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Reactions: Remembering a miracle Users replay memory of Miracle on Ice
Posted: Thursday February 24, 2000 08:14 PM
The Miracle on Ice is an event that has been burned on the minds of hockey fans – especially American fans – for two decades. Even after all these years, users from around the country remember exactly where they were when they heard the news the victory for the Stars and Stripes. A collection of some of those memories follows:
The screams of Al Michaels as he asked, "Do you believe in miracles? --Yes!" are as vivid today as they were to a 12-year-old boy twenty years ago. I remember watching the game on a little portable black and white TV (although I don't remember it was on tape delay I must admit). I was relegated to that set because my parents said, "Your not watching a stupid hockey game on our color set!" That made the memory all the more charming a memory. I remember the sense of pride I felt in my country being re-ignited and the visions of the players jumping on the ice with skates was so joyous. Even today when I hear the playback from the end of the game I feel this chill going up my spine all over again. That chill made me want to play sports and watch it as much as possible.
I was a ten-year-old Canadian Hockey fan in 1980. Once Canada was eliminated from contention, I was cheering very hard for the Americans. The day the U.S. played Russia, I was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery to remove my appendix. The first words my Mom said to me when I came to after the surgery were, "You are never going to believe it, the Americans beat the Russians." She was right, I didn't believe her. I stayed up to watch the late night replay that night and watched the USA win the gold two days later from my hospital bed.
My favorite memory has to be jumping up and down after Eruzione's goal to put the US in front with only a few minutes to go. My funniest memory has to be feeling the plaster coming down on top of me, and then looking up to see that I'd put a small hole in the ceiling. A close second was learning that the Soviet broadcast had experienced "technical difficulties" and was cut off with a couple minutes to go.
I was eight years old, and that game was the first hockey game I had ever seen. My parents had built it up as something special. After it was over, I truly believed in miracles.
I'll never forget watching the game on television from my dorm at Marquette University. For some reason, the game was tape delayed and during the second period when we trailed the Soviets, the Milwaukee station ran a ticker at the bottom of the screen that announced, "The United States has just defeated the Soviet Union, 4 - 3." Most of us gasped, it was just too unbelievable! We kept watching and were still glued to our seats when Al Michaels made his career-making "Do You Believe In Miracles? YES!" commentary. At work, I have a copy of SI's famous "Miracle On Ice" cover to celebrate what was has remained my No. 1 sports thrill. The cover has no caption or title It didn't need one! The picture said it all!
I've watched the tape of the game against the Russians twice at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York City. My favorite moment occurs just after Eruzione's breathtaking off-balance goal: With about 10 minutes left to go in the game, there's a pile-up of players in one corner, during which Buzz Schneider gets entangled with a Russian player. After the ensuing whistle there is a close-up of Sheneider as he realizes that he is holding the Russian's stick as well as his own. The Russian is giving him a look like "Are you going to give that back to me, or what?" But Buzz just stares the Russian down, drops the stick onto the ice, and glances up at the scoreboard as he skates away. A sweet moment in a remarkable event. I'll never forget it.
We in Buffalo were among the few Americans fortunate to watch the game live -- thanks to the CBC broadcast from Canada. I was 16 at the time, and I remember after Eruzione's goal going to the basement and finding the flag we usually flew only on July 4th and waving it around the family room like a crazy person. It was the longest, most unbelievable and dream-like 10 minutes of play in my experience as a sports fan.
I was a sophomore at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, My roommate, Karl, and I were listening to the game on the radio, since it wouldn't air on TV until that evening. When the U.S. won, we were jumping around like a pair of five year olds. I remember writing the final score on a napkin, and taping it to the door of the campus cafeteria before dinner. People gathered around the note in disbelief. Most thought it was a prank. That night almost everyone on campus watched the game on TV. So many in fact, you could hear Al Michael's call even with your own TV turned down. At the end of the game, Karl and I once again jumped around like a couple of five-year-olds. Only this time, we weren't alone.
Although this was a special moment, let's not forget this is U.S. sports history -- not the world. The first Canada/Russia match was by far the most entertaining hockey event and should be considered as well. The world is rich in sports memories, and that includes the U.S. and all sporting countries.
I will never forget that day as Dad and I were scrambling to get the Canadian TV station in clearly with the help of our aerial antenna. The Canadian station was going to show the game live and neither one of us could put up with a tape delayed version of it. Us against the communists. Here we were, college kids playing against arguably the best team in the world. There wasn't a chance we could win, but I wanted to see it anyway. Al Michaels' famous call counting down the seconds until "Do you believe in miracles? YES!" Unbelievable, is the only way to describe it. That day I could believe in anything. I was so proud to be an American and so happy that I had a chance to watch it all unfold. Funny thing is few people remember the gold medal game against the Finns. That's what an impact that game had on the Olympics and on life in general. We had beat the Russians. America could stand tall with their head held high once again. I could remember staring blankly at the screen, tears running down my face thinking that I just witnessed the greatest sporting event ever seen.
A local newsman, known for his outspoken editorials, gave a brief during a commercial break and announced the result 10 minutes before the end of the game. The US was behind at the time, it was hard to believe. It was a blunder on his part, but the result was so exciting no one minded.
Now mind you I was only 10 years old but I remember it as if it were yesterday. When Dave Christian took the long shot from the other side of the blue line and Mark Johnson never gave up on the play even though there was only three seconds left. Some players would have just let the period end but it just showed the character of this great team that they never would give up. It was the biggest goal of the Olympics and it is my best memory of the greatest hockey game in history.
At the time I was eight years old and living in Weiser, Idaho. My Dad had the game on and I was playing a Basketball game and watching the hockey game. This was my very first hockey game I ever saw either in person or on TV. That was so awesome beating the USSR. I got a chance to see the Gold medal when our Kansas City Blades, an IHL team, gave a salute to the Olympic team and the KC Scouts -- a NHL team from 1974 to 1976. Great job guys. Let's keep the memory alive.
I know Canadians are full of pride at what their NHL stars accomplished in 1972 versus the Soviets. But unlike that team, our Team USA was comprised of amateurs and although a few of them made the jump to the NHL, they did not have the same ability as those Canadian NHL stars. I don't think too many people remember how formidable the former USSR hockey program was. Not only was it amazing to be able to skate on their level, just to beat them was a miracle in itself. That game, played on this date, will always have a special place in my hearts because just as I felt then, the same sense of pride and joy are still will me today as an American and as a hockey fan.
20 years later, I remember to the exact day as to where I was when the US beat Russia. I was in my grandmother's living room sitting on a wicker chair in front of a huge, white RCA TV. All I did was lean forward the whole game on that wicker chair and I went crazy after they won. I was 8 at the time and I grabbed my hockey stick and cleared the kitchen out and re-enacted the final seconds over and over. Thanks to all of the players on the '80 Olympics U.S. Hockey Team as you have provided me with a moment that I will never, ever forget!
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