February 22 each year is a special day for me because it marks the anniversary of one of the greatest stories of my life, the Miracle on Ice, the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey Team’s 4-3 upset victory over the Soviet Union. Forty years ago, today, twenty American college hockey players beat the greatest hockey team in the world.
When I showed my seven-year-old son highlights of the game, he was surprised at how emotional I got, and wanted to know why I still cared about a game I watched as a boy. This gave me the opportunity to tell him why the story of the Miracle on Ice is so special to me.
Compelling Characters
Like a well-written book, the Miracle on Ice has all the essential elements of a great story. First, there are characters we quickly come to care about. Team USA’s average age was only 21. The players were college kids competing against a Soviet team of seasoned professional athletes. Though underdogs, Team USA worked hard and surprised everyone by coming into the game against the Soviets undefeated. With each successive game, you could see how much the players cared about one another. It was easy to root for such a likable team.
Even the “bad guys” in the story were compelling, because they were so good. The Soviets revolutionized hockey with their emphasis on passing, working as five-men units, and playing a faster and more skilled game than their North American counterparts. In pure hockey terms, they played a beautiful game. They were also the defending Olympic champions and, just prior to the Lake Placid Games, defeated a team of NHL All-Stars, which included several future Hall of Fame players. This was a great hockey team.
Setting
The story took place in the beautiful upstate New York town of Lake Placid, the second time the small town hosted the Winter Games. Beyond the scenic Adirondack Mountains setting was a country that was struggling. The economy was bad, there were gas shortages, and the country’s morale was low. The Cold War was also the backdrop of the Olympics that year, and the political and economic differences between the East and West were unavoidable. While there was something of an “us-versus-them” mentality, what made this opponent so compelling was that, Cold War aside, the Soviets were great hockey players. So, with the country in need of a lift, there was hope and excitement as the young American team squared off against the favored USSR.
Forty years ago, today, twenty American college hockey players beat the greatest hockey team in the world.
Plot
As with all great stories, Team USA had a quest – to win the Gold Medal. It would be a long and difficult journey. There were several talented and more experienced hockey teams trying to stop the American team, including the vaunted Soviets. It seemed like an impossible quest, but impossible quests make for the greatest stories.
On the evening of the USA-USSR game, in one of the greatest pre-game speeches ever given, USA Coach Herb Brooks said to his team, “Great moments are born from great opportunities. And that’s what you have here tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here tonight.” Earn it they did. From the team tryouts in September 1979, through the pre-Olympic exhibitions, and finally to the Olympic tournament itself in February 1980, the team skated, drilled, and trained. They defeated several good hockey teams to earn their opportunity to play the Soviets and make history. Just before they took the ice, Brooks told the players, “Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world.”
Conflict and Resolution
The game itself lived up to the hype. It was sixty minutes of fast, exciting hockey. The USSR scored first and held the lead three times during the game, but Team USA fought back each time. With the game tied going into the third period, there was hope. For perhaps the first time, the Soviets were playing a team that could skate with them for the entire game. The hard work, the hundreds of hours of practice, and the grueling pre-Olympic exhibition schedule, paid off for Team USA. The American players weren’t tiring. In fact, they were gaining confidence with each successive minute.
With eyes tearing up, I showed my son a video of the climax of the game, team captain Mike Eruzione’s game-winning goal. He smiled at my reaction, but I told him that the game wasn’t over at that point. There were ten minutes left, an eternity for Team USA to hold on to their lead against the great Soviet team.
In the last half of the third period, the Soviets played desperately. They mounted wave after wave of attacks. Team USA countered, but their goalie Jim Craig had to make several incredible saves. As the game clock ticked away at an excruciatingly slow pace, the capacity crowd became louder and louder. What they were witnessing wasn’t supposed to be happening. At 0:05 seconds, the raucous crowd began the countdown, “Five, four, three…” Finally, with two seconds left, broadcaster Al Michaels made his iconic call, “Do you believe in miracles?” A moment later, as the American players began their celebration, Michaels answered his own question with a joyous, “Yes!”
A Gift
Forty years later, it is truly a gift to share these memories with my son. Though he may never fully comprehend what the game meant to Americans at that time, he now understands why February 22 is a day his dad will never forget. Because it was on that day that a hard-working group of young hockey players came together to beat the odds and achieve something special. On that magical day in 1980, in a small town called Lake Placid, twenty young Americans, “born to be hockey players,” as Coach Brooks told them, seized the opportunity they earned, birthed their great moment, and became the greatest hockey team in the world.
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