The nature of a miracle

A reprint of my SlapShots column published Feb. 25 in the Woodford Sun

Monday, Feb. 22, marked the 30th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice.” That day, the U.S. Olympic ice hockey team, made up completely of amateur college players, defeated the mighty Soviet team at Lake Placid in the 1980 Winter Games.

The day before the anniversary, the current U.S. squad pulled off a pretty big upset, beating favored Canada 5-3 in an Olympic preliminary round match-up in Vancouver.

As the Canadians seem compelled to remind us, hockey is their game. And as annoying as that statement has become, it contains some truth. The Great White North birthed the sport, and despite the inroads American and European players have made over the years, Canadians dominate the National Hockey League. Canada stacked its Olympic squad with NHL firepower and star power, and they remain heavily favored to win the gold on their home ice.

But the young, spunky American squad skated into the Olympics with a chip on its shoulder, and the Americans pulled off the upset. It’s a poignant reminder that a collection of all-stars doesn’t necessarily equal a great team.

Make no mistake – this was a huge win for the Americans. It was the first victory over a Canadian Olympic team since 1960. And it came on Canadian home ice, in an arena overflowing with a hostile crowd. On the upset scale, it was something akin to Gardner-Webb knocking off UK at Rupp.

Seriously – it can happen.

Still, some pundits have gotten a little carried away with the U.S. win.

Perhaps it’s the proximity to the anniversary. Perhaps it’s the fact that the average American instantly associates hockey with the upset of the Russians. Perhaps it represents some desire to recapture the past or generate some buzz. Whatever it is, some commentators have tried to tie the upset of Canada to the Miracle game of 1980.

Sorry – not even close.

First off, you just can’t equate one squad of NHL players beating a slightly better squad of NHL players with the history-making upset of the Soviet machine. Every player competing in last week’s game between Canada and the U.S. plays in the NHL. But that 1980 team was all amateur. Just a bunch of kids really. And the Soviets? Well yes, they were all amateur too.

*wink-wink, nudge-nudge*

In fact, that Soviet squad whipped the NHL All Star team in the months before the Olympics. They were, in essence, a professional team, and some still argue that the Soviets fielded one of the best hockey teams ever assembled.

But the thing that truly set that 1980 Olympic match-up apart from every other sporting event was its time and place. It was the rare sporting event that transcended sport. Al Michaels summed up the significance of the game in the opening moments of the TV broadcast.

“There’s a lot of people in this building who do not know the difference between a blue line and a clothesline. It’s irrelevant. It doesn’t matter because what we have, have had, is the rarest of sporting events. An event that needs no buildup, no superfluous adjectives. In a political or nationalistic sense, I’m sure this game is being viewed with varying perspectives. But manifestly it is a hockey game. The United States and the Soviet Union on a sheet of ice in Lake Placid, New York.”

Indeed, it was merely a hockey game. But for a Cold War era America desperately looking for some sense of optimism, for a reminder of her greatness, for some sign that she would prevail – the game meant much more.

And so an amazing triumph, a bunch of college kids beating the Soviet hockey juggernaut, dramatic in its own right, became something much bigger. It captured an entire country’s imagination. It united a nation. It renewed a sense of pride and hope in the United States.

And it stands as arguably the greatest sports moment in history.

As a hockey fan, I can only hope that the current U.S. squad generates half the interest as the 1980 team. But as big of an upset as the win over Canada was, it received far less attention, and as I type this, the news cycle has moved along to the next big thing.

But that 1980 game … that one lives on. It reminds us that sometimes the little guy triumphs. It reminds us of the power of “team.” And it serves to remind us that sometimes miracles happen.

Do you believe in miracles?

Quick Shots
Due to space and time constraints, I don’t normally give a lot of coverage to junior varsity squads. But the girls’ basketball JV team deserves some ink. The Jackets obliterated Paris 46-11 on Feb. 19 to end its season with a 20-1 record. The only defeat came against Franklin High, and Woodford avenged that loss in the JV District Tournament. Down 27-19 with 1:30 to go, the Jackets scored 11 straight points to pull of a 30-27 win. Shannon McClintock served as the team captain. Chelsey Ford was the leading scorer averaging 12.3 points per game. Jessica Morgan dominated inside as the leading rebounder, averaging just fewer than 10 per game. Shelby McDonald and Anastayzia Reed also started, while Hannah Worrell and Alicia Miller were the first two subs off the bench. Emily Harlow, Emma Kroger, Jamie Muth, Leah Shelton, Audrey Swindell and Bethany Walton all played on the team. Congrats girls!

Here we go again. Jimmy Johnson won another race, taking first at Fontana. It was the 48th career win for the No. 48.

Congrats to the WCHS cheerleaders for their fifth place finish at State!

Quote of the Week
“That elephant on their back just got a little heavier.” – NBC commentator on the pressure team Canada must be feeling after losing to the U.S. on its home ice.

Puck to the Head
This week’s puck flies at the head of Russian figure skater Evegni Plushenko for whining after American Evan Lysacek beat him out for the gold medal. Plushenko apparently felt entitled to the gold simply because he can do a quadruple jump. Never mind that he teetered his way though his program while Lysacek skated nearly flawlessly. “Quad is quad. If the Olympic champion doesn’t know how to jump a quad, I don’t know,” Plushenko said sniveling. “Now it’s not men’s figure skating. It’s dancing, that’s my point.”
Looks to me like ya got beat by a dancer, Plushenko
That’s my point.