(About the Series: Based upon my Conversation with guest Derek Meinecke, I’m going back in time to be in the stands at 10 sporting events. This week, it’s #1. You’re able to find links to the previous installments below.)
For someone my age – that is my mid-50s – there is really only one sporting event that I’d rank at the top of any list of those that I’d like to go back in time to see live. That event is the 1980 Winter Olympic Ice Hockey Semifinals in Lake Placid, NY, when the upstart United States played (and ultimately upset) the Soviet Union, 4-3.
And while that game has come to be known as the “Miracle on Ice” (thanks, primarily, to ABC’s Al Michaels‘ commentary as the closing seconds ticked away, video at the bottom of this post), the real miracle might have been the fact the opening face off came shortly after 5 p.m. ET but was not telecast until 8 p.m. by ABC and my family was completely oblivious to the final outcome. (Thank you pre-Internet and 24/7 news channels.)
We sat in our living room in St. Clair Shores, MI, eyes trained on the TV to watch a sport we knew little about (remember, I’m an Indiana native and basketball is not played on ice).
I. Was. Mesmerized.
The picture was grainy, I couldn’t make the puck out most of the time, I hardly understood the rules or what the red and blue lines were, but this was the USA vs. the Soviet Union at the peak of the Cold War during my early lifetime.
I recall feeling a sense of relief when American Mark Johnson scored with one second left in the first period to forge a 2-2 tie. Johnson tied the score again at 3-3 midway through the third period and provided a bit of hope to this 12-year-old in suburban Detroit.
And then Team USA Captain Mike Eruzione made me leap off the sofa and let out a “whoop” like it was suddenly electified fewer than two minutes later with the go-ahead goal.
After Eruzione potted that goal, it was an agonizingly long 10 minutes of game time until Michaels’ memorable call.
Do you believe in miracles? Yes!
Al Michaels, ABC Sportscaster
This upset, of course, secured nothing more than a Silver Medal, there was Finland to vanquish late Sunday morning to secure the Gold.
Still, count me as someone who’d like to be among the 8,500 in the Olympic Center to witness this piece of history.
Previous Installments
- Number 10 – 1972 NLCS Game 5
- Number 9 – 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics
- Number 8 – 2007 One Hall of a Trip
- Number 7 – 1973 Secretariat’s Triple Crown Run
- Number 6 – 1980 Wimbledon Final Borg-McEnroe
- Number 5 – 1986 Jack Nicklaus’ Final Masters’ Win
- Number 4 – 1974 Hank Aaron’ 715th HR
- Number 3 – 1972 Munich Summer Olympics
- Number 2 – 1947 Jackie Robinson’s MLB Debut