On this day, 33 years ago, perhaps the greatest sporting moment in U.S. history happened as the U.S. defeated the Soviet Union 4-3 in Lake Placid to earn a trip to the Gold Medal game against Finland. The U.S. then went onto defeat Finland in the game to win the gold medal. From this game, the greatest call in American sports history was made when Al Michaels most famously said "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"
The U.S. was as big of an underdog as any team could possibly be. The Soviets had crushed the Americans less than two weeks before 10-3 in Madison Square Garden in a warm-up contest prior to the Olympic games in Lake Placid. The Soviets also had won every gold medal since 1960, going 27-1-1 and outscoring its opponents 175-44 in the process.
The game was on run on tape delay, so it could be shown on prime time in the U.S. The arena was filled with a capacity of 8,500 to watch the game.
Now, I was not born yet to see the game, but that does not mean I do not know the significance of this game. The two countries were rivals due to the Cold War, and to a lot of people, the hockey game was much more than a game. The U.S. decided to boycott the Summer Olympics in 1980 in Moscow and the Soviets would return the favor four years later by boycotting the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Eight years prior, in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, the Soviets played against the U.S. in men's basketball. In an Olympics dominating by Mark Spitz's seven gold medals in swimming, the Soviets were heavy underdogs against a U.S. team that had won its seven games in pool play by an average of more than 30 per game.
After a convincing 30-point win over Italy in the semifinals, the U.S. met the Soviet Union for the gold medal. With the U.S. leading 50-49 with three seconds left, the Soviets were unsuccessful on two tries to score a game-winning hoop. But they were allowed a third try because of a timeout confusion and a clock error. On the third try, the Soviets caught the ball inside the paint and scored after two American defenders fell down, giving the Soviets the upset victory. The players on the U.S. team still to this day have refused their silver medals. It was the Soviet Union's 'Miracle on Ice.'
Fast forwarding it to 1980, the Soviets are coming into the Olympics having beaten the NHL All-Stars 6-0 the previous year to win the Challenge Cup. It also cruised through the pool round, outscoring opponents 51-11 in the five games leading up to the matchup against the U.S.
It did not take long for the Soviets to get on the board, as Vladimir Krutov lit the lamp on a deflected shot by Alexei Kasatonov to give the Soviets a 1-0 lead. Buzz Schneider responded for the U.S. before Sergei Makarov got a shot past Jim Craig. But with time running down in the first period, Dave Christian shot the puck from 100 feet out on Russian goaltender Vladislav Tretiak, who made the save, but the rebound went directly to Mark Johnson, who put the puck past Tretiak just before the first period buzzer sounded to tie the game at 2-2 at the end of the first period.
Vladimir Myshkin replaced Tretiak after Johnson's last second goal. Myshkin held the U.S. scoreless, but only had to face two American shot attempts. The lone goal of the period was on the power play by Aleksandr Maltsev, who gave the Soviets a 3-2 lead after two periods.
After a penalty on the Soviets, the Americans had two shots on the power play before Dave Silk had the puck in the Russian zone, but was knocked to the ice by Valeri Vasiliev. The puck slid to Johnson, who fired the puck past Mychkin to tie the game at 3-3. It was Johnson's second of the game.
Just more than a minute later, the U.S. was back at it again, with captain Mike Eruzione scoring the eventual game-winning goal exactly halfway through the third period. Despite numerous chances by the Soviet Union in the final 10 minutes to even up the game, the Soviets were not able to score against Craig, who finished with 36 saves.
The final call by Michaels went like this: "11 seconds, you've got 10 seconds, the countdown going on right now! Morrow, up to Silk. Five seconds left in the game. Do you believe in miracles?! YES!"
The U.S. made the miracle complete a few days later when it defeated Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal, coming from behind in the third period again.
In 1999, Sports Illustrated named this the Top Sports Moment of the 20th century, and in 2008, the International Ice Hockey Federation named it the No. 1 international ice hockey story.
No matter who you are, when you think about this game, the one thing people will remember is Michaels' call of the final seconds of the game. It is just one of those things that will live on and be remembered forever.
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