Miracle: 1980 United States Men's National Hockey Team

Sports in Canada has helped shape Canada’s identity, throughout the years. It was in the 1920s and 1930s that hockey became increasingly popular and played an important role in the lives of Canadians. It was easy for everyone of all ages and levels to strap on a pair of skates, grab a stick and head to frozen ponds, community rinks and top arenas where they could pursue their love of hockey. Canada at this time was starting to become known worldwide for this sport. During this era, important Canadian figures and events occurred in hockey that impacted and helped to shape Canada’s identity.

The “Miracle on Ice,” where the United States defeated the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York will forever be known as one of the greatest moments in American sports history. This game was about more than just sports though, it signified American strength, even when faced the greatest adversities. The United States was suffering through Vietnam, Watergate, and the wrenching upheavals of the 1960s. Many believe this game was even the beginning of the end for the Cold War. The Soviet Union had won the gold medal in six of the seven previous Winter Olympic Games, and were the favorites to win once more in Lake Placid. The team consisted primarily of professional players with significant experience

The uplifting story of an underdog hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York is told by the film Miracle. The team is composed of many college hockey players trying to better their game play. Tryouts come and go and it is when Coach Herb Brooks reads the final roster of the 1980 Olympic Men’s Hockey Team that starts the beginning of the greatest moment in sports history.

A tale can be told in several different ways. Many people are aware of the astonishing feat of the 1980 USA Olympic Men’s Hockey team, who were huge underdogs in their bid to win the gold medal against the powerhouse USSR. The movie “Miracle”, directed by Gavin O’Connor, is the dramatic journey taken by this team, from the anxiety-filled tryouts in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to the exhilarating game against the USSR in Lake Placid, New York. The book, “The Boys of Winter” written by Wayne Coffey, is based on the same events, but takes a less emotional, more factual approach to the subject. The purpose of this essay is to compare these two resources, and to discuss how they differ in tone, style, and theme.

In the pregame speech passionately articulated by coach Herb Brooks coach of the US Olympic hockey team, before they faced off the solivets in the semifinal game of the 1980 Olympics. He emphasises to his team that it is there time to win, it is there time to rise to the occasion, and that it doesn't matter how great of a team the soviets are, if they put everything they have out there they will win. As it is a truly inspiring speech, Brooks uses many effective speaking skills while delivering this message to his team.

Every hockey player has heard the soundbite of Al Michaels shouting “Do you believe in Miracles? Yes!” after the 1980 American team took down the international powerhouse of the Soviet Union. During a time of uneasiness and frustration towards the current political climate, the young American hockey team gave the public something to be proud about. A true “miracle on ice” gave the country a strong presence within the hockey world. Going into the game against the Soviets in the semifinals of the 1980 Olympic games, Herb Brooks gave one of the most inspirational speeches known to date. This speech was portrayed word for word in the Disney film, Miracle, released in 2004 directed by Gavin O’Conner. Although Herb Brooks’ rhetoric sounds as if he is referencing the Cold War, that did not seem to be the case. Herb’s rhetoric seemed to be solely hockey driven: his significant playing and coaching career as well as his astonishing dedication to the game uncover his motivation prior to the miracle game. Close analysis and research reveals Herb and his players have rejected many attempts of being used as a political pawn after defeating Russia in the miracle on ice. This victory indeed boosted the nation’s spirits regarding the war, but the game had little to no impact on the outcome between the two governments.

Joe Ehrmann describes how he has developed his philosophy of coaching by relating the story of his life in his youth, high school and in college describing two different types of coaches he had played for. The first are coaches who were impersonal, authoritarian, and sometimes abusive which he calls transactional coaches; this is in contrast to the humane coaches he calls transformative coaches. Coaches must face this responsibility because we all remember our coaches. “This is the awesome power and responsibility of coaching: You give your players memories, for better or for worse that stay with them until the day they die” (Ehrmann, 2011 p 46-47). Joe Erhmann goes on to ask, “What is the moral and ethical composition of their program?

Maurice Richard historical significance in Canada had to do considerable deal with Hockey. Hockey is “closer to a religion than a simple sporting pastime” in Canada. It is “a unifying force” in a nation where one state wanted to separate from the rest of Canada. Nevertheless hockey has a major impact on the social, economic, cultural and political realms of Canada. In the 2014 Olympics, an alcohol law in bars was ignored when Canada was in the finals for the gold medal. In addition to People drinking at 5 o’clock in the morning, which would have been frowned upon in many social circles in any other circumstances. Maurice is “credited with raising the National Hockey League to major sport status”, he simply “sold the game” to French Canadians post great depression. You could say he stopped the National Hockey league from fading as teams were dropping every year out of the League due to being unable to be successful financially.

The most memorable moment in hockey history came thirty-four years ago with the 1980 Miracle on Ice. The Americans defeating the dominant Soviet team at the Olympics was not only an important triumph for USA Hockey, but for the entire nation. Contrary to popular belief, the underdog win was not only the result of a miracle; it was also the result of a hard-working team led by Coach Herb Brooks. With increasingly negative views on the position of the United States in the Cold War, the Miracle on Ice and the gold medal win lifted the spirits of the nation and brought hockey into the American spotlight.

History has framed the Miracle On Ice as one of those rare sporting achievements that transcend sport. The two hockey games that comprise the “miracle” – the 4-3 win over the mighty Soviets and the 4-2 gold medal clincher against Finland – are credited with lifting Americans from a decade of gloom and despair, reviving patriotism and foreshadowing a national renewal.

He shoots he scores! The history of hockey has changed over time. There are many good players that wouldn't be as good if these changes wouldn't have changed.

Over the course of the unthinkable achievement of the United States hockey team winning gold in the 1980 Winter Olympics, the goalie of team, Jim Craig absorbed nine strategies that make great team, in sports or in any other body of work that has a team. Before the Olympic games most of everyone was writing that it was a given that the Soviets were going to win the hockey portion of the Olympics. Herb Brooks created all of these strategies, and Jim Craig learned these strategies from the way that Brooks was coaching the team and the events that transpired 1979 to February 24, 1980. The nine strategies included ideal of the way that teams thought of themselves, to individual battles, to strategy of the game, and how they plan on achieving the goal set in front of the team.

When Team USA beat the Soviet in 1980 it was important for the US hockey world because that team was seeded seventh entering the game against the Soviet Union. During the 1980 Olympic run the average was 22 and all the players were that year were both amateur and college players and the Soviet’s team was mainly professional and experienced players. This win gave coach Herb Brooks a place in history because he did something no other USA coach has done for the last twenty years and that is beat Russia, and he was named sportsman of the year in 1990.

Vince Lombardi is definitely one of the best football coaches of all time. Lombardi was not only considered as an excellent football coach, but as one of the greatest coaches regardless of the sport. He was a great motivator, and touched the lives of his players, and fellow coaching staff. One of Lombardi’s most famous speeches was “What It Takes to Be Number One.” This speech was first debuted in the Green Bay Packers locker room during half time. Not only did Lombardi use this speech to motivate his players, but he also used it when he was asked to be guest speak at business conferences and political conventions. Vince Lombardi exercised many rhetorical devices while making this famous speech. His use of these devices is the reason why many have been touched by his words and motivated to be the best they can be in life. By using his credibility and stature as a winning football coach Lombardi uses a sense of ethos in his speaking. As a coach, talking about ones “ inner feelings” was not Lombardi’s strong suit, but he does express pathos is his speaking by using emotional words such as “loser,” “winner,” “heart” in order to connect with audience. Also, Lombardi uses logical reasoning in his speech, by applying the action of winning not only in football, but in all aspects of life

The Olympic Games has been a lens through which to scrutinize the world’s political, social, and economic spectacles. It has seen tsarist autocracy, fascism, despotism, and the great associated movements of the political solidity and contrariety of communism and capitalism. During the Cold War, sport was a sphere in which the USSR and the West competed bitterly. Following World War II, the Soviet Union utilized the Olympics to assure the world of its superiority and to prove communism’s stability as a political ideology. Purportedly amateur, sport meant a lot to Soviet authorities, as did awards and gold medals. Athletes often spent most of their time training in world-class facilities, even though they were meant to be factory workers or army officers. From 1950 to 1980, the United States exploited the Games as a platform to undertake a propaganda operation against communism, releasing an abundance of material to promote American ideals. On February 22, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York at the XII Winter Olympics, one unlikely hockey game served as a catalyst for newfound patriotism in America and marked the commencement of a new era in Soviet and American Cold War politics. The tensions between the United States and the U.S.S.R following the 1980 Winter Olympics and the Miracle on Ice represent strong, unwavering surges of nationalism. By analyzing the story of how 20 men and a determined head coach shocked the world- through the words of those present and affected-