Todd Bissonette / AP file

"I'm still living it,'' said Mike Eruzione, captain of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, "Our story keeps going. For me, it comes up every single day.''

A melancholy reunion
The moment may never die.

As part of the 1980 Olympic 25th anniversary ceremonies, 18 members of the hockey team will head to Lake Placid on Wednesday. Craig already has returned with his daughter, Taylor, showing herthe rink, the locker room, the area where thousands of congratulatory telegrams had been stacked.

There have been past reunions, most memorably a five-day get-together in 2000, when players and coaches gathered in South Carolina for golf, cookouts and late-night storytelling sessions.

``No [autograph] signings, no press, just us,'' McClanahan said. ``Everybody brought their kids. The kids got to see the camaraderie we developed and maintained. It was special.''

This week's good times will be mixed with melancholy. Brooks died 18 months ago in a car accident. He never witnessed the movie's power, which introduced his team to another generation offans.

``Kids who were not even born [in 1980] were walking out of theaters just as jazzed up as the people who remember where they had been the day we beat the Soviets,'' McClanahan said. ``It's sad Herbie is not with us. He was our coach, not our friend, and it took a long time to break down some of the barriers that he had created. I was finally breaking down those barriers, lookingforward to playing golf with him and having more of a friendship relationship.

``It's very, very sad. He needs to be in the Hall of Fame. What he did with us was absolutely masterful.''

Right to the finish.

Eruzione said the streets of Lake Placid were nearly impassable after the victory against the Soviets. ``People were just flipping out,'' he said. Many players returned to a home where theirparents were staying to watch ABC-TV's tape-delay presentation of the game. Outside, the chants of ``U-S-A ... U-S-A'' could be heard. It was euphoria.

Until the U.S. players reported for practice the next day.

``The game [gold-medal match against Finland] couldn't come fast enough, but Herbie skated us harder than he had all year,'' Eruzione said. ``The message was pretty clear. We still had work to do.''

Finland was the final triumph. But the U.S.-Soviet result remains the enduring image.

A few years back, on another anniversary, a dozen American players appeared on a morning television show. They were joined by Viacheslav Fetisov from the Soviet team. Fetisov said he hadparticipated in about 80 tournaments. His medals were gold. All but one.

Then he presented his keepsake from 1980.

Silver.

Everyone paused.

Another reminder.

``We've all been pretty normal guys the last 25 years,'' O'Callahan said. ``But I think we have a grasp of the history, of what we accomplished. It was a special achievement for our team, butfor the entire country also, in ways not related to sports or hockey.

``You never forget because you always get reminded of how this had such a deeper meaning for so many people.''

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