1980 Us Hockey Team

“Do you believe in Miracles” were the words of Al Michaels as the 1980 US Hockey team defeated the unbeatable Soviet Union. The US was a bunch of Amateur hockey player with an average age of 22. In unnerving times in America’s history these hockey players were playing for so much more than a gold metal. This team made huge sacrifices to bring back pride to the US. One game truly changed history.

In the time of the 1980 Olympics professional athletes were not allowed to compete in the Olympics. With the NHL in America many players choose to take the money to play in the NHL rather than playing in the Olympics. This gave the US a huge disadvantage in the Olympics. The Soviets who were considered unstoppable had a team of older players who had been playing together for 9 years, compared to the US players who had an average age of 22 and had been playing together for a few months. The Soviets were so dominate that they had defeated the NHL All-Star team by a score of 6 to 0.

These were very unnerving times in America’s history. The US was just coming out of a very difficult decade. This decade included such events as the following. Four students killed when National Guardsmen opened fire during anti-war demonstrations at Kent State University in Ohio. Huge anti-war march in Washington, D.C. Iranian militant students seize the U.S. embassy in Tehran capturing 66 hostages and setting off an intense standoff that lasted 444-days. Residents of Love Canal, NY, evacuated due to dangerous toxic chemicals buried in the area. The economy in the worst recession in 40 years. Republican agents burglarize Democratic headquarters at Watergate. The country was going through very difficult times and many felt unsure in the country. During those times there was little for Americans to take pride in. The 1980 US Hockey team gave them something to take pride in and unified the country for the first time in a long time.

The US Hockey team made huge sacrifices in so many ways. The conditioning the team the team went through was very intense. The team would condition for countless hours. Their Coach Herb Brooks once said they might not be the most talented team but they would be the best conditioned. They also sacrificed all the money that they would have got for going pro which would be very inviting in a time with a struggling economy. Not to mention all the time they all had