Posted on 02/20/2005 8:45:21 AM PST by Straight Vermonter
NEW YORK (AP) -- They are middle-aged men now, their hair a little thinner, their bodies a little thicker, pursuing careers, one an oral surgeon, another a financial broker, one a horse rancher, another a university executive, spread across the country from Massachusetts to Minnesota.
Twenty-five years ago, they came together and manufactured a miracle.
This coming week, they'll gather in Lake Placid, N.Y., for their silver anniversary reunion. The U.S. hockey team won the Olympic gold medal in that tiny Adirondack town in 1980, prevailing against the longest of odds and bringing together a country that was struggling though tough times.
It produced a nationwide celebration then, and the reunion ought to be a terrific party now.
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
I can remember being a 10 year old and watching this team do the impossible.
I was in the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas and watched the end of the game in the Sports Book.
I still believe in miracles.
One of the all time great sports stories. To me, right up there with Secretariat winning the Belmont by something like 10 miles. Helped take away some of the sour taste of getting robbed in basketball in the 72 Olympics. It seems now like a fore-runner of the Reagan election and the US regaining its stride as a nation after the darkness of the 60s and 70s.
Great DVD also. "MIRACLE". I recommend it.
One of the few hollywood movies I've seen in the last ten years.
The "Miracle On Ice" brings back very vivid memories for me. I was 17 years old and a senior in high school, having recently enlisted in the Marines. I watched the Russia game hours after it was played but still I did not know the outcome so it was as good as seeing it live. This was before the Internet and other forms of instant mass-communication so it was still possible for the networks to keep tape-delayed games a secret!
Of course the USA had to win one more game before getting the gold after beating Russia. Many people forget that. I think we saw that game live.
I was working at Logan Airport at the time so I remember the commotion when the local hockey players returned from Lake Placid. I had just gotten my driver's license so I borrowed my father's car and drove to Winthrop, where I watched the parade for Mike Eruzione. It was bedlam - there had to be hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets of Winthrop - when only about 40,000 people lived there!
For some reason, the Toto song "99" reminds me of that day because it was playing on the radio as I was driving to the parade.
I remember there being a lot of excitement about how these players were going to do in the NHL. Bruins fans dreamed about having Jim Craig in goal and players like Mike Eruzione scoring goals for them. But strangely, that Gold medal hockey team didn't produce any NHL superstars. There were a couple of players who had "journeyman" careers in the NHL, but that was about it. Many of them, including Eruzione, never made an NHL club (though I think Eruzione never tried).
The 1980 gold medal team wasn't about superstars however. It was about a group of players playing as a team and being much larger than the sum of their parts. Sort of like the New England Patriots of today.
That's right. Eruzione felt that even winning the Stanley Cup wouldn't be as big a thrill as winning the gold medal. So he had no reason to play anymore.
Actually, Neil Broten has a great shot at the NHL Hall of Fame. I believe he scored close to 400 goals and 1000 points. Ken Morrow won four Cups with the Islanders and was considered among the best defensive defensemen in the game, but retired prematurely due to knee injuries. Mark Johnson had a solid and long NHL career with at least 300 goals. Mark Pavelich made an All-Star game. Mike Ramsey played 17 years. I don't think journeyman applies to this list.
Interestingly, the 84 and 88 teams had the best talent. In 84, we had Lafontaine and Chelios. The 88 team had Leetch, Mike Richter and others. But for some reason, there is a myth that the 80 team was not talented. It was, but is was just young talent that hadn't been recognized yet.
That is what used to make the olypmics great. Now that professionals have taken over the olympics, they aren't even worth watching anymore, IMHO.
Herb Brooks ping
(God rest his soul)
I have the DVD and watched it last week.....I was 18 at the time and a bunch of us ran up and down the street waving an American flag......I still cry with tears of joy at during the last 20 minutes of the movie........especially after a couple glasses of wine.......it was and still is one of the best motivational films ever
I found out--years later, of course--that the "Miracle on Ice" happened on my 11th birthday. At that point (and I didn't watch the game), I was nine years away from becoming a hockey fan.
So it's slightly comforting that this Tuesday is both their anniversary and mine. Less comforting is the fact that it's going to TAKE a miracle before the NHL plays again.
Then this miracle happened. Patriotic ferver, that the Liberals had tried to supress for years had roared out in glorious celebration. You should have witnessed the backpeddling the leftists did.
I honestly believe that The Man Up Above had his hand in it.
I just saw the movie "Miracle" with Kurt Russell the other day. I am not a hockey fan, but I really enjoyed this one. It is also interesting for the history buff, being interspersed with news accounts of historical happenings like the Iran Hostages and the gas crisis. Parts of Carter's "malaise" speech were also in there.
The premise of the film was that America was feeling bad about itself in the 70's, and the "Miracle" began to make America proud again. Of course they never got to Reagan and "morning in America" but granted, his election happened after the movie.
It was also just a plain well made movie. I highly recommend it.
I think Secretariat's win at the Belmont was 31 lengths. The Miracle on Ice was like a dream sequence... The Basketball incident in the 72 Olympics was UN-esque..lol
Some wonderful memories. I once saw Jack Nicklaus (who also gave some great moments, especially winning the Masters when he was 46) talk about Secretariat at Belmont. I was surprised that his reaction, with all he had accomplished at the pinnacle of his sport, was the same as so many others -- it was so stunning that it brought tears to his eyes, like you were witnessing something other-worldly. I've heard many people say the same thing. And Miracle On Ice -- nothing but good feelings. Then, of course, we had the travesty on ice -- Tonya Harding at the 94 Olympics -- ach, I shouldn't have brought it up. But it was entertaining.
Greatest sports story of my lifetime. Nothing comes close.
Just watched the ESPN Classic replay of the USA/USSR game. "Do you believe in miracles? YES!!!"
I was 24 when that happened. 25 years later, I got chills again. It was an amazing event.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.