Editorial

Celebrate The 40-Year Anniversary Of The Miracle On Ice

(Photo by Steve Powell/Getty Images)

David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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Saturday is the 40-year anniversary of the USA beating the Soviet Union 4-3 in the Miracle on Ice.

As you all know, the Miracle on Ice is my favorite sports moment of all time, and it’s one of the greatest moments in the history of this beautiful country.

The Soviet Union was an unstoppable juggernaut in the sport of hockey. Going into the 1980 games, the USSR had won the last four gold medals. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)

Team USA was a bit of an afterthought at best and a bit of a joke at worst. Then, the world got introduced to Herb Brooks and his hybrid style of hockey.

Despite getting blown out by the Soviets in an exhibition game a couple weeks earlier, the USA took the ice behind star Mark Johnson in Lake Placid on February 22, 1980, and pulled off the greatest upset in the history of sports.

The idea the Soviets could lose wasn’t even imaginable to most people in the world of hockey. It wasn’t a question of if the Soviets would win hockey games. It was a question of how much they would win by.

Let’s remember, the USSR smashed the NHL all-stars prior to the Olympics. Nobody gave our ragtag college kids much of a chance.

Herb Brooks had very different plans. We beat them 4-3, proceeded to beat Finland in the next game and took home the gold medal in the proudest moment in American Olympics history.

I damn near have tears in my eyes just thinking about it.

To tell you how much the Miracle on Ice means to me and my family, our dog is named Brook after Herb Brooks and a signed jersey hangs in our house.

We are a hockey family, and my own father can’t watch the end of the game without emotionally being taken back to 1980. It was a beautiful moment for America, and I’m so damn proud of everybody on the team who wore the jersey.

While you’re here, let’s all remember a few more great moments from the iconic movie with Kurt Russell.

God bless this beautiful country, and God bless everybody who played a role in the Miracle on Ice.