https://www.insidehook.com/art...ns-untopped-40-years

Remembering the greatest upset in Olympic history, four decades later

In the midst of the Cold War, one of America’s most memorable victories over the Soviets came in a hockey rink in Upstate New York.

Immortalized by Al Michaels with one of the most iconic calls in sports broadcasting history, the “Miracle on Ice” occurred on February 22, 1980 , when the United States men’s hockey team knocked off the four-time defending gold-medalist Soviet Union squad 4-3 in the semifinal round of the Winter Olympics.

Mike Eruzione fired home “the shot heard round the world” halfway through the third period to give his team the lead and the Americans were able to hold on over the final 10 minutes as goalie Jim Craig made save after save.

The victory didn’t ice the tournament for the underdog Americans — a team made up of college players and amateurs, many of them students at the University of Minnesota — but it did allow them to advance to the Gold Medal game, where they defeated Finland 4-2 two days later.

The Russian squad, on the other hand, entered the game with a roster boasted of professional players and an Olympic winning streak that went all the way back to 1968. Nonetheless, the Americans emerged champions, captivating the nation en route to a victory tour that extended from Wheaties boxes to the White House.

John Gilbert, who covered the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team’s run to the gold medal for The Minneapolis Tribune and had unprecedented access to head coach Herb Brooks, compares the win to a high-school football team in football knocking off the Patriots.

But not as astounding as the legacy the Miracle on Ice — which was named the No. 1 sports moment of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated — still enjoys today.


https://youtu.be/mCmGEev3AxQ




The Soviets outshot the US 39 to 16

Remember it well!! ABC didn't air it live...they showed it at "prime time" on tape delay. I just don't remember from where I was watching it, because I was living on campus at the time. I might've watched it on my little 13" B&W TV in my dorm room...can't remember. Al Michaels was great and if memory serves, Ken Dryden was doing the color commentating.

What a GREAT time to be an AMERICAN!!!

"Miracle" is absolutely in my top 10 list of "must watch" movies. Kurt Russel did an AMAZING job cast as coach Brooks. Knowing what that game meant and having played and reffed the greatest game on earth, his locker room speech brought me to tears. It is so, so sad that Herb Brooks never got to see the completed movie. I can cry over that if I really sit down and think about it.

Remember it well also. It’s hard to explain how big of an underdog the US hockey team was to the USSR. Before that win if you would’ve told someone the US would win they would’ve laughed in your face. Miracle indeed.

Herb Brooks told the team during the second intermission of the Finland game (with the USA down 2-1):

“If you lose this game you will take it with you to your fucking graves."

As he started to leave the locker room, he stopped, turned around and added, "Your fucking graves.”

great that you posted this -- i watched this special earlier today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-K-mm8Bqik

if you watch that and don't get goose bumps -- you ain't American

U-S-A ! U-S-A !

the political era that these events took place in can not be dismissed

the amazing thing is - and Brooks basically said it - if they played that game 20 times the US would lose 19...

but not when it counted that night.

--------------------------

It was more than beating the heavily favored Russian professional team with a rag tag crew of college players. It was at a time when Russia was on every Americans mind as a big scary country that could give America fits in a war.

Because of that and many more things to me it was the most significant sporting event in my life.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 1s1k,

I remember watching that game — and how I burst with pride when we won. What a moment in history that was! Growing up in Florida, my only exposure to hockey was watching the Olympics. I sure became a fan that day!

And that Russian Olympic team had soundly defeated a team of NHL All Stars shortly before those Olympic Games began. Awesome accomplishment by the US team!

That was, far and away, the greatest sports event I've ever witnessed, bar none. It gives me goose bumps just thinking about it. This country really needed that at the time. And to win the gold 2 days later just added icing to the cake.

Jim

And it was only the semi-final. They still have to overcome that emotional high and beat Finland in the final as a previous poster alluded to.

The US team had lost to the Soviets 10-3 in an exhibition before the Olypmics.

19 out of 20 but not this game!

Ask any Canadian about that game.

At that time, I was the public relations director for the Dallas Black Hawks of the original Central Hockey League (one step below the NHL). Part of the Olympic team’s pre-tournament game schedule included exhibition games against CHL teams that counted in the CHL regular-season standings.


On the day the game of the century took place, we had a regularly-scheduled league game to play that night (there were also NHL games played in Vancouver and Colorado).

Needless to say, even though the US-USSR game was played that afternoon and everybody knew the outcome, the vast majority of hockey fans everywhere stayed home to watch the tape delay broadcast that night. We had less than a thousand people show up to our game.

Just had to post it...



"If we played 'em 10 times, they might win 9. But not this game. Not tonight!"

I watched that game at my uncle's house with the entire family.

Another miracle in that same Olympics: Eric Heiden, an ice skater from Wisconsin, took the gold in every long track speed skating event. An accomplishment that’s never been matched, and probably never will be. Like a runner taking gold in every event from the hundred yard dash to the mile.

For me growing up it was another hockey sporting event that had no equal: The Summit Series.

This was the 1972 eight game series between Russia and Canada. As a very young boy I remember school stopped and we all would go to a room to watch the game if played on a school day. This series captured a nation not unlike the Miracle on Ice.

The cast was replete with names we heard every Saturday on Hockey Night In Canada.

I just watched the movie 'Miracle' on FS1 and it brought it all back. It's still the greatest sporting event I've ever seen. Kurt Russel did a great job of portraying Herb Brooks.

Jim