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On this Day: U.S. Hockey Team in Olympic ‘Miracle'
February 22, 2008 12:15 AM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
On Feb. 22, 1980, an underdog U.S. team of amateur hockey players beat the undefeated Soviets in a thrilling upset at the Lake Placid Olympics.
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Sports analysts and the public were amazed when the American players, plucked from colleges around the country, snatched a close victory over the sport’s dominant international hockey team. They won the match 4-3.
“Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” shouts commentator Al Michaels in a YouTube clip showing the game’s final moments.
Only two weeks before, the seasoned Russian team trounced the Americans 10 to 3 in an exhibition match.
The U.S. team went on to defeat Finland 4-2 to win the Olympic gold medal.
The Soviet team had not lost an Olympic hockey game since 1968, and had won Olympic gold medals for hockey in 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976.
The U.S. victory over the Russians at Lake Placid, N.Y., dubbed “the Miracle on Ice,” became a symbol of American pluck and patriotism in an era of apathy and growing U.S.-Soviet tension.
Russia had invaded Afghanistan in December 1979. Americans were facing the Iranian hostage crisis, an energy crunch, inflation and high unemployment. Public disillusionment lingered over events of the 1970s like the bitter end of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal.
In 1999, Sports Illustrated named the Americans’ victory over the Soviets at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics the greatest sports moment of the century.
A 2004 Disney film, "Miracle," also celebrates the match.
“Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” shouts commentator Al Michaels in a YouTube clip showing the game’s final moments.
Only two weeks before, the seasoned Russian team trounced the Americans 10 to 3 in an exhibition match.
The U.S. team went on to defeat Finland 4-2 to win the Olympic gold medal.
The Soviet team had not lost an Olympic hockey game since 1968, and had won Olympic gold medals for hockey in 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976.
The U.S. victory over the Russians at Lake Placid, N.Y., dubbed “the Miracle on Ice,” became a symbol of American pluck and patriotism in an era of apathy and growing U.S.-Soviet tension.
Russia had invaded Afghanistan in December 1979. Americans were facing the Iranian hostage crisis, an energy crunch, inflation and high unemployment. Public disillusionment lingered over events of the 1970s like the bitter end of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal.
In 1999, Sports Illustrated named the Americans’ victory over the Soviets at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics the greatest sports moment of the century.
A 2004 Disney film, "Miracle," also celebrates the match.
Headline Links: The U.S. defeats the soviets
According to the Lake Placid Olympic Region Web site, “Here was the vaunted Soviet juggernaut - Olympic gold medalists in 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976 – out to prove the validity of their way of life.” The U.S. would vanquish the dominant Soviet hockey Olympic hockey team 4-3 in one of the most renowned victories in U.S. sports history.
Source: Lake Placid Olympic Region
ESPN reprinted a selection from the book USA Hockey: A Celebration of a Great Tradition, regarding the 1980 Olympic team. According to the book,“No other Olympic performance has touched America the way that hockey team did, not even Jesse Owens' brilliant runs in front of Adolf Hitler in Berlin in 1936.”
Source: ESPN
Background Information: Interviews and more
‘The First Miracle on Ice’
ESPN reprinted a selection from the book, USA Hockey: A Celebration of a Great Tradition, describing “The First Miracle on Ice.” In the 1960 Olympics, a U.S. team not expected to perform well, went on to beat the highly favored Canadians, and then the superior Soviet Union. The 1960 U.S. team also went on to win the tournament. One of the younger players, Herb Brooks, was cut from the team in a controversial move by the coach, and had to watch the tournament on television; he would go on to coach the 1980 U.S. team.
Source: ESPN
Interviews with players, coaches and actors
USA Hockey provides various resources on the victory of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, including an interview with Kurt Russell, who played the part of Coach Herb Brooks in the Disney film. The site also provides interviews with goaltender Jim Craig and defenseman Jack O’Callahan.
Source: USA Hockey
Sportsmen of the Year
In the December 22, 1980 issue of Sports Illustrated, an article appeared written by E. M. Swift, called A Reminder of What We Can Be, which declared the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team Sportsmen of the Year. “They owned the whole country for a while. It just made you want to pick up your television set and take it to bed with you. It really made you feel good.”
Source: Sports Illustrated
The movie
E.M. Swift, the author of "A Reminder of What We Can Be," also wrote an article that appeared in Sports Illustrated on Feb. 9, 2004 that analyzed the movie, "Miracle," and recalled the life of coach Herb Brooks. Brooks died in a car accident in 2003. Although the movie had its share of embellishments, according to the Swift, “It doesn't matter that everyone in the audience knows how the story will end. People will cheer, maybe even jump up, after the U.S. beats the Soviet Union.”
Source: Sports Illustrated
Related Links: Miracles, Pros, and Amateurs
Great sports moments
A Western Collegiate Hockey Association web site recounts career highlights of Herb Brooks, the 1980 Olympic team coach, who was killed in a car accident on August 11, 2003. The article recalls the U.S. team’s Feb 22, 1980 victory over the Soviets, known as the “Miracle on Ice,” which was named in 2000 by Sports Illustrated magazine as the "Greatest Sports Moment of the Century.”
Source: WCHA CSTV
Beliefnet, a Web site about religion and spirituality, presents the “Top 10 Sports Miracles,” accompanied by short explanations. In the good company of Secretariat’s Triple Crown victory and the Super Bowl’s “Immaculate Conception,” the Miracle on Ice occupies first place.
Source: Beliefnet
Pros no More?
Although the Olympics had historically been a forum for amateur competition, as it was in 1980, National Hockey League players began to participate at the 2002 Nagano Olympics. A debate now underway would allow amateurs to return to Olympic competition after 2010. “It is a strain. It is a strain on the players, on the schedule and on our fans here,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman of the winter Olympics competition. NHL play has been temporarily halted in mid-season to allow the pros to compete in the Olympics. Some fans say they cherish the ability to view their favorite professional hockey players on an international stage, but others feel that amateur athletes are vital to the Olympic games.
Source: CBC
‘Bring Amateurs Back to Olympic Hockey’
In an April 2006 column, prior to the Winter Olympics in Turin, Scott Wilson of Fox Sports questioned the use of professional hockey players in the Olympics. “In its current form, the Olympic tournament does not allow for another Miracle on Ice to ever happen again,” Wilson said. The 1980 games consisted of amateurs, and, according to Wilson, the competition is just not the same with the NHL players.
Source: FOX Sports
Reference: The miracle on film and video
‘Do you Believe in Miracles’
A YouTube video presented by ESPN captures the final 15 seconds of the game, and the famous “Do You Believe in Miracles” call by commentator Al Michaels.
Source: YouTube
Longer clip of the 1980 game
A 10-minute YouTube clip displays key moments of the 1980 Olympic hockey game between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, with the enthusiastic voices of the commentators in the background. “They’re going crazy out there!” said one commentator after the win.
Source: YouTube
Walt Disney’s “Miracle”
The Walt Disney movie “Miracle” appeared in 2004, starring Kurt Russell as coach Herb Brooks. The movie is available at findingDulcinea’s Bookstore.
Source: findingDulcinea’s Bookstore
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