Happy anniversary, America!
February 22, 2023, marks 43 years since the United States pulled off the greatest upset in the history of sports, defeating the Soviet Union in a 1980 Winter Olympics hockey game that was far more than just a “game.”
We all know the story: A group of disorganized college kids eventually got their act together to roll through the Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, eventually facing off against what was the Soviet hockey powerhouse in a medal round game with intense Cold War overtones.
At the time, there was a huge gap between the U.S.S.R. hockey program and the rest of the world. Nobody could match their dynastic power. When the two met up that night, everybody was expecting U.S. coach Herb Brooks & Co. to get completely smashed.
Instead, the United States of America shocked the world.
I wasn’t even born at the time, so I didn’t get to see the “Miracle on Ice” when it happened. I was first introduced to this moment when the “Miracle” movie came out in 2004 — I was in middle school at the time, and I immediately fell in love with the story.
Since then, I’ve easily seen this movie 1,000 times:
Man, I’m totally going to have to watch this movie tonight after work. The problem is, however, my wife has been on a “Sopranos” kick as of late and has been binge-watching the shit out of it. (RELATED: Virginia Tech Students Lose Their Absolute Sh*t Over Free Bacon)
Wish me luck on that one.