NFT: 39 years ago today - the greatest upset in sports history

But still to this day when it is brought up, my old man tells the story of how the game was on tape delay. He was one of the few who knew the outcome before the telecast, but dam...different time in the early 80's.

Can you imagine today a big event like that being on tape delay? Obviously with twitter and social media it would be impossible to fathom.

for so many reasons.

Miracle was great, but the HBO Special Miracle on Ice narrated I think by Al Michaels (or at least he was a big part of it) was incredible.

I still get goose bumps (when I watch both).

One of the most insane things is due to the way the Olympic brackets worked back then the US could have lost to Finland and not even medaled, let alone won the Gold.

They were losing 2 - 1 to Finland after two periods.

Herb Brooks dropped this:

Quote:

“If you lose this game you will take it with you to your fucking graves." As he started to leave the locker room, he stopped, turned around and added, "Your fucking graves.”

the HBO special was called:

Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team (2001)

More of a documentary than a movie like Miracle.

of this event. Unless you were alive and understood the state of the country at that time.

I still get chills every time I watch Miracle.

Not of the game itself, I was too young to bother paying attention to it, but I can remember my dad being overjoyed about it and me not understanding what the big deal was.

game was very anti-climactic from an Olympic newbie standpoint.

While we watched the Russia game at home, the Finland game was one while we were at a school event and I never saw it.

It wasn't until a few years later that I fully knew that was the Gold Medal game.

In comment 14303132 Reb8thVA said:

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of this event. Unless you were alive and understood the state of the country at that time. I still get chills every time I watch Miracle.

Agree. So true

For the gold medal game I actually had a game of my own at the same time vs Ramapo. We got on the ice for my game to start as the 3rd period was starting with USA vs Finland (and the US down 2 - 1) and over the rink PA they were announcing scoring changes.

When the US won they stopped our game and both teams threw our gloves in the air and just started celebrating on the ice. parents were hugging people were just going crazy. They played the national anthem and the celebration probably lasted 10 minutes before they re-started our game.

This is unusual for hockey players and especially parents since unfortunately hockey parents have a tendency to give sports parents a bad name and you are a thousand times more likely to get in a massive brawl than hug each other.

it was just a unique time, and I was only 8 years old, but that is one of my most vivid memories.

and mine is a small anecdotal story.

the documentary paints the picture really well, hostages in Iran, lines for gas, terrible economy and inflation, cold war in full effect, just a really low period for self-esteem for the US and this small but massive event helped in a lot of ways.

I knew that it was a Disney movie, and figured it was a cornball movie more geared to kids. Boy was I wrong. It's right up there with my favorite sports movies, and I'm not a hockey fan. Whenever one of my teams is looking lethargic, I always hear Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell)'s voice: "You guys are playing like this is some throwaway game up in Rochester!!"

So many great lines.

Gentlemen, you don't HAVE enough talent to win on talent alone!

game all the time as motivation.

My girls are in an elite league and sometimes there is no real parity the first half of the season because there are 5 or 6 divisions each at different skill level (some teams are too low in their division, some are too high) so we may lose by 7 or 8 goals one weekend, and win by 7 or 8 goals the next.

But when we lose by 7 or 8 and play that team again, I always ask the kids what happened before USA beat Russia in the Olympics? they lost 10 - 3 (just a couple weeks before the Olympics). It gives them hope and sometimes it doesn't turn into a W, but it helps the kids to believe and that's all I'm looking for at this age.

"This cannot be a team of common men because common men go nowhere. You have to be uncommon."

I was living in Chicago and at an after hours goodbye party for a co-worker. Then there was this small buzz in the bar. Nothing huge but noticeable. I was floored as I got the news. I figured we would do a little better than NY, maybe 7-2, but wasn't sure this info was true. The game was replayed on TV and for the only time in my life, the replay lost absolutely nothing in terms of excitement and emotion. Incredible.

One of my favorite tidbits from the documentary was how the US put together a video compiling what had been going on in the US while the hostages were being held captive, for all of them to view upon return. The US beating Russia was added to the video for them to see. Many of them really loved seeing that on there.

Pretty damn cool.

In comment 14303144 pjcas18 said:

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In comment 14303132 Reb8thVA said: Quote: of this event. Unless you were alive and understood the state of the country at that time. I still get chills every time I watch Miracle. Agree. So true For the gold medal game I actually had a game of my own at the same time vs Ramapo. We got on the ice for my game to start as the 3rd period was starting with USA vs Finland (and the US down 2 - 1) and over the rink PA they were announcing scoring changes. When the US won they stopped our game and both teams threw our gloves in the air and just started celebrating on the ice. parents were hugging people were just going crazy. They played the national anthem and the celebration probably lasted 10 minutes before they re-started our game. This is unusual for hockey players and especially parents since unfortunately hockey parents have a tendency to give sports parents a bad name and you are a thousand times more likely to get in a massive brawl than hug each other. it was just a unique time, and I was only 8 years old, but that is one of my most vivid memories. and mine is a small anecdotal story. the documentary paints the picture really well, hostages in Iran, lines for gas, terrible economy and inflation, cold war in full effect, just a really low period for self-esteem for the US and this small but massive event helped in a lot of ways.

Indeed. A very strange time. I was about to turn 18, in the middle of my senior year in HS. Everything seemed to suck. Interest rates on homes were astronomical. Cars lasted about three years. All the strife that the US was enduring. It seemed, literally, the US's best years were behind us. This game occured about 2 months prior to the failed hostage rescue mission in Iran. That, in my opinion, was the low point. If not for this win and the subsequent win over Finland for the gold, it would have been a shit year. I remember when they scored the tying goal against the Swiss in the first game, when it looked for all intents and purposes the game was lost, I had a glimmer of hope for making it to the medal round. I still say it's the greatest sports moment of my life. Better than the Cup in 94, any Yankee WS title, and moreso than all the Giants SB wins (though 2007 came close).

I remember Carter's malaise speech. I remember feeling lost like what's the point of going to college and all, that we as a people were doomed to mediocrity or worse. Held hostage by oil needed from countries that hated us. I know now that was a naive and simplistic view, but I felt helpless.

I did go to college, and one day Ronald Reagan (who I was against in the election) came to King's College to speak and I went for the experience. He won me over in that speech, and again I didn't expect to like what I was going to hear, and I voted for him. It felt right when the hostages returned the day of his innaguration. The year started with the Miracle on Ice and ended with the hostages coming home. I always felt that those were touchstone moments in my life.

You think you can win on talent alone? Gentlemen, YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TALENT TO WIN ON TALENT ALONE!

" I play for the United States of America"
"That's all" HB

in over 50 years as a sports fan, this moment was the greatest. It's not even on the same plane as the next three... (2) Rangers '94 Stanley Cup; (3) Giants '86 Season and '87 first Superbowl; and (4) Mets '69 World Series.

And as BamaBlue states nothing will ever touch it sports wise for me just fortunate to witness Sports history...hard to describe Main street Lake Placid that night surreal party scene.

I remember watching the Finland game on television at Aqueduct Race Course.

The entire place was watching the game. No one was betting on the races.

When the US scored in the third period to take the lead the place erupted.

What a great time.

4 years later a bunch of us saw the US play the Russians in a warmup game for the '84 Olympics ... It was early December also in Lake Placid and the scene was still UNBELIEVABLE ...

Its snowing lightly, the stores on Main St had VCRs (new at the time) in their windows replaying the Olympic win and the crowd was pumped going in ... Russia leads throughout but the USA comes back in the 3rd to win ...

This is still the greatest sporting event I've ever been at and IT WAS 4 YEARS AFTER THE REAL THING ... I can only imagine Lake Placid in 1980 !!!

this was the biggest upset in sports history....sorry fans of Super Bowl 42....this was monumental.

The guy who played Jack O'Callahan in the movie, Michael Mantenuto, quit acting a few years after Miracle, joined the Army, and became a Green Beret. Sadly, he committed suicide in 2017.

here's a compilation

-"You're playing worse and worse every day and right now you're playing like it's next month."
-"You can't be common, the common man goes nowhere; you -have to be uncommon."
-"Boys, I'm asking you to go to the well again."
-"You look like you have a five pound fart on your head."
-"Fathers and mothers love their children as I love this hockey team."
-"You're looking for players whose name on the front of the sweater is more important than the one on the back. I look for these players to play hard, to play smart and to represent their country.”
-"Great moments are born from great opportunities."
-"You're getting bent over and they're not using Vaseline"
-"You know, Willie Wonka said it best: we are the makers of dreams, the dreamers of dreams."
-"This team isn't talented enough to win on talent alone."
-"If you lose this game you'll take it to your grave...your fucking grave."
-"You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours."
-"Write your own book instead of reading someone else's book about success.
-"A really good hunter will go up to a tiger and spit in his eye before he shoots him. A unique athlete will also walk up to the tiger, spit in his eye and then shoot him."

about the Soviet team was brilliant as well. If memory serves, it told the story of the brilliant Soviet style of play being developed over the years very well...but 1980 was a few years after Tikhonov had become coach, and his dictatorial style had sucked the joy out of hockey for the Soviets. They were still the best in the world of course...which is why it’s the greatest upset in sports history.

I also recall many of them put a lot of the blame for the loss on him benching Tretiak after the first period.

is about goals.

Before every game I ask each kid in the locker room what their goals are for the game.

And I begin with this Herb Brooks quote (and they eye roll a little because they've heard it every game for 3 years now, but they all do it):

Quote:

Let me start with issuing you a challenge: be better than you are. Set a goal that seems unattainable, and when you reach that goal, set another one even higher

It's so rewarding to see kids think this way and then self-evaluate.

for the Soviet take on things
Red Army - ( New Window )

I remember watching the game live on Canadian television in a bar in Burlington, VT in total disbelief. I was totally trashed after and I only watched the US tape delay to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. Fatman, the Gold medal game against Finland was played on a Sunday morning as I was supposed to pick my parents up at BTV but left them there until the game was over.

yep. We were at a school pancake breakfast to support fundraise for something. I was only in the 5th grade.

Back when you could do that thing on Sunday!

All four teams had a shot at gold prior to our game vs. Finland.

In comment 14303424 Mad Mike said:

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All four teams had a shot at gold prior to our game vs. Finland.

and if US lost to Finland there was a possibility for no medal. I forget the specifics, but I think there was at least one scenario where it was gold or nothing.

In comment 14303429 pjcas18 said:

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and if US lost to Finland there was a possibility for no medal. I forget the specifics, but I think there was at least one scenario where it was gold or nothing.

If we'd lost by at least two goals, and Swe/USSR tied, it would've been a four-way tie at 3 points, and we'd have been 4th on goal differential.

I was very fortunate to see all of the eastern players on the Olympic team play college while going to UVM. One of the last cuts on the Olympic team was an UVM player Craig Homala who reportably turned down an opportunity to go back as an injury replacement. What an amazing time.

The 30 For 30 episode "Of Miracles and Men" is showing on the NHL Network at 2pm. Fascinating look at the Miracle on Ice from the Soviet point of view.

He recently wrote a letter to himself...

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I was asked recently what would I tell my 18-year-old self if I had the chance. That’s an interesting project. Knowing what I know now at age 61, of course there are some things I’d like to go back and do over again. One immediately comes to mind.

Mark Johnson's Letter to his younger self - ( New Window )

Easy to avoid knowing the result before watching the tape delay. Of course, if you left the house and people were yelling and screaming you'd kinna know what it was all about.

Had 1980 U.S. hockey team lost to Finland, Soviets would have won gold.

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This week marked the 36th anniversary of the "Miracle on Ice," when the United States men's hockey team shocked the Soviet Union and two days later, won the gold medal. But it almost ended in disaster for the Americans, who still could have coughed up gold to the reigning champs. Had the United States lost to Finland on Feb. 24, 1980, the Soviet Union — yes, the same Soviets the U.S. defeated in the "Miracle on Ice" game two days prior — would have won the gold medal. That's because in 1980, the Olympic men's hockey medal round was played in a round-robin, not single-elimination, format. Finland and the United States would have played regardless of the result two days earlier. But the U.S. still needed that 4-2 win over the Finns to win the gold medal, and they may not have won a medal at all with a loss.

Link - ( New Window )

In comment 14303123 pjcas18 said:

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One of the most insane things is due to the way the Olympic brackets worked back then the US could have lost to Finland and not even medaled, let alone won the Gold. They were losing 2 - 1 to Finland after two periods.

How did it work then, and how was this possible? It wasn't always that the loser of the gold medal game got the silver?

In comment 14303747 lawguy9801 said:

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In comment 14303123 pjcas18 said: Quote: One of the most insane things is due to the way the Olympic brackets worked back then the US could have lost to Finland and not even medaled, let alone won the Gold. They were losing 2 - 1 to Finland after two periods. How did it work then, and how was this possible? It wasn't always that the loser of the gold medal game got the silver?

never mind - just saw the post before mine

thank you for posting the picture and information. Very sad.

banished for life to a Siberian work camp after that game? ;>)

watching the CBS Evening News that night shortly before the tape delay began on ABC. For his final sentence just before signing off, Walter Cronkite said something like, "and in a stunning development, the US Hockey team has upset the Russians in the Olympics." I could have killed him for giving it away. Still watched it though, and the the tension was still unbearable. And the euphoria when the clock went to 00:00 will never be forgotten.

In comment 14304776 looie said:

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banished for life to a Siberian work camp after that game? ;>)

Tikhonov was a sadistic tyrant, but the man made hockey legends. Still he screwed up terribly pulling Tretiak from the game. Thank God he did

I remember seeing bits and pieces of a TV program regarding the Soviet take on things. People in Russia were asking the players if they were drunk during the game