The miracle

Quite simply, it was by far the biggest moment in American sports history.

Of course I am talking about the 1980 Miracle on Ice team that 30 years ago beat the dreaded U.S.S.R. Red Army squad.

I remember it like it was yesterday. I still get chills when I talk about it, or when I hear the greatest sports call of all time, Al Michaels saying, "Do you believe in miracles? YES"

Even Ken Dryden, who was doing the color commentary, was completely caught up in the moment. If you listen close, as Michaels is counting down and gets to "five," Dryden yells, "It's over" and finishes with an astute "Unbelievable" after the buzzer goes off.

After all, these were college kids beating the absolute best in the world. You had to see it to believe it.

And I didn't even get to see it live.

I was working my part time job that evening and the game started at 5 p.m. Heck, I heard the score given on the radio station we had on at the store I was working at, but I figured they had it wrong. The U.S. could not possibly have beaten the Russians.

But they did.

This Sunday, I was trying to tell my son Andrew what that moment in sports (and world) history was like. Yes, he is too young to understand it, but I had to tell him what it was like back in early 1980.

Maybe I just want to relive the moment anyway I can.

It was the midst of the Cold War. I was a senior in high school and as a 17-year-old, I didn't know if my next step was college, work or getting drafted to fight communism (I had to register just in case they reinstituted the draft).

It was a scary time. American hostages were being held in Iran, the economy was terrible, interests rates were 21 percent. Most of all, American pride was at an all-time low.

Yet, here was this team of nobodies pulling off this miracle win over the same Soviet squad that had pasted them in an exhibition a week prior to the Olympics.

I have tried to explain to people that weren't born, or were very young back then, what that "little hockey" victory meant. It was as if we had beaten who we were most afraid of - the commies.

The atmosphere has never been, nor will it ever be matched.

People in the stands at Lake Placid chanted "U-S-A" throughout the game. The eruption in the crowd when the U.S. tied the game, which turned to bedlam when our team (yes, we all considered it our team) took the lead, was chilling.

The team's wild celebration after that victory is permantly planted in my mind and I still get goose bumps when I watch the replay of that moment.

Two days later, on a Sunday morning, the team completed the journey. Although it had to come back against Finland in the gold medal game.

I did get to see that game live and once again, Al Michaels put it best as that one game was ending when he yelled, "This impossible dream has come true."

Suddenly, or so it seemed at least, the pride in America was back.

Maybe it is time to pull out my DVD of the HBO documentary of "The Miracle." Even with the couple of cuss words, it's time my son, who is a hockey player, learns more about the greatest moment in sports history.