Posted on 02/06/2004 8:06:38 PM PST by Citizen Soldier
I strongly recommend the new mocvie out today called "Miracle" starring Kurt Russell. It is about the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team and when they beat Russia at Lake Placid. If you want to feel good about America and recall how incredibly awful Carter was this movie will do the trick. I remember watching this game on TV and how the crowds cheered them on chanting "USA! USA!" The people watching the movie with me were cheering and clapping during the game! Everybody loved it!
He said that he has seen Miracle 5 times now, the last time with a youth hockey team he helps to coach. The movie is very family friendly ... you won't be ashamed or embarrassed to go with your children, your grandchildren, your parents or anyone else.
He says that he feels that the movie is done extremely well and does impart some of the feelings of that awesome day.
He praises Herb Brooks to the sky and says that the movie is really his story ... that he was a wonderful coach who was very tough at practice but very supportive during games ... and let the team take all the glory, fading into the shadows himself. [I didn't realize it but after THE game, he went through the tunnel into the locker room rather than staying on the ice to celebrate. Mike says for him to have done otherwise would have been a repudiation of all that the coach had been.] Kurt Russell does an outstanding job of portraying Brooks ... capturing all the nuances of his speech and mannerisms.
An interesting note. The host asked Mike how much he actually remembered from his own recollections of that game (as opposed to what has been said about that wonderful event). Eruzione said that he had actually only watched the video of the game once and that was a couple of years ago. One fascinating thing he mentioned .... when out on the ice, one doesn't hear the crowds ... only the shouts of teammates and opponents. But on the bench one could hear the fans and the atmosphere was incredibly electric.
Some musings of mine ...
Sadly, such an event will never happen again. The magic of that game was our fully-amateur team beating the well-practiced team of the USSR. But now our Olympic teams are no longer limited to amateurs .... we have our spoiled-rotten pros out there. I really regret the changes in the Olympic rules to allow the professionals to play ... it takes so much of the magic out of the games.
A potentially positive side-effect of this movie -
After the interview with Eruzione, the host brought up some background material ... set the stage for those who don't personally recall that fantastic event. He talked about the Peanut Farmer being president; about the decision being announced just 2 days before the game that our teams would not participate in the summer Olympics that year; about the inflation and the sky-high interest rates; about the hostages in Iran; about the outrageous increase in gasoline prices; etc.
Not a bad time, IMO, for a whole new generation to be reminded about what a very lousy president the Peanut Farmer was and how badly the 'rats were muffing both foreign and domestic policy.
The magic of that game was our fully-amateur team beating the well-practiced team of the USSR. But now our Olympic teams are no longer limited to amateurs .... we have our spoiled-rotten pros out there.True, but back then, they had their spoiled-rotten pros out there. But that's not the salient detail, and not the most amazing thing about why it can never happen again.
The Soviet Union doesn't exist anymore.
Now that's a Miracle.
I did too -- my dad made me watch it with him! :D
But I still regret that the Olympics didn't remain amateur.
Can't afford it this weekend because we are taking them to the circus tonight for the first time. I read in the paper that the PETA freaks are out protesting the circus. It would be worth it to go just to pi$$ PETA off but I'm sure we'll have a good time too.
MKM
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