What is the American Dream? Can one truly define it definitely? The American Dream is different for everybody; therefore, it can never be restricted to one description. For one person, his American Dream could be to become the president of the United States. For another person, his American Dream could be to be the first person in his family to go to college. It all depends on which person you ask this age-old question. In my opinion, the American Dream is the idea that everybody has the freedom to achieve anything if he is willing to work as hard as necessary to accomplish his goal. The perfect display of this is the 1980 American Olympic Hockey Team’s defeat over the Soviet’s Olympic Hockey Team, also known as the “Miracle on Ice.” (Malafronte)
At the time of 1980, a rule was in place that no professional hockey players could play in the Olympics; however, the Soviets were able to dodge this rule by claiming that their government-trained players were recruited from the amateur Central Army hockey club (Herb Brooks-Miracle Man). The American team consisted of a bunch of rag-tag college kids and amateurs while most of the players on the Soviet team had been practicing together for a decade and were coached in the finest training facilities in the world (Herb Brooks-Miracle Man). Many people are unaware of just how great the Soviet team was at this time in history (Russell). They had won eight of the past nine Olympic gold medals and five of the last seven world championships (Herb Brooks-Miracle Man). They defeated the NHL’s All-Stars, an American hockey team packed of the professional league’s star players, just the following year by a huge margin (Russell). The Soviets were even nicknamed the “Big Red Machine”, because th...
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...goal with the knowledge that one day he could reach it.
Works Cited
Coffey, Wayne R. The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. New York: Crown, 2005. Print.
"Herb Brooks-Miracle Man." Legacy. N.p., 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 7 Apr. 2014.
Hickok, Ralph. A Who's Who of Sports Champions: Their Stories and Records. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. Print.
Malafronte, Chip. “SUNDAY GRAVY: Olympic hero Jim Craig recalls Tim Taylor’s life lessons.” New Haven Register (CT) 04 May 2013: Newspaper Source. Web. 6 Apr. 2014.
"The Miracle on Ice– with Mike Eruzione." The Pink Puck. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
Posnanski, Joe. "Memories of the Miracle on Ice." NBCSports. NBC Sports, 14 Feb. 2014. Web.
Russell, Kurt. “The Miracle of Achievement.” Sporting News 228.5 (2004): 8 MAS Ultra – School Edition. EBSCO. Web. 7 Apr. 2014.
The most memorable moment in hockey history came thirty-four years ago with the 1980 Miracle on Ice. The Americans defeating the dominant Soviet team at the Olympics was not only an important triumph for USA Hockey, but for the entire nation. Contrary to popular belief, the underdog win was not only the result of a miracle; it was also the result of a hard-working team led by Coach Herb Brooks. With increasingly negative views on the position of the United States in the Cold War, the Miracle on Ice and the gold medal win lifted the spirits of the nation and brought hockey into the American spotlight.
Fitzpatrick, Jamie. "Sidney Crosby: Profile and Pictures." (2014): n.pag. About.com. Web. 13 Feb 2014. .
The most interesting part of the 1980 Lake Placid games are the fact that they were such an outlier, and it caused a very resonant political response. Both the sudden success of American hockey, and the political impact it had was unprecedented. In the late 70's and early 80's
Some speeches are unforgettable including one that was given by a former Olympian who participated on two U.S. Olympic teams and in five World Championships between 1962 and 1970. His name was Herb Brooks, played by Kurt Russell in the 2004 movie “Miracle,” and he was pretty accustomed to winning, especially since he took the University of Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey team to three National championships. However, this was all before one of the biggest wins of his career. Now, he was the head coach of the 1980 U.S.A Olympic hockey team, in which he handpicked every single collegiate amateur player. He specifically wanted players who understood that the name on the front of their jersey mattered more than the one of the back, because that’s the kind of team-oriented mindset he pushed for his players to develop.
In his first two seasons in the NHL, Wayne Gretzky won the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the league’s most valuable player twice, and the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the league’s leading goal scorer once. In his first season he became the youngest player to score 50 goals. In his second season he broke the NHL record for most points and assists in a season. But during the 1981-1982 season, just one year after Mike Bossy did the unthinkable, Gretzky took it to a whole other level, and set out on a path to transcend not only hockey, but sports and society as we know it.
Winters in the village of Ste. Justine were long. That time on school, church, and the hockey rink, and every boy’s hero was Montreal Canadians hockey legend Maurice Richard. Everyone wore Richard’s number 9 to honor him. They laced their skates like Richard. They even wore their hair like Richard.
Truly special athletes, the ones that fathers talk about to their sons and daughters, change the game they play. Arguments emerged late in the 20th century about who most deserved to be called the greatest hockey player of all time. Perhaps it was the retirement of Wayne Gretzky in 1999, or perhaps it was a desire to sum up 100 years of a sport that had come into its own and grown exponentially around the world that led to these discussions.
In this paper, I argue that ice-hockey played at both the national and international level, has a momentous effect on the construction of Canadian identity through the workings of the government, sporting corporations, media, the local audience, and the influences of other countries. This significant association is substantiated and modified by renowned, historic events such as the final game in the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the USSR.
They enter the ice one day to practice there power play and penalty kill but to be quickly stunned by the Russians as they shut the lights off in the rink only letting you see ten to fifteen feet in front of you. Coach Casey believed if this is what it takes for them to win, we won't give it to them. They continued to practice there special teams, however they did not shoot the puck as it would be dangerous. After many other ice sessions and off ice workouts the Team Canada hockey club was entering there first game of the 2020 Winter Olympics. They play the Russians and they were the best team in world and showed them went they lost in a terrible defeat with a final score of 12-2. After the four exhibition games Casey's team was seeded 12 with a record of 3-1-0. Entering the semi finals they play Slovakia in which they were seeded 3rd and had one of the best defenseman in the world. Team Canada fought hard each shift and the results were beginning to show. The third period close to being final however, star player and the player that Casey has been working with a lot scored the game tying
In 1980, there were 10,490 hockey teams in the United States. In 1990, the total was 14,969. The game really took off after this. By 1997, U.S.A Hockey had registered 29,479 teams and 449,168 players. Players are still inspired to this day by the feat. Herb Brooks was what held the team together. He is the reason the Americans won against the “unbeatable” Soviets.
This movie accurately portrays the events leading up to the game and how the underdog, The United States Men’s National Hockey Team, overcame a lack of talent, size, and experience to win an Olympic Gold Medal. Legendary head coach, Herb Brooks, coached and conditioned his inexperienced team to play fast and tough on the arena. The teams known lack of experience caused them to be majorly overlooked. There was low expectations for the team leading up to the Olympic tournament. To make matters even worse, the American team suffered a 10-3 loss during an exhibition game in New York City against the USSR, who had won the previous four gold medals in ice hockey. The team’s motivation shifted completely during their first game of the tournament when they made an upset comeback against Sweden in the final 30 seconds of the game. Following this game, the team played the rest of the tournament with an impressive record of 4-0-1. The “miracle on ice” as they say, mostly stems from the semifinals, where Team USA played Russia. Surprisingly, the young team managed to hold their own throughout the game, and before they knew it, they were winning. With 10 minutes remaining in the game, the American team found themselves in the lead. They knew the only way they could hold their lead was through relentless effort and
"The American Dream" is that dream of a nation in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with options for each according to capacity or accomplishments. It is a dream of social stability in which each man and each woman shall be able to achieve to the fullest distinction of which they are essentially competent, and be distinguish by others for what they are, despite of the incidental conditions of birth or stance. The American Dream is often something that humanity wonders about. What is the American dream? Many people discover success in a range of things. There are many different definitions of the American Dream. However, the American Dream embraces prosperity, personal safety, and personal liberty. The American dream is a continually fluctuating set of ideals, reflecting the ideas of an era.
“Do you believe in miracles?” (Al Michaels). The United States as a country were in a state of uncertainty and not very much hope. A major component was our arch nemesis Russia formally known as the Soviet Union (USSR). The cold war was running rampant around the time of 1979 and 1980, lots of Americans were very insecure about the wellbeing of themselves because they knew the power house of the soviet military. There are many differences when comparing the 1980 team and the 2014 team. For instance the 1980 team was full of college kids who either had just graduated or were still in college, however the 2014 team is full of professional athletes who all play in the NHL and back in the 1980’s professional athletes were not allowed to compete for their countries in the olympics. In fact 1992 was the first year professional athletes could participate. Many people believe that there will never be another dream team in the sense of words that just a group of kids can take on the powerhouses of Europe and the rest of the world. What is very exciting about these two teams, Americans and the
He explained how they need the support of the fans as the players are doing their best and giving their all. This public announcement changed the hearts of many Canadians as 3,000 loyal Canadian supporters went to Moscow to watch the games at the Luzhniki Sports Palace and the rest of Canada watched the games on the television. In addition, the last 34 seconds of the eighth game, Russia verse Canada was a huge event that millions of people watched. It was evident that this was a huge deal as many people did not show up to work that day and gymnasiums were transformed into large cinemas to watch the game. This shows how important hockey was as everyone was watching the game. This announcement and game changed the way hockey was perceived as it was now something that all Canadians can come together in unity and bond over. Overall, hockey in Canada had adjusted to the needs that society was facing during that time periods ranging from the lack of masculinity, to military need, to political views, and unity in the
Skkkt..skkkkt...your ice skate blade grits across the ice. But what are you doing, figure skating? No it’s hockey! Did you know that the first hockey team was formed in 1877 and that hockey was originated in Windsor, Nova Scotia? Would you like to play ice hockey? Well, a famous NFL (national hockey league) player by the name Shae Weber said, “I’m definitely hoping to stay, just like anyone would. That’s the ultimate goal, but I’m just taking things one step at a time.” Shea Weber is currently an alternate captain for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League, and he is an NHL All-Star and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. Most people say hockey is boring, but it’s very challenging, fun, and a exciting way to stay active.