‘Do you believe in miracles? Yes!'
25 years ago today, U.S. hockey team stunned Soviets
/ APThe U.S. hockey team pounces on goalie Jim Craig after defeating the Soviet Union 4-3 in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y., on Feb. 22, 1980.
The players mimicked the dour Brooks behind his back. They called themselves Big Doolies, a phrase they made up to mean they were hot stuff, even if they weren’t. It was their own little joke.
And then they went out and played an even bigger one on the rest of the world.
When the Olympic tournament began, the last thing the Americans were thinking about was the Soviets.
“They were in the other division,” Eruzione said. “We were worried about Sweden, Czechoslovakia and West Germany, the teams in our division. We thought a bronze medal was possible. Herb said let’s get to the final four and then, whatever happens, happens.”
The American Olympic odyssey started modestly. They salvaged a tie in the opener when they pulled goalie Jim Craig in the last minute of play and defenseman Bill Baker scored with 27 seconds left against Sweden.
“The biggest game of the tournament is us against Sweden,” Craig said before the first faceoff.
He had no idea what was still ahead.
Energized by the dramatic comeback for the last-minute tie, the Americans then defeated Czechoslovakia 7-3. Suddenly, there was a feeling around the Olympics that these kids might be able to accomplish something special.
“We wanted to win so bad,” forward Mike Ramsey said after the game against the Czechs. “The feeling in the locker room was unbelievable.”
The tough part of the preliminary schedule was done. The Americans followed up with wins against Norway and Romania and then rallied from two goals behind to defeat West Germany 4-2. They had made it to the medal round, the tournament’s final four. Now, it was time to think about the Soviets.
On Feb. 22, a Friday night, the Americans faced the Soviets in the first medal-round game. Eruzione remembered the electricity in the arena. “It was a different atmosphere, a different intensity,” he said. “There was a feeling of, ‘Hey, we can win this thing.”’
They were probably the only ones in Lake Placid who believed that.
Brooks gathered his team before the game and offered one more hockey homily, one more bit of philosophy that would become an indelible part of their legacy.
“You were born to be a player,” Brooks told them. “You were meant to be here.”
And then he sent them out to play the game of their lives.
“So much is made of confrontations,” Eruzione said. “As players, we had no concept of that. We were so focused, it was as if we were playing with blinders on. Herb had us geared to play a hockey game and he kept the outside stuff out of it. We were where we wanted to be — in position for a medal.”
The Americans skated furiously against the Soviets. Twice in the first period, they fell behind. Twice, they came back, tying the score in the last second of the period when Mark Johnson put a rebound past Tretiak.
When the teams took the ice for the second period, Tretiak was gone. The best goalie in the world had been benched, replaced by Vladimir Myshkin, a star in his own right. The Americans shrugged off the switch. “It was like taking out Patrick Roy and putting in Martin Brodeur,” Eruzione said.
The Americans managed just two shots on goal in the second period. Aleksandr Maltsev had the only goal of the period, and with 20 minutes to play the Soviets led 3-2. Then Team USA got a spark. Johnson’s second goal of the game tied it for the Americans at 8:39 of the third period. Eighty-one seconds later, Eruzione drilled a screened shot past Myshkin and the United States led for the first time.
Now it became a test of endurance. The seconds ticked off excruciatingly slowly, each one seeming to last an eternity as Craig held off the frantic Soviets.
Defensemen flopped to block shots. Craig was acrobatic in the nets. Eruzione kept watching the clock. “It was,” he said, “the longest 10 minutes of my life.”
As time wound down, the crowd’s chants grew louder and louder. “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!” The stands surrounding the rink became a sea of red, white and blue. This was no longer a hockey game. It was an endurance test, an emotional roller coaster.
Finally, mercifully, it ended. As broadcaster Al Michaels counted down the last seconds, he ended with an exclamation. “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”
If they hadn’t before, Americans did then.
As time ran out, the U.S. players dashed onto the ice, falling over one another in celebration. Craig, who stopped 36 shots, was wrapped in an American flag, his eyes searching the stands to find his father. Brooks wheeled and headed for the locker room. This was his team’s moment. He would not intrude on it.
The streets that night in Lake Placid were like one big block party, Americans celebrating a moment few of them thought possible.
Two days later, the miracle was completed, the gold medal clinched when the Americans came from behind with three third-period goals to defeat Finland 4-2.
When it was over, Eruzione stood on the medal platform to accept the gold and gestured to his teammates. Soon they were all up there, grinning, laughing, pounding each other on the back, the Big Doolies celebrating what they had accomplished.
Baker, the defenseman who saved the Americans in the tournament opener, is now a dentist. He reflected on what he and the others did 25 years ago.
“This was just a team of destiny,” he said. “You just can’t explain what happened. It just seemed things were supposed to happen that way.”
© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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