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21 Feb 10 - 08:48 AM (#2845736) Subject: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: 3refs 30th Anniversary tomorrow! "Rag tag bunch of mostly teenaged amateurs, barely together a few months and playing a sport invented and perfected elsewhere, take on the most polished, professional and unbeatable team in the history of international hockey, and win it. In exhibitions that year, Soviet club teams had gone 5–3–1 against National Hockey League teams, and a year earlier the Soviet national team had defeated the NHL All-Stars 6–0 to win the Challenge Cup. The Soviet and American teams were natural rivals due to the decades-old Cold War. In the final seconds of the game the crowd began to count down the seconds left. Sportscaster Al Michaels, who was calling the game on ABC along with former Montreal Canadians goalie Ken Dryden, picked up on the countdown in his broadcast, and delivered his famous call "…Eleven seconds, you've got ten seconds, the countdown going on right now! Morrow, up to Silk…five seconds left in the game…Do you believe in miracles? Yes!" US won the game 4-3. This victory was voted the greatest sports moment of the twentieth century by Sports Illustrated." Up here in Canada, most who where around at the time look to the 72 Summit Series. The big difference being it was 8 games long. The first 4 being almost an embarrassment for us, with the next 4 being as close as you can get to war on ice. If I could only watch one game, it would be "The Miracle"(just sneak in a bit of Clarke's stick work and Henderson's goal. |
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21 Feb 10 - 11:54 AM (#2845852) Subject: RE: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: Bill D ...and a darn good thing it wasn't "best 3 out of 5" |
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21 Feb 10 - 12:47 PM (#2845881) Subject: RE: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: gnu I have fond memories of The Miracle in Lake Placid. There was a bunch of us watching that game and counting down too, culminating in much cheering for the Rag Tag Yanks. I remember Henderson's goal too. I was driving on a main road here in Moncton, listening intently to the radio. The road was full of traffic. The blare of horns was amazing... some peeps pulled over and began cheering, etc, etc... |
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21 Feb 10 - 03:39 PM (#2846019) Subject: RE: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: Little Hawk Yeah, Canada went totally nuts when Henderson scored that last goal. I remember it well. I was with a bunch of friends watching the game. We watched all the games in that series...didn't miss a minute of it. (I'll tell you something, though...I secretly thought the Russians should've won the series, because they played better hockey. It was just poetry the way that Russian team passed the puck and set up plays...the nicest hockey playing I have ever seen to this day.) |
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21 Feb 10 - 06:26 PM (#2846159) Subject: RE: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: 3refs Little Hawk, you must remember we(Canada)didn't send all our best players, just some of them. Howe(smi-retired), Hull(W.H.A.), Orr(injured), Cheevers(W.H.A.) and Sanderson(W.H.A.), just to name a few, didn't play. We thought it would be a nice pleasant exhibition series and we'd kicked their ass! They embarrassed us in the first four games(Maple Leafs Gardens being an exception)! We also discovered just how dirty they were, and make no mistake, they took dirty hockey to a new level! As for 1980 and the U.S.A. team, it was destiny that brought those players and Herb Brookes together. So, there I was, celebrating my 22nd birthday on the 24th, cheering for the States to win Olympic Gold in a hockey game |
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21 Feb 10 - 07:36 PM (#2846231) Subject: RE: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: gnu LH... what 3 says is true. "Dirty" is mild. I had never even thought that someone would chop a skate on a leg when the puck was dropped until I saw it done on TV. It, and other "dirty" play, were shocking to me and made the victory even more sweet. Yes, the Russians were good, but they were not good enough in the end. Now, I know Canucks can be rough and tough (been there) but the shit that the Russians doled out was out-and-out DIRTY. I just loved that our lads hung tough and won out WITHOUT reverting to what is normally the case in any Canuck rink on any given night... yeah... let's fuck, fight and hold the light. In the end, they beat the bastards, despite their dirty play, and landed a few of them in the dressing room with CLEAN checking. Gee whiz... I am so worked up over remembering the skate chopping... hadn't thought of it for YEARS. Fookin Commie bastards! Hehehehehee. |
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21 Feb 10 - 07:46 PM (#2846238) Subject: RE: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: Little Hawk The skate chopping was dirty, no doubt about that. On the other hand, I think the Canadian team deliberately injured Valery Karlamov to get him out of that series early. That's dirty play too. I may be wrong...but I bet the Canadian coach told his players, "Take Karlamov out of this series. I don't care how you do it, just do it." That sort of thing goes on a lot in hockey. I have to give the Canadians great credit for getting over their initial arrogance, realizing just how bad a spot they were in, and rising to the occasion. They did a magnificent job. The impression I had in that series was that you have a bunch of individualists on the Canadian side...prima donnas would be one way to put it...and they were not meshing together all that well as a team. The Russians, on the other hand, were used to playing together and were playing superbly as a team. It took the Canadians about 4 games to suck it up, realize they were headed for an ignominious defeat, and forget about their egos and play as a real team. They did it. And they had a bit of luck when they needed it. I still think the Russians played better hockey, but it is to their shame that they had to resort to dirty tactics as well. (their coach probably gave them the orders to play that way too...) |
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21 Feb 10 - 08:00 PM (#2846247) Subject: RE: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: gnu It would be cool to be able to watch it all over again. |
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21 Feb 10 - 08:36 PM (#2846278) Subject: RE: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: Little Hawk I wish Bobby Orr had been in shape to play in that series. In my opinion, he was the best hockey player in history, simply incredible. I feel lucky to have seen him play in his best years with Boston. |
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21 Feb 10 - 08:58 PM (#2846291) Subject: RE: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: Jack the Sailor >>I secretly thought the Russians should've won the series, because they played better hockey. << First of all they were the Soviet team. Not all of them Russian. But don't worry, In Russia, they did win. I have read that there is a plaque in the Moscow saying that the CCCP won on the basis of total goals. |
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21 Feb 10 - 10:32 PM (#2846322) Subject: RE: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: Beer There are a few things I remember as the years roll along. 1) |
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21 Feb 10 - 10:35 PM (#2846323) Subject: RE: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: 3refs "The skate chopping was dirty, no doubt about that. On the other hand, I think the Canadian team deliberately injured Valery Karlamov to get him out of that series early. That's dirty play too." I have several different hockey cards, where Bobby Clarke states in a couple of different ways; "Ferguson came storming into the dressing room between periods and ranted that somebody's got to get/stop Kharlamov". " I lifted my head, and realized he was talking directly to me". "I got him", but not because of Ferguson, because he speared me previously in the guts! Then Bill White was kicked hard enough that the skate blade went through the shin pad and cut him(after the Soviet tried to kick him in the nards)! We won't even mention the officiating! Later when the W.H.A. played them(and got smoked), my cousin punched out one of them during the handshake at the end of the game because he was also kicked! Not to open a can of worms, but it's for those, and some other reasons, that you'll never get rid of fighting in hockey(or lacrosse for that matter)!d |
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21 Feb 10 - 10:39 PM (#2846330) Subject: RE: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: Beer Just took my memory pills. As I was saying before I hit "tab" by mistake. 1) Kennedy Assassination. 2) Henderson's goal 3) Our wedding. I think. Well parts of it because of the night before(just kiddin a bit.) Oh I remember lots of other things like the first step on the moon, the hanging of Hussein, and the list goes on. But I can't tell you very clearly where I was at the time or what I was doing. But the above three I can ad. |
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21 Feb 10 - 10:49 PM (#2846335) Subject: RE: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: 3refs Me too! Although a bit young in 63. Watched Henderson at my barber's shop on my Mom's colour TV with 30-40 others in downtown Orillia(he still cuts my hair to this day). My wedding reception was at the Coldwater Legion, and Ronnie Hawkins was playing across the parking lot at the Coldwater Arena. 4 of us walked in wearing our "tuxes, and told them we were part of the band. Had a hell of a night! Found a new use for the hood of my car that night! |
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21 Feb 10 - 10:53 PM (#2846337) Subject: RE: BS: 'The Miracle on Ice' 30yrs later From: Little Hawk Okay, Jack, fine...I thought the Soviets should have won. ;-) In any case, both of those teams played absolutely great. Best hockey series I've ever seen and ever expect to. It would have been even better if Orr could have played. |