30 years ago tonight, the Miracle on Ice occurred. I was a sports-fan kid enthralled by the action on our little TV. The same chills roll up my neck even now as I hear that glorious crowd celebrating outside and chanting USA, USA, USA.
The above clip features “Rizzo” performing Coach Brooks’ pregame speech. Stellar job, kid.
Wikipedia describes the finish as follows:
…This goal gave the US a 4–3 lead, its first of the game, with exactly 10 minutes left.
The Russians attacked furiously. Moments after Eruzione’s goal, Maltzev fired off a shot which ricocheted off the right goal pos t. As the minutes wound down, Brooks kept repeating “Play your game. Play your game. ” Instead of going into a defensive crouch, the United States continued to play offense, even getting off a few more shots on goal.
The Soviets began to shoot wildly, and Starikov admitted that “we were panicking”. As the clocked ticked down below a minute the Soviets got the puck back into the American zone, and Mikhailov passed to Petrov, who shot wide. The Soviets never pulled Myshkin for an extra attacker, much to the disbelief of the Americans. Starikov later explained that “We never did six-on-five”, not even in practice because “Tikhonov just didn’t believe in it. Craig kicked away a Petrov slap shot with 33 seconds left. Kharlamov fired the puck back in as the clock ticked below 20 seconds. A wild scramble for the puck ensued, ending when Johnson found it and passed to Morrow.
As the US team tried to clear the zone (move the puck over the blue line, which they did with seven seconds remaining), the crowd began to count down the seconds left. Sportscaster Al Michaels, who was calling the game on ABC along with former Montreal Canadiens 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!”
As his team ran all over the ice in celebration, Herb Brooks sprinted back to the locker room, locked himself inside a toilet stall, and cried.
For its March 3, 1980 issue, Sports Illustrated ran a cover with just a photograph by Heinz Kluetmeier, making it the first cover in the magazine’s history without any accompanying caption or headline. Kluetmeir said, “It didn’t need (any cover language). Everyone in America knew what happened.”
Damn straight he cried. Sports matter. Play right.
Here is part of the game call by Curt Chaplin of ABC Radio:
Here is the TV broadcast at the triumphant close:
USA. USA. USA.
