“Do you believe in miracles?” (Al Michaels). The United States as a country were in a state of uncertainty and not very much hope. A major component was our arch nemesis Russia formally known as the Soviet Union (USSR). The cold war was running rampant around the time of 1979 and 1980, lots of Americans were very insecure about the wellbeing of themselves because they knew the power house of the soviet military. There are many differences when comparing the 1980 team and the 2014 team. For instance the 1980 team was full of college kids who either had just graduated or were still in college, however the 2014 team is full of professional athletes who all play in the NHL and back in the 1980’s professional athletes were not allowed to compete for their countries in the olympics. In fact 1992 was the first year professional athletes could participate. Many people believe that there will never be another dream team in the sense of words that just a group of kids can take on the powerhouses of Europe and the rest of the world. What is very exciting about these two teams, Americans and the Soviets, is that there is a lot of controversy surrounding both teams in their route for the gold. Through comparing the 1980 and 2014 Olympic Men’s Hockey teams and what was found was that only a team of 20 young college kids can change a nation to be optimistic and believe in miracles. Winning in any sport you need the right players and coaches to fit into a certain system to accomplish the goal that you set out for yourselves. Before the Olympics began the USA were in search of a new coach and a new hope not to be a joke compared to other countries around the world. After the long interviewing process of attempting to hire a coach they finally w... ... middle of paper ... ...ct him. Lots of hard work and dedication did not necessarily pay off right away in the games before the olympics but they did have a big win over an all star team but when push came to shove, the soviets dominated them 10-3 at Madison Square Garden in front of all of America which did not give the Americans lots of hope and excitement for their boys in red, white, and blue. Despite the disbelief in the team the country was still very excited about the Olympics being in Squaw Valley. USA started out the preliminary round with a big tilt against team Sweden. The game was extremely close and the Americans were down by a score of 2-1 with about five minutes left in the game and with less than a minute left Baker scored on a one timer slapshot to tie the game at two. The Americans needed to beat or at least tie the sweden team to even have a chance for the medal round.
In the book “The Boys of Winter” by Wayne Coffey, shows the struggle of picking the twenty men to go to Lake Placid to play in the 1980 Olympics and compete for the gold medal. Throughout this book Wayne Coffey talks about three many points. The draft and training, the importance of the semi-final game, and the celebration of the gold medal by the support the team got when they got home.
Hockey, U. (N.d.). THE 1980 U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from USA Hockey: http://www.ushockeyhalloffame.com/page/show/831562-the-1980-u-s-olympic-team
If you ask any Canadian what they were doing on september 28 1972, there it a good chance they will say watching the Canadians and soviets battling it out for the title of the summit series. It was one of the largest rivalry games in Canadian history. Kids in school watched the games during class, People across the nation sat on the edge of their seats for the month of september and were thrilled when Canada pulled off the victory. All of the hype leading up to the event made people wonder if the summit series was the biggest event in Canadian sports history or even Canadian history in general.There is no doubt that the summit series was a huge milestone for Canada and brought the nation together for an exciting ride, even to this day we still see the effects of this great event, it sculpted the game of hockey that we know and love today.
The most memorable moment in hockey history came thirty-four years ago with the 1980 Miracle on Ice. The Americans defeating the dominant Soviet team at the Olympics was not only an important triumph for USA Hockey, but for the entire nation. Contrary to popular belief, the underdog win was not only the result of a miracle; it was also the result of a hard-working team led by Coach Herb Brooks. With increasingly negative views on the position of the United States in the Cold War, the Miracle on Ice and the gold medal win lifted the spirits of the nation and brought hockey into the American spotlight.
But, the most meaningful way I have connected myself to Russian culture is through ice hockey. I have played hockey throughout my entire life and many of my favorite players are Russian. I realized this connection when my teammates and I were watching the movie Miracle at a hockey tournament in Lake Placid, not in 1980 though. In the movie, it showed the Soviets having the best ice hockey program in the world at the time, while the young U.S. ice hockey program was developing. Throughout the entire movie, I was cheering for the Soviet Union because it was my homeland. But what I didn’t know at the time was that I was the only one in the room who had not seen the movie. During the first game that the U.S. played, the Soviets crucified the U.S. 10-3. … And then came the Olympics
In 1990 women’s hockey had its first World Championship. Team Canada was made to wear pink jerseys as described in Hockey: A People’s History which showed a clear difference in the opinions of men playing versus women, as the women did not get to wear the red and white that the men wore to represent their country. However, this was still an important step. Men’s hockey was introduced to the Olympic Games in 1920. Women’s hockey was not included until 1998. It took 78 years for female hockey players to get to the same level on an international scale that men had been welcomed to. Olympic competition is arguably the best of the best; as countries send their most successful athletes to compete against the best from countries that they may not have the opportunity to play against in regular competition. While it may have taken many years, the introduction of women’s hockey into the Olympics was a clear display of the legitimization of the game. Thanks to the addition, many girls in Canada and around the world have had more exposure to women playing hockey. Especially for Canadian’s, seeing Team Canada dominate so frequently on the world stage has helped the growth of the game for women and has helped with the acceptance of female
a sport with no pressure to do better than anyone else, there are no winners or
There are many stereotypes in the American society that bestows an idea of the depiction of Russians. From past Olympics, we see that the Russians excel in sports and are powerful individuals. We also see the power and intelligence which come from this country.
Ice hockey is a sport that is played and loved all around the world. The hockey culture is like no other. I have firsthand experience with this culture and it’s different from many things. Hockey gets the reputation as a brutal sport with a bunch of goons trying to kill each other, but most people don’t get to see on the other side. Hockey brings people together whether you are a different race, have different beliefs, or a different gender it’s like one big happy family. Ice hockey wasn’t invented or it didn’t have a specific year it began. It all started around the 1800’s in Windsor, where three college students from King’s College, adapted their knowledge of the game field hockey to the ice, where a new winter sport was born. The boys called the game Ice Hurley which later got called to what we know today as Ice Hockey. As the years went by, the game was being played by soldiers across Canada, where it was carried o...
Hill, Christopher R. "The Cold War and the Olympic Movement." History Today. History Today, 1999. Web. 18 May 2014. .
...rk, Michael A. "Winning. How Important Is It in Youth Sports?" Youth Sports Institute: Michigan State University.
The 1980 Olympics Games in Moscow was supposed to be the usual multi-sport, international event where athletes from all nations come to prove their athletic ability. However, the Soviet Union’s invasion in Afghanistan led the United States to respond by withdrawing from the Olympic Games. As a result, a total of sixty five other countries, did not attend the Olympic Games. Although a number of countries did not participate in the Games, the Games went on as planned.
...d 1950’s Czechoslovakia was considered a world power. If they had stayed as one nation there is an argument to be made that they could have been the best nation in the world when it comes to ice hockey. There have been several incredible stories to come out of Czechoslovakian ice hockey, along with several incredible players and teams along the way. The Czech hockey players definitely suffered a few bumps in the road, such as tragedy and legal issues, but they also had many positives. They expanded the game across their nation to be considered a world power at one point, and that legacy has carried over to the future. The Czech Republic and Slovakia have taken things from hockey in Czechoslovakia and expanded it to their individual nations. Overall it is pretty incredible what Czechoslovakia went through in the process of developing into a very strong hockey nation.
LOS ANGELES, California (Achieve3000, February 23, 2010). It was the game that decided which of the men's basketball teams would capture the 2008 Olympic gold medal. Near the end of the fourth quarter, the team from the USA was up by only five points. Their opponent, Spain, could still defeat them. Team USA, made up entirely of NBA superstars, was supposed to be the best in the world, yet its players were struggling to stay ahead.
Despite their obvious contributions to our nation, recent developments in U.S. immigration policy are making it more difficult for these athletes to travel and compete, and nearly impossible to pursue a path to citizenship. Immigration is what made our country great. The ambition, passion,