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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to This Moment in Sports History. Podcast number The

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<v Speaker 1>Miracle on Ice gets its Golden ending January twenty fifth,

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen eighty. On January twenty fifth, nineteen eighty, something extraordinary

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<v Speaker 1>began unfolding in Lake Placid, New York that would culminate

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<v Speaker 1>in what many consider the greatest moment in American sports history,

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<v Speaker 1>the Miracle on Ice. This was the date when the

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<v Speaker 1>United States Olympic Hockey team, composed entirely of amateur and

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<v Speaker 1>collegiate players with an average age of just twenty one,

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<v Speaker 1>played their first game of the nineteen eighty Winter Olympics.

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<v Speaker 1>While the actual miracle game against the Soviet Union wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>occur until February twenty second, the tournament that began on

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<v Speaker 1>this day set the stage for an impossible dream. The

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<v Speaker 1>context makes this story remarkable. The Soviet Union had dominated

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<v Speaker 1>international hockey for decades, winning Golden five of the previous

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<v Speaker 1>six Winter Olympics. Their team was essentially a professional squad

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<v Speaker 1>of the world's best players who trained together year round.

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<v Speaker 1>They'd recently demolished the NHL All Star six to zero

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<v Speaker 1>in an exhibition series. Meanwhile, the US team was a

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<v Speaker 1>ragtag collection of college kids many from the University of Minnesota,

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<v Speaker 1>led by the demanding coach Herb Brooks. Just days before

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<v Speaker 1>the Olympics officially began on January eleventh, these two teams

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<v Speaker 1>had met in an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden.

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<v Speaker 1>The Soviets destroyed the Americans ten to three, causing many

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<v Speaker 1>to wonder if the US team even belonged on the

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<v Speaker 1>same ice. But January twenty fifth marked a new beginning,

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<v Speaker 1>the start of Olympic competition, where anything could happen. The

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<v Speaker 1>American team's journey through the preliminary rounds would prove crucial.

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<v Speaker 1>They had to believe they could compete at this level,

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<v Speaker 1>building momentum and confidence game by game. What makes this

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<v Speaker 1>time tournament launch date significant is understanding what coach Books

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<v Speaker 1>had been doing since September seventeenth, nineteen seventy nine. He'd

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<v Speaker 1>been molding this group through brutal conditioning drills, demanding they

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<v Speaker 1>play a hybrid style, combining the best of North American

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<v Speaker 1>physicality with European finesse and speed. He famously united players

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<v Speaker 1>from rival college programs, particularly Minnesota and Boston University, who

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<v Speaker 1>despised each other by making them hate him instead. The

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<v Speaker 1>Olympic tournaments beginning on January twenty fifth represented the culmination

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<v Speaker 1>of Brooks's vision and the player's sacrifice. These young men

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<v Speaker 1>had turned down professional contracts and endured months of punishing

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<v Speaker 1>practice all for this moment. The team that took the

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<v Speaker 1>ice for their first Olympic game was led by goaltender

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<v Speaker 1>Jim Craig, whose mother had recently passed away, Captain Mike Arizoni,

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<v Speaker 1>who given up a professional career, and players like Mark Johnson,

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<v Speaker 1>Buz Schneider, and Ken Morrow, who would all play crucis

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<v Speaker 1>in the games to come. As the calendar turned toward February,

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<v Speaker 1>these college kids would shock Sweden with a tie, defeat Czechoslovakia, Norway, Romania,

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<v Speaker 1>and West Germany before facing the seemingly invincible Soviets on

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<v Speaker 1>February twenty second. L Michael's famous call do you believe

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<v Speaker 1>in miracles? Yes? Would echo through history. But it all

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<v Speaker 1>started on January twenty fifth, when a group of young

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<v Speaker 1>Americans dared to dream that gold was possible. The tournament

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<v Speaker 1>that began on this date proved that sports can transcend athletics,

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<v Speaker 1>that teamwork and determination can overcome superior talent, and that

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes miracles do happen on ice. The team would go

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<v Speaker 1>on to win gold, defeating Finland in the final game

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<v Speaker 1>on February twenty fourth, but January twenty fifth, nineteen eighty

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<v Speaker 1>represents that crucial first step into the Olympic spotlight, when

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<v Speaker 1>America's impossible dream began its journey to reality, and that

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<v Speaker 1>wraps it up. Join us tomorrow and be sure to

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<v Speaker 1>hit that subscribe button so you never miss a daily

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<v Speaker 1>slice of sports history. This has been a Quiet Please

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<v Speaker 1>Studios Production. For more check out Quiet Please dot Ai.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you for listening.