On This Day 39-Years-Ago The World Witnessed The Greatest Upset In Sports History
On this day 39-years-ago, the world witnessed the greatest upset in sports history. The United States Men’s Olympics Hockey Team took down the Soviet Union 4-3 in the medal round of the 1980 Winter Olympics and they eventually went on to win the Gold.
There have been some crazy upsets since 1980….Buster Douglas over Mike Tyson in 1990, The 07 Giants over the Patriots, Appalachian State over Michigan..but none of those even come close to what the United State accomplished in 1980.
The Soviets were 27-1-1 after they finished with the Bronze in 1960. They won the Gold Medal in 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1976 out scoring teams 175-44. Beating the Soviets was basically impossible, especially for a bunch of college kids. The Soviets also just months before the Olympic games, took down the NHL’s best in the Challenger Series at Madison Garden.
Long story short, the Soviets were the best hockey team in the world and it wasn’t really close. The Americans were a bunch of college kids who had been playing together for a few months. They had no business being on the ice with the Soviets, let alone beating them. But they did. All because of one man….Herb Brooks.
Herb Brooks led his boys to a 4-3 victory over the Soviets at a a crucial point in the cold war. He set out with a goal to adapt to the Soviets and beat them at their own game, and he succeed. A Mike Eruzione goal with 10 minutes remaining in the 3rd period was the final nail in the coffin for the Soviets as Herb and his team would go on to win.
I could go on for hours talking and writing about this game and this team. But nothing really does this team justice like the movie Miracle.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. Miracle is the best movie on the planet. Am I biased because there is nothing I love more than hockey and America? Probably. But you’re an idiot if you don’t think the same. There was a good period of time where you could walk in just about any locker room in America and drop a miracle quote and about 99% of the locker room would be able to finish it for you.
So when you are out tonight with your buddies, do a shot for Herb Brooks and the 1980 United States Men’s Olympic Hockey Team, they deserve it.