February 22, 1980, this day in history marks an unforgettable defeat of the USSR by the US in Olympics. Soviet team was a five-time gold winner of Men’s Ice Hockey in Olympics. Since, 1968 they had an unbeaten record in the sport.
Soviet squad was called the finest team of boys in the world while the underdogs, American squad comprised of young college boys with an average age of 22. At XIII Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York, Soviets encountered the Americans in the final round.
Breaking Soviet’s dominance in the Men’s Ice hockey, was a miracle to watch on the shinny Ice floor.
What Was “Miracle on Ice”?
Since its first appearance at the Winter Games in 1956, the Soviet national ice hockey team had won five out of six gold medals, earning the nickname “Red Machine.”
Expectations were American amateurs will be crushed by the defending Red Machine. In the first period, the Soviets broke through first, with their new young star, Valery Krotov, deflecting a slap shot beyond American goalie Jim Craig’s reach. In return, America’s Buzz Schneider answered the Russian goal with high shot over the shoulders of Vladislav Tretiak, the Soviet goalie.
In the second period, Russians ended with a 2-3 lead. However, team USA rescued themselves in the third period, scoring two points and entered the last minutes of the game with a one-point lead.
And in five seconds, miracle happened. The ABC sportscaster Alan Michaels shouted, “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”. After the crowd counted down the final five seconds, the players, coaches, and team officials poured onto the ice in chaotic celebration. The underdogs had outdid five times defending gold champions. The victory was historic.
It was an awestruck Olympic upset, a miracle on the ice victory. For American public the joy was double- the game aroused patriotic enthusiasm because of the Cold War between United States and Soviet Union.
The Ideological Victory of US against USSR
The victory over USSR became as meaningful as Berlin Airlift or the Apollo moon landing. The rivalry between the two superpowers permeated in the social, political and economic domains.
America’s President Jimmy Carter, had just announced that the United States was going to boycott the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow in response to Soviet’s actions (economic penalties, restricting fishing permits for Soviet ships in coastal waters of the U.S etc). The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iran hostage crises had further fueled the feud. President Carter had announced,
“And I have notified the Olympic Committee that with Soviet invading forces in Afghanistan, neither the American people nor I will support sending an Olympic team to Moscow.”
The context of political unrest between the two nations, enthralled the American public for greater celebration. That Friday night was spent into partying by millions of Americans.
Two days later, USA defeated Finland to clinch their first gold since 1960. After the gold-medal winning game, President Carter congratulated the players over a phone call.
The unforgettable miraculous triumph over USSR was later commemorated by Americans into a 2004 movie, Miracle, starring Kurt Russell.
Tabinda Mir is a writer from Kashmir. She is an English Honours graduate and her interests primarily dwell in poetry and sports writing. She likes to cover Cricket as an avid fan. Apart from sports, her other publications include articles, poems and a letter to summer in the book titled, “Under The Summer Skies”.
Also, her leisure time activities include reading novels, poetry, non literary works, philosophies and writing poetry, short stories, articles on diverse themes.
