1979, The U.S. Olympic hockey
team’s tryouts took place in Colorado Springs. Scouted and coached by Herb
Brooks, the coach of the University of Minnesota Gophers hockey club. Brooks
picked 26 collegiate hockey players soon cutting it down to 20 by the time of
the 1980 winter Olympic games in Lack Placid, NY. The United States hockey
team’s average age was 21, the lowest average age in history of American
Olympic hockey. A lot of the boys had previously played against each other over
the years stirring a hardship that had to be overcome in order to be a team. 1
team, under God, for the United States of America. This was all soon
accomplished when every last player on the team realized that “The name on the
front of their jerseys, was a hell of a lot more important than the one on the
back.”
Team USA trained and trained and trained. They skated until their legs could no longer carry them. Until their lungs were about to give out. They may not have been the most talented team, but Coach Brooks guaranteed they would be the most well conditioned team. They were becoming best friends, brothers, and most importantly, the team that represents their country. All the 26 players sights were set on the gold medal. In this reenactment of one of team USA's hardships, it shows how hard they were willing to work. That they were no longer individuals; they were the hockey team for the United States of America!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEXS8TBd6ug
Team USA trained and trained and trained. They skated until their legs could no longer carry them. Until their lungs were about to give out. They may not have been the most talented team, but Coach Brooks guaranteed they would be the most well conditioned team. They were becoming best friends, brothers, and most importantly, the team that represents their country. All the 26 players sights were set on the gold medal. In this reenactment of one of team USA's hardships, it shows how hard they were willing to work. That they were no longer individuals; they were the hockey team for the United States of America!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEXS8TBd6ug
At the time, the soviet hockey team was
favored by the world due to the fact that they had been playing together for
years on end. Eventually inducting 4 members of the 1980 Soviet Olympic team
into the hockey hall of fame. Team USA knew that they were the opponents to
beat and their paths would soon cross in the semi finals. Coach Herb Brooks
claimed, “If we played them 10 times, they might win 9, but not tonight.
Tonight is our night, their time is done. It’s over. I’m sick and tired of
hearing how good of a team the Soviet’s have. Screw ‘em. Tonight… We are the
greatest hockey team, in the world.” As we all know, the college boys ended up
beating the Soviets 4 to 3 shocking the world. They had done it! Team USA went
on to beat Sweden to receive a gold medal and the college boys accomplished
their life goal. They were the greatest hockey team in the world. Nothing else
mattered to them. Do you believe in Miracles?
Nothing else mattered to them
because hockey was their passion. But, that was not the case on the political
side of things between America and Russia. The Cold War raged on and this was a
thorn right in their side. The Cold War was a sustained state of
political and military tension between powers of the Western world(the United States with NATO and others) and
powers on the Eastern side of the world (the Soviet Union and its
allies in Warsaw Pact).
Hockey was their game and America had defeated them. Tensions were extremely
high between Jimmy Carter and the Soviet leader of the time. Carter was at the
time considering a U.S. boycott
of the 1980 Summer Olympics, to be held in Moscow, in protest of the
December 1979 Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan. American politics viewed this gold medal
that was almost a for sure win for the U.S.S.R. as an advantage in the Cold
War. Jimmy Carter gave his crisis of confidence speech in 1979 which all the more highlights how significant the win on the ice was for him.
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