I'm no sports fan, but this was the most exciting televised sporting event I ever saw. 25 years ago today:
ESPN showed it again over the weekend. Still sends chills down my back ... and I already knew who won.
People tend to forget that we hadn't beat the Russians in the Olympics in over 20 years. It truly was David vs. Goliath, and I remember it like it was yesterday.
And they got their asses handed to them a week before in an exhibition game. IIRC, the gold medal game was against Finland, right?
Yeah, very anticlimatic. Let's see 25 years ago today, Mulewife was 3 months away from having Muleson, my Dad had just passed away two weeks before, and I just started a new job with a corporation (where I'm still employed). Oh, and the US beat Russia in one of the greatest sporting events in my life. Nah, nothing much was happening 25 years ago today. :eek1
Saw the US vs. Findland game for the gold. I still have my banner that we held up during the game (which staff at the Olympic Center would tell us to put down, which we did for 5 seconds, to much booing, then lifted it back up!) Just heard a story on NPR about some folks that saw the "Miracle" game...brought back memories. I was in college at the time and we we offered quite a bit of money for our tickets that night, like the folks in the story...tempted, but glad we stuck to our guns and saw the game... Marching up main street in Lake Placid after the game with our banner and everyone shouting USA, USA! was great.. Much of the 80 team will return here this week for the 25th celebration...torch is lit, fireworks, very nice...come visit!
Spent some time with Jim Craig last month... what a genuine and down to earth guy! Really enjoyed meeting him. It was interesting to hear how much he enjoyed the whole "Miracle" movie experience. He told us about his daughter and her friends getting all fired up about their dad being portrayed in a disney movie... and he sounded just like a local kid from Mass who happened to be wrapped up in a truly miraculous, life altering experience. His stories about Herb Brooks were great, too.
Dude, I wasn't even ALIVE when that game happened and I get teary-eyed from it. There are few things greater in this world than huge sport triumphs where the little guy wins against all odds. It makes you believe in the possibility of seemingly impossible things; it's the American dream.
Thanks, ken. You've pointed the way. Now I know that to be a real American, I have to hire illegal Mexican workers to do my dirty work. You're a true patriot. I'm saluting you right now.
Holy crap! When you do a google image search for "bewbies" the ADVRider Smiley list comes up as one of the images on the second page! And wouldn't you know it, is the image they link to.
Yeah, in a way it does make me believe in some higher being, fate, or the triumph of "good over evil" whatever that means. Sports can be so much more than just a game.