Speaker 1: Welcome to This Moment in Sports History. Podcast number The
Speaker 1: Miracle on Ice gets its Golden ending January twenty fifth,
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty. On January twenty fifth, nineteen eighty, something extraordinary
Speaker 1: began unfolding in Lake Placid, New York that would culminate
Speaker 1: in what many consider the greatest moment in American sports history,
Speaker 1: the Miracle on Ice. This was the date when the
Speaker 1: United States Olympic Hockey team, composed entirely of amateur and
Speaker 1: collegiate players with an average age of just twenty one,
Speaker 1: played their first game of the nineteen eighty Winter Olympics.
Speaker 1: While the actual miracle game against the Soviet Union wouldn't
Speaker 1: occur until February twenty second, the tournament that began on
Speaker 1: this day set the stage for an impossible dream. The
Speaker 1: context makes this story remarkable. The Soviet Union had dominated
Speaker 1: international hockey for decades, winning Golden five of the previous
Speaker 1: six Winter Olympics. Their team was essentially a professional squad
Speaker 1: of the world's best players who trained together year round.
Speaker 1: They'd recently demolished the NHL All Star six to zero
Speaker 1: in an exhibition series. Meanwhile, the US team was a
Speaker 1: ragtag collection of college kids many from the University of Minnesota,
Speaker 1: led by the demanding coach Herb Brooks. Just days before
Speaker 1: the Olympics officially began on January eleventh, these two teams
Speaker 1: had met in an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden.
Speaker 1: The Soviets destroyed the Americans ten to three, causing many
Speaker 1: to wonder if the US team even belonged on the
Speaker 1: same ice. But January twenty fifth marked a new beginning,
Speaker 1: the start of Olympic competition, where anything could happen. The
Speaker 1: American team's journey through the preliminary rounds would prove crucial.
Speaker 1: They had to believe they could compete at this level,
Speaker 1: building momentum and confidence game by game. What makes this
Speaker 1: time tournament launch date significant is understanding what coach Books
Speaker 1: had been doing since September seventeenth, nineteen seventy nine. He'd
Speaker 1: been molding this group through brutal conditioning drills, demanding they
Speaker 1: play a hybrid style, combining the best of North American
Speaker 1: physicality with European finesse and speed. He famously united players
Speaker 1: from rival college programs, particularly Minnesota and Boston University, who
Speaker 1: despised each other by making them hate him instead. The
Speaker 1: Olympic tournaments beginning on January twenty fifth represented the culmination
Speaker 1: of Brooks's vision and the player's sacrifice. These young men
Speaker 1: had turned down professional contracts and endured months of punishing
Speaker 1: practice all for this moment. The team that took the
Speaker 1: ice for their first Olympic game was led by goaltender
Speaker 1: Jim Craig, whose mother had recently passed away, Captain Mike Arizoni,
Speaker 1: who given up a professional career, and players like Mark Johnson,
Speaker 1: Buz Schneider, and Ken Morrow, who would all play crucis
Speaker 1: in the games to come. As the calendar turned toward February,
Speaker 1: these college kids would shock Sweden with a tie, defeat Czechoslovakia, Norway, Romania,
Speaker 1: and West Germany before facing the seemingly invincible Soviets on
Speaker 1: February twenty second. L Michael's famous call do you believe
Speaker 1: in miracles? Yes? Would echo through history. But it all
Speaker 1: started on January twenty fifth, when a group of young
Speaker 1: Americans dared to dream that gold was possible. The tournament
Speaker 1: that began on this date proved that sports can transcend athletics,
Speaker 1: that teamwork and determination can overcome superior talent, and that
Speaker 1: sometimes miracles do happen on ice. The team would go
Speaker 1: on to win gold, defeating Finland in the final game
Speaker 1: on February twenty fourth, but January twenty fifth, nineteen eighty
Speaker 1: represents that crucial first step into the Olympic spotlight, when
Speaker 1: America's impossible dream began its journey to reality, and that
Speaker 1: wraps it up. Join us tomorrow and be sure to
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Speaker 1: slice of sports history. This has been a Quiet Please
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Speaker 1: Thank you for listening.