I’m a failure as a blogger. Somehow I let the 40th anniversary of The Miracle on Ice pass without writing or sharing anything about it. Seriously, the biggest sports moment in the first 10–15 years of my life, and the event against which I have compared all other sports, and I don’t share a word? Weak.
Here are two pieces I consumed the weekend of the anniversary.
First is E.M. Swift’s Sports Illustrated piece for the 1980 Sportsmen of the Year issue. It is a terrific summary of not just what happened, but with the added depth of looking back 10 months later.
A Reminder Of What We Can Be: The 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
Second is this brilliant review of the team’s run from ABC Sports. I’m guessing this was shown the final night of the Olympics, before the closing ceremonies. I love the low-tech graphics and cheesy music. Al Michaels acting like a goofy kid in the studio recap is great. And Jim McKay having a tear in his eye as they looked back is wonderful too.
Herb Brooks fleeing to the locker room as quickly as he could after the wins over the Soviet Union and Finland always gets to me, especially knowing now what we know about him. A man who was driven as few other coaches has been and he couldn’t bring himself to celebrate in public when his team achieved the unthinkable.