As Al Michaels famously roared out “Do you believe in miracles? … Yes!,” the announcer’s spur of the moment reaction to the greatest upset in sports history perfectly depicts the passion, fascination, awe, and pride that the United States as a whole country would consume during and following the 1980’s Miracle on Ice game. Interestingly enough, while I was interviewing my father he told me that the Miracle on Ice game was not televised live on TV, so many people had no idea that the young men representing their country had defeated the far superior Soviet Union hockey team[1]. Once the news broke that the United States had defeated their countries most hated enemies, every newspaper and every television station were discussing, praising, and glorifying the greatest upset in sports history[2]. In a time where nationalism in the United States and hockey in the United States both lacked an identity, the Miracle on Ice game was a huge turning point for the country and the culture of hockey in the country.
In a historical context, 1980 was not an ideal time for the United States of America. The country was struggling from an economical standpoint, it was engaged in the Cold War, and the President, Jimmy Carter, was not able to unify the country together[3]. Right when it seemed as if there was an easing of tension between the Soviet Union and the United States, the Soviet Union decided to invade Afghanistan in 1979[4]. The United States supported Afghanistan at the time and could not allow the Soviet Union to assert themselves as essentially bullies through out the world, so Jimmy Carter requested that the senate postponed talks over the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties with the Soviet Union and he demanded that the Soviet Union removed military members from Afghanistan within a months time or else he would boycott the Summer Olympics in 1980[5]. Carter was not a powerful speaker and in an interview with my father, he recalled that, “Carter had the right intention, but he always had a hard time unifying the people of the United States through his words”[6]. Fortunately, it was too late for Carter to take the United States out of the Winter Olympics in 1980, so all of those athletes who had been training for so long were given the opportunity to show off their hard work. The United States was having a hard time developing a strong identity in 1980 and they needed a turning point to help create one.
At this time in 1980, hockey in the United States was struggling to expand past certain hot spots and become a true national sport. Around 1980, hockey was only big in the United States in a few states, namely Massachusetts, Michigan, and Minnesota[7]. Looking at the United States 1980’s Winter Olympics roster, it affirms the statement hockey was a clustered sport in America as the 20 players only came from Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin[8]. In an interview done with my father, he recalled that my mother, who was born and raised in Alabama, had no idea what hockey was when she spent a semester at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the first time she saw a hockey stick, she famously asked my father “which way do you hold that thing?”[9].
Hockey was not a major sport in the United States in 1980. Even the National Hockey League teams were isolated to the Northeast, Midwest, and Canada, with the exception of two teams that were in Western United States[10]. Hockey was given little to no attention in a large amount of the United States, and because it was isolated to certain spots, the number of American born hockey players was very limited. In 1980, there were only 136,000 registered United States of America hockey players across all levels of playing[11]. Among those 136,000 United States registered hockey players, only 68 of them saw any action in NHL hockey games during the 1979-80 season, which accounted for only 10.4% of the NHL’s players that year[12]. Many American-born hockey players were not given the recognition that they deserved during this time and a lot of them would be satisfied with college hockey as their final level of playing[13]. Hockey in the United States had an identity as a hot-spot sport that had trouble expanding to different parts of the country and developing American-born players into NHL players, but this identity needed to change and little did people know that one game would change the landscape of hockey in the United States forever.
On February 22nd, 1980, arguably, the most important hockey game was played in American hockey history as the United States of America squared off against the Soviet Union team. Going into the tournament, expectations were very low for Team USA as they were seeded seventh out of only twelve teams, while the Soviet Union team was regarded as the favorites to take gold[14]. In 1979, the Soviet Union team played a three game series against the NHL All-Stars, a team that was compromised of many future hall of famers, and the Soviet Union needed one game to adjust to the smaller rinks before they won the next two games against the premier players in the NHL[15]. Flash forward, one year and here was a group of players right out of college and many unsure if they would even have an NHL career, who bunched together to square off against the Soviet Union powerhouse team in the semifinals of the 1980 Winter Olympics. Prior to their semifinal match up, these two teams had an exhibition match where the Soviets demolished Team USA 10-3[16]. Team USA was defeated but they weren’t going to let a full year of training together to go to waste and accept inferiority to the Soviets[17].
Team USA got the rematch they wanted and they weren’t going to let the Soviets embarrass them again. Although they had the determination, Team USA was extremely overmatched by the Soviets, who spent years training together and had an average age of 26 years old compared to 22 years old for Team USA[18]. The boys from the United States gave an all out effort and came back from an early deficit to prevail against the Olympic favorites as they won 4-3[19]. Unfortunately, the game was not viewed live, but once word started to spread about the miracle that occurred in Lake Placid, New York, the whole country was overcome with shock, pride, and happiness.
The Miracle on Ice game held huge significance on two levels. One level was that it came at a time when the United States needed something to rally around and the second level was that hockey in America had a very limited identity. Print capitalism is the idea that through printed materials such as books and newspaper, ideas can spread much quicker[20]. Print capitalism is very important for the spread of nationalism because ideas and concepts can spread so quickly to a vast group of people, and this was very prevalent following Team USA’s win against the Soviet Union as newspapers all across the country headlined the massive win and glorified the young men for their great effort[21]. While interviewing my father, he recounted how he was serving in the Peace Corps at the time of the game, but he recalled two of the phone calls following the game. One was with his brother, Peter, who called to tell him the news and my father said, “at first I was in disbelief, but soon I was ecstatic” and the other was with a friend in Miami who never had any interest or care for hockey, but he told my father that after the game that the win meant the world to him and that he had a newfound interest in hockey[22]. In a time where there was turmoil inside and outside of the country, one hockey game brought 220 million to proudly stand in unison and appreciate a David versus Goliath moment in the sports world against the countries’ enemy[23].
As the country stood as one, more and more of these spectators started to find interest and respect in an unfamiliar sport. Hockey in America was very isolated to parts of the country and American-born hockey players had trouble reaching the NHL, but the Miracle on Ice game was a major turning point for the popularity and success of hockey in America. Presently, there are 600,000 registered USA hockey members compared to only 168,000 in 1980[24]. On top of that, American-born players currently make up 24.2% on the NHL compared to only 10.4% in 1980, but that number has to be taken with the note that during the 1990’s an influx of European players started to come over seas and play in the NHL, which means American-born players now are up against a much larger pool of players to make an NHL roster[25]. Presently, there are NHL teams all throughout the United States rather than just centralized to the hot bed areas like it was in 1980[26]. From 1980 to 1986, there was a 50% growth in American- born hockey players in the NHL[27]. More importantly for American hockey, players are now starting to come from all across the country. Looking at the United States men’s under-20 roster from last year, there were two players from California, one from Arizona, one from Colorado, and one from Ohio[28]. While interviewing my father, he recounted that while living in Alabama, two of my brothers begged to play hockey and whenever they played, they wouldn’t imitate NHL stars, but rather they would want to be Mike Eruzione as he scored the game winning goal against the Soviets[29]. Hockey is still centralized in the hot bed states such as Massachusetts, Michigan, and Minnesota, but the difference now is that it is not limited to just those states. Hockey can be found in any state now with varying interest, but having players from California and Arizona be considered as the top players in the country is a testament to the foundation the 1980 Olympic team paved for success and diversity in American hockey. In an interview with NHL.Com, Mike Eruzione did not want to take full credit for players in America finding more success, but he humbly stated, “in ’80 we may have opened the door, but now other players have knocked it down”[30]. The Miracle on Ice game was the foundation for a rise in popularity for hockey in America and a rise in the success American- born hockey players have had. The game was much more than just a game as it came at a time when the country and the sport of hockey needed an uplifting, and just three periods of hockey proved to be not only a great sports moment, but an amazing national moment as well.
Looking back at my initial reflection paper, I noticed that a lot of my prior knowledge on the ‘80s was from pop culture, and I was pretty oblivious to political and social aspects of it. Over the course of our class, I have started to understand how important the politics and social atmosphere was for the people of the ‘80s and the people today. My knowledge was limited to things such as songs, movies, and sports from the ‘80s because that is what my family talked about the most when discussing the decade. On top of that, whenever I learned about the ‘80s in high school, it was always a crash course study with knowledge I never retained because it was thrown at me in such large sums. Interestingly enough, probably one of the most influential moments in time for my family from the ‘80s was the Miracle on Ice game, but I didn’t even mention it in my initial reflections. The game allowed hockey to expand across the United States of America, and it gave my brothers the opportunity to play hockey in Alabama and California. As crazy as it may seem, hockey is a massive part of my family’s life. My oldest brother coaches hockey for a living, my brother, John, decided to go to boarding school because of hockey which triggered me to go to boarding school as well, and almost all of my best friends from home are my friends because of hockey. I can not directly say that the only reason my brothers were able to play hockey in California and Alabama was because of Miracle on Ice, but it surely did help expand hockey in America, and for that, I am grateful.
Sources Cited
Muse, Dan. 2015. Interview: Miracle on Ice Game. On Phone.
Peters, Chris. “American Hockey Has Come a Long Way Since 1980’s Miraculous Gold.” CBS Sports. February 24, 2015.
Falcon, Laura. “1980 Miracle on Ice: Greatest Moment in Sports History Will Never Get Old.” Bleacher Report. February 22, 2011.
“Carter Reacts to Soviet Intervention in Afghanistan.” History. 2009.
“The 1980 U.S. Olympic Team.” U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
“1980-81 National Hockey League Standings.” HockeyDB.
“Soviets Embarrass NHL All Stars 6-0 to Win Challenge Cup.” International Ice Hockey Federation. February 11, 1979.
“1980 Soviet Union Men’s Olympic Hockey.” Hockey-Reference.
Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities. New York, New York: Verso, 1991.
Fouts, Chuck. “”We Beat the Russians.” The Impact of the 1980 Olympic Hockey Team.” Chicago Now. February 7, 2014.
“2014-15 National Hockey League Standings.” HockeyDB.
“2015 World Junior Roster.” USA Hockey World Juniors.
Spooner, Evan. “American Hockey Has Grown Up Since Miracle on Ice.” NHL. February 20, 2015.
[1] Muse, Dan. 2015. Interview: Miracle on Ice Game. On Phone.
[2] Peters, Chris. “American Hockey Has Come a Long Way Since 1980’s Miraculous Gold.” CBS Sports. February 24, 2015.
[3] Falcon, Laura. “1980 Miracle on Ice: Greatest Moment in Sports History Will Never Get Old.” Bleacher Report. February 22, 2011.
[4] “Carter Reacts to Soviet Intervention in Afghanistan.” History. 2009.
[5] Ibid
[6] Muse, Dan. 2015. Interview: Miracle on Ice Game. On Phone.
[7] “The 1980 U.S. Olympic Team.” U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
[8] Ibid
[9] Muse, Dan. 2015. Interview: Miracle on Ice Game. On Phone.
[10] “1980-81 National Hockey League Standings.” HockeyDB.
[11] Peters, Chris. “American Hockey Has Come a Long Way Since 1980’s Miraculous Gold.” CBS Sports. February 24, 2015.
[12] Ibid
[13] Muse, Dan. 2015. Interview: Miracle on Ice Game. On Phone.
[14] “The 1980 U.S. Olympic Team.” U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
[15] “Soviets Embarrass NHL All Stars 6-0 to Win Challenge Cup.” International Ice Hockey Federation. February 11, 1979.
[16] “The 1980 U.S. Olympic Team.” U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
[17] Ibid
[18] “1980 Soviet Union Men’s Olympic Hockey.” Hockey-Reference.
[19] “The 1980 U.S. Olympic Team.” U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
[20] Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities. New York, New York: Verso, 1991.
[21] Peters, Chris. “American Hockey Has Come a Long Way Since 1980’s Miraculous Gold.” CBS Sports. February 24, 2015.
[22] Muse, Dan. 2015. Interview: Miracle on Ice Game. On Phone.
[23] Fouts, Chuck. “”We Beat the Russians.” The Impact of the 1980 Olympic Hockey Team.” Chicago Now. February 7, 2014.
[24] Peters, Chris. “American Hockey Has Come a Long Way Since 1980’s Miraculous Gold.” CBS Sports. February 24, 2015.
[25] Peters, Chris. “American Hockey Has Come a Long Way Since 1980’s Miraculous Gold.” CBS Sports. February 24, 2015.
[26] “2014-15 National Hockey League Standings.” HockeyDB.
[27] Peters, Chris. “American Hockey Has Come a Long Way Since 1980’s Miraculous Gold.” CBS Sports. February 24, 2015.
[28] “2015 World Junior Roster.” USA Hockey World Juniors.
[29] Spooner, Evan. “American Hockey Has Grown Up Since Miracle on Ice.” NHL. February 20, 2015.
[30] Muse, Dan. 2015. Interview: Miracle on Ice Game. On Phone.