5 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘The Miracle on Ice’
“Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”
On February 22, 1980, the U.S. Men’s Hockey Team scored one of the biggest upsets in sports history, knocking off the heavily favored Soviet Union 4-3 in a medal round game at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
On the 45th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice,” here are five things you might not have known about the game:
1The Soviets Had A Miraculously Bad Game
Less than two weeks before the Olympics, the Soviets blew out the USA 10-3 in an exhibition game at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. That may have made the Soviets overconfident against a U.S. team that they should’ve dominated in the Olympic tournament. After the USA’s Mark Johnson tied the game at 2-2 with 1 second left in the second period, Soviet coach Viktor Tikhonov made what he called the biggest mistake of his career and pulled goaltender Vladislav Tretiak, considered world’s best at the time. It’s forever unknown how the game would have played out had Tretiak remained in net, but the move clearly had a psychological effect on both teams. Meanwhile, U.S. goaltender Jim Craig had the game of his life: The Soviets outshot the U.S. 39-16.
2Team USA Was The Youngest In The Tournament
The average age of the American team was just 21 years old, making them the youngest squad in the entire Olympic field. The Soviet team was filled with seasoned veterans, many of whom had been playing together for years. Youth may have been a disadvantage, but the team’s conditioning possibly made up for it. American coach Herb Brooks would run his players through rigorous skating sprint drills that became known as “Herbies.” The players’ stamina meant they could keep up the offensive pressure against the Soviets in the third period.
Remind 3It Didn’t Air On Live TV In The U.S.
ABC requested that the USA-USSR game be rescheduled from 5pm to 8pm ET so that it could be broadcast live in primetime, but the International Ice Hockey Federation denied the request because the Soviets complained that it would cause the game to air at 4am Moscow time. ABC decided not to broadcast the game live for the U.S. audience, and instead aired it tape-delayed in primetime. Host Jim McKay stated that the game had already occurred and the network would not spoil the result. Of course, in the pre-Internet age, spoilers were easier to avoid. Almost no one knew the outcome before the game aired on TV, and most people still assume they watched it live.
4Al Michaels Was ABC’s Backup Announcer
Keith Jackson was ABC’s top hockey announcer, but he was unavailable to do play-by-play for the game. Al Michaels, who had experience calling hockey for one game in 1972, filled in for Jackson. Michaels’ “Do you believe in miracles?” call in the final seconds of the game became legendary, and propelled him to a long career calling some of the biggest events in sports. Imagine hearing Jackson’s “Woah, Nellie!” at the end of the game instead.
Remind 5The U.S. Didn’t Win Gold In That Game
Many people assume the U.S. won the gold medal with a win over the Soviets, since that seems like the ultimate Cinderella story. Back then, the Olympic tournament’s medal round was a round-robin format, not single elimination. As a result, the U.S. still had to beat Finland two days later to secure first place in the medal round standings and win the gold. After the loss to the U.S., the Soviets went on to defeat Sweden 9–2 and win the silver medal, but it was viewed as a total failure for the four-time defending Olympic champions.
1980s Top Summer Blockbusters
July 2019
Celebrate the biggest summer movies of the ’80s, when moviegoing morphed from mere entertainment to blockbuster events.
Buy This Issue