On This Day In 1980, The Miracle On Ice

It was 44 years ago today, February 22, 1980, when the U.S. hockey team created an unforgettable moment of national pride when they miraculously defeated the Soviets 4-3. Many refer to it as the greatest sports moment of the 20th Century. Of course, none of it would have mattered had the U.S. team lost the following game, the Gold medal matchup against Finland. It didn't start well, but Team USA was a team of destiny and they would come back from a 2–1 third period deficit to defeat Finland 4–2 and win the Gold.

If you have an extra 2 hours, here's the game in its entirety (you may need to click the box to watch it on YouTube)

If you only have a minute, here's the line uttered by Al Michaels that lived on in infamy.... (you may need to click the box to watch it on YouTube)

In 2004, the film Miracle, starring Kurt Russell as coach Herb Brooks was released. Al Michaels recreated his commentary for most of the games. The final ten seconds, (above) were taken from the original broadcast since the filmmakers felt that they could not ask him to recreate the emotion he felt at that moment. The film was dedicated to Herb Brooks, who died shortly after principal photography was completed.


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