Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice.” For those unaware, the underdog US Olympic hockey team defeated the heavily favored Soviet team in what has widely been called the greatest moment in US sports. The US then went on to defeat Finland to win the gold medal.
I was only 9 when it happened so I have no great personal stories about it, but I do remember watching it at my grandparent’s house (now mine), and my uncle being amazed that Herb Brooks was capable of smiling.
What are your recollections from the game? How is the game viewed in other countries, if at all?
I was at that arena just a couple of years ago. I stood at ice level and had a chat with Ken Morrow, who was on that team. I’m not even American but that was a pretty special moment (for me anyway).
I recently rented “Miracle”, the Kurt Russell movie about that olympic team. Pretty good movie. But what I thought was understated was just how imposing that Russian team really was. I wasn’t a huge hockey fan, but even I had more of a sense of just how “Goliath” the Russian team was to our “David”. The movie indicated how good they were, but I mean, the Russian team would regularly come over for exhibitions and kick NHL teams’ butts !
So my recollections of The Miracle, were just that unexpected. I can’t recall any other sporting upset quite as big as that game against the Russians. And I definitely remember cheering in front of the TV. The movie has been criticized for downplaying the final against Finland (also a great game), but I recall having that “they’re on a roll” feeling after the Russian game, and so it was kind of a given that they’d win the gold.
According to the link in the OP, the players must have felt the same way, but they were losing after two periods. Coach Brooks apparently put the squash on that mentality rather bluntly.
I wasn’t old enough to remember the game, or the implications it held at the time, so it was stuff of sports lore to me. Last night ESPN Classic replayed the game, along with some commentary from Mike Eruzione interspersed. Damn it all if I didn’t find myself on the edge of my seat throught the entire game, even though I knew how it ended. My wife just didn’t get the drama of the whole thing leading up to Al Michael’s famous “Do you believe in miracles? YES!” line at the end… an yes, I just had goosebumps writing that.
I remember (vaguely) a sense of pent-up anticipation and excitement before the game, even though the USA was the huge underdog. My family and I watched it, and as far as I could tell, so did everybody else in town.
What made this a tad unusual was that I was growing up in Miami, which was normally about as oblivious to hockey as any town could be, and AFAIK this was the first time anybody in my family had taken an interest in a hockey game.
It’s wonderful that there’s been movies (both made-for-TV and the Disney one from a couple of years ago) about it, but it’d be nice if the whole game was available on DVD.
ESPN Classic is showing the Gold Medal game vs Finland tomorrow night at 8:00 PM EST. They re-broadcast the Miracle on Ice game Tuesday night. I don’t see it listed again through the weekend.
The local news showed up at the ice rink, told everyone about the upset and interviewed my dad as part of the fan’s reaction. Then we watched the game that night and then the news with my dad’s taped reaction. I was 13.
That morning, when we were leaving for the rink, my dad wanted to get dressed a little nicer, but we were late, so my mom said, “Just go like that, who is going to see you at an ice rink?”
Haha. Who? Most of the Philly metro area!
The whole day has been frozen and imbedded into my memory.
I was 17 years old and a senior in high school. I was aware of the world around me, so I knew that the hostages were still being held in Iran and that the Soviets had invaded Afghanistan. I, like many others, had an inherent feeling of patriotism, so this was a painful time. I remember watching the game and beginning to think that the USA could actually win, and being thrilled when they did. Most of my memories are images after the game. A flag-draped Jim Craig counting seats looking for his father in the stands. The crowd chanting “U-S-A” and liking the feeling of listening to that. The team hugging at center ice. The game and the event are a lasting image for me.
