The 1980's "Miracle On Ice" was a great time for America. We were not only batteling the Soviets on the in, but also in the cold war. The Miracle On Ice is marked as a turning point in history when the Americans "Dream Team" defeated what was known to be the greatest hockey team in the world. The American team was made up of a bunch of college kids who were playing amateur or college level hockey at the time. The average age was only 22.
Intro.
The Miracle On Ice is considered by most Americans to be the greatest sports
event in the United States. On February 22, 1980, the United States Olympic
Hockey team defeated the much stronger and much more experienced Soviet Union
Olympic team 4-3 before winning the Gold Medal, which was unbelievable to many
Americans because this team was considered a long shot even to win a medal. The
Miracle on Ice will be remembered by all Americans as the time when all of America was able to believe in the greatness and determination of themselves.
and their country.
event in the United States. On February 22, 1980, the United States Olympic
Hockey team defeated the much stronger and much more experienced Soviet Union
Olympic team 4-3 before winning the Gold Medal, which was unbelievable to many
Americans because this team was considered a long shot even to win a medal. The
Miracle on Ice will be remembered by all Americans as the time when all of America was able to believe in the greatness and determination of themselves.
and their country.
The 1970's In America.
The 1970's was a tough time for the United States. The decade kicked off with the War of Vietnam and was going down south. The country was divided into sides over support of the war which finally ended in 1973. President Nixon resigned due to his involvement in the Watergate Scandal. to make matters worse, tensions with the Soviets were at an all time high for the United States. President Jimmy Carter said "This is a cirsis of confidence for America." By 1980, Americans had little confidnce in their country and leaders. They needed a "boost" to get them going.
Coach Herb Brooks
Coach Herb Brooks, coach of the 1980 Oympic gold medal ice hockey team was from St. Paul, Minnesota. Brooks had qualified for the 1960 gold medal winning team but was the last one to be cut from the team and it was his dream to coach a gold medal winning team in the Olympics. At the time of the 1980 Winter Olympics, Brooks was the coach of the Minnesota State University ice hockey team. They had won 3 national championships while under his leadership. The Olympic comittee was unsure of his capabilities at first, because he wanted to change the way the Americans played the game. Brooks got the job one way or the other and began thraining his team. The team had only six months to become one before the Olympics. Six months is hardly enough time for the kids with complete different styles to get used to eachother. But because of Brooks intense and harsh drills, such as the "Blue Line Drill" a.k.a the "again" drill known to from the players. But because of that, the team was ready and willing. Herb Brooks said before the game with the Soviets "Great moments... Are born from great opporutuinties" After the Olympics, Brooks became an American icon. He went back to coach the Americans in 2002 hoping to once again swipe gold but was stopped short in winning Silver. Herb Brooks was killed in a car accident in 2003 while the production of the movie "Miracle" being made. The arena in Lake Placid where the Olympic Games took place in 1980 was renemed "Herb Brooks Arena" in honor of his memory.
The Soviets
The main competion for the Americans in the Miracle On Ice were the Soviets. They were clearly the best team in the world winning almost every world tournament they played in. They had won gold medals in 1964, '68, '72 and '76. The Soviets completely steam rolled the NHL all stars. The game film on the Soviets, Herb Brooks said "They knew they were going to win, and so do their opponents" Unlike the Americans having six months, the Soviets made all of their players military officers and they have been playing with eachother for years. They also had the best goaltender in the world, Vladislav Tretiak.
The United States Team
The 1980 United States Ice Hockey team was the "Dream Team". Coach Brooks said "This team is not about Old Rivalries" at one of the first practices as a team. The team was made up of 20 kids, whos average age was just 22 years old! The whole team played college or amateur and was predicted to not even come within seeing distance of a medal. The team proved the whole world wrong by defeating the Soviets coming from behind to win in a final score of 4-3. The team consisted of captain Mike Eurozionie, Mark Johnson, Jack O'Callahan, Rob McClanahan and goaltender Jim Craig, who played every minute of every game in the tournament. Most of them went to play in the NHL but did not become big stars moving around from team to team.
The Olympic Games
The 1980 Olympic Games began on February 12th, 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States. three days before the United States played the Soviets at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City. The Soviets completely dominated the young United States team 10-3 and after this game, the population of the United States have lost all hope at that point and thought they would get run down in the tournament. In their first actual tournament game, the team tied Sweden 2-2, tieing with only 30 seconds left! a few days after, the Stated played Czechoslavakia 7-3 who was considered to be the 2nd best team in the world behind the Soviets. After this game the fans of the United States team believbed they had a chance at a medal after all. The team went on to defeat Romania, Norway and West Germany all coming from behind to advance to the game that decided if they play for gold or bronze against the powerhouse Soviets.
The Miracle On Ice Game
The Miracle On Ice was not a gold medal game but a semi-final game against the Soviets. The game occured on February 22, 1980. It had sold thousands of tickets to American fans who erupted with chants of "U-S-A, U-S-A". Before the game, Herb Brooks gave the most inspirational speech to this day in sports. (in link to youtube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwpTj_Z9v-c The Soviets scored first blood in the game but Buzz Schneider came back for the Americans and scored about five minutes later. The Soviets scored again and held it until less than a second left in the period when Mark Johnson came off the bench and beat the Soviet defenders on a dump in and beat the best goaltender in the world to tie the game at 2-2 with less than a second in the period! The second period came around and the Soviet coach pulled Vladislov Tretiak to put in net Vladimar Myshkin (the backup). The Soviets scored once in the period and going into the third period, they led by a goal. The United States scored twice in the first ten minutes of the period to make the score 4-3! They held onto that lead until the end of the game. Jim Craig played outstanding in the rest of the game and with only 5 seconds left the announcer Al Micheals yelled the most famous quote in sports "DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?!?! YES!!! The United States later went on to defeat Finland for the gold 4-2, and you guessed it, the came from behind once again.
Works Cited
1. Allen, Kevin. "College Kids Perform Olympic Miracle." ESPNClassic.com. 23 Dec
2008. 15 Mar 2009 http://espn.go.com/classic/s/miracle_ice_1980.html.
2. "Herb Brooks Quotes." Thinkexist.com. 15 Mar 2009 http://thinkexist.com/quotes/herb_brooks/.
3. Sandler , Michael. Hockey: Miracle on Ice. New York City: Bearport
Publishing Company, 2006.
4. Mizell, Hubert. "Miracle on Ice unmatched
in capturing American spirit." St. Petersburg Times (2002):
5. "USA vs
USSR Hockey." ABC Winter Olympics. ABC Wide World of Sports. ABC, New York
City. 22 Feb 1980.
2008. 15 Mar 2009 http://espn.go.com/classic/s/miracle_ice_1980.html.
2. "Herb Brooks Quotes." Thinkexist.com. 15 Mar 2009 http://thinkexist.com/quotes/herb_brooks/.
3. Sandler , Michael. Hockey: Miracle on Ice. New York City: Bearport
Publishing Company, 2006.
4. Mizell, Hubert. "Miracle on Ice unmatched
in capturing American spirit." St. Petersburg Times (2002):
5. "USA vs
USSR Hockey." ABC Winter Olympics. ABC Wide World of Sports. ABC, New York
City. 22 Feb 1980.