers, bringing people closer together, despite the national rivalries. They showed competitors as real people and you often found yourself cheering for foreign competitors, because of how they came across in these profiles. The previous Olympics, at Innsbruck, Austria, Americans cheered Franz Klammer's Gold Medal-winning downhill run.; Now, in 1980, we were watching hockey, like never before. People had posters of the team and chants of U-S-A became a common sound at the games and in bars and homes across the country.

On Feb 22, the US played the Soviet Union, in the game that would test all of their hard work. Could the US pull of the upset of a generation? Could they bring a bit of light to the darkness?

The Soviets took an early lead in the first period, scoring 9 minutes into the period. The US tied it up at 14 minutes. The Soviets scored again after 17 minutes. In the closing seconds of the period, the US scored and tied the game. One period in, we were neck and neck with the Soviets. Goalie Jim Craig had trouble in the beginning, but improved his play over the period,

In the second period, the Soviets replaced their starting goalie with their back up, a move that surprised everyone. Still, he allowed no goals and the Soviets scored again, though play was hard and fierce, with the Soviets scoring on a power play.

The third period saw Soviet player Vladimir Krutov was sent to the penalty box for high sticking and the US got a power play. After blocked attempts, the US scored, near the end of the power play, tying the game. The US scored again, taking the lead in the game, 4-3. There were 10 minutes left in play time.

The Soviets attacked and went for the goal and bounced a puck off the right goal post, just missing a goal. Herb Brooks shouted at the team to "Play your game!" The US remained aggressive and stayed on offense, trying several times more for goals. The clock was starting to wind down and the Soviets were panicking, missing wild shots. The Soviets tried a couple of last minute shots and the US recovered and tried to clear the puck over the blue line. As the clock started to tick to the end, the crowd took up the chanting of the seconds and announcer Al Michaels made the call of a sportscaster's lifetime, which was replayed across the nation and for years to come...



Do you believe in miracles? On that day, the entire nation witnessed one, as a group of inexperienced college kids, who worked their butts off and aimed for the stars, grabbed them in both fists. The stands were packed with flag waiving Americans who erupted in celebration. The US had beat the USSR.

The funny thing was, the actual gold medal game, against Finland, was anti-climactic. The US could have still finished fourth, based on the tie with Sweden, so they had to clinch the win, for the gold. Going into the third period, the US was down 2-1. In the locker room, coach Brooks told the team, "If you lose this game, you'll take it to your f-ing graves!" He walked to the locker room door, paused and said over his shoulder, "Your f-ing graves!" The US came back to tie the game and defeat Finland, 4-2, clinching the gold medal.

That Olympics saw the US win 6 gold medals. One was for the US Hockey Team, the other 5 were won by speed skater Eric Heiden, who dominated all of the men's speed skating event and became the only person to win 5 gold medals in a single Winter game. The US won 4 Silver Medals:  Leah Poulos-Mueller won 2 in Women's speed skating, Phil Mahre for men's slalom, and Linda Fratianne for women's figure skating. They also won two Bronze Medals: Charles Tickner in men's figure skating, and Eric Heiden's sister, Beth, in women's speed skating.

The US Hockey Team consisted of:

Herb Brooks-coach

Mike Eruzione-captain
Jim Craig-goalie
Mark Johnson
Bill Baker
Dave Christian
Steve Christoff
John Harrington
Rob McClannahan
Ken Morrow
Jack O' Callaghan
Mike Ramsey
Mike Pavelich
Steve Janaszak
Buzz Schneider
Dave Silk
Eric Strobel
Bob Suter
Phil Verchota
Mike Wells

At this Olympics, the medals were given on a podium that accommodated one player at a time, with the team captain receiving the final medal and remaining for the playing of the national anthem. When the ceremony concluded, Mike Eruzione called the team to join him on the podium.



Sports Illustrated need no captions for the cover; the picture said more than words could express....



I'm not a flag waiver; I believe actions speak more than patriotic slogans, flag waiving, chest thumping or other displays of nationalism. On this day, in 1980, we were all proud Americans; not because we beat the Soviets, not because we captured a gold medal in the Olympics, not because we had won a war. We were proud, because a group of 20 young men reminded us, and the world, that dreams can become reality, if you work hard enough and you keep aiming for the goal.