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‘Miracle on Ice’ 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. Just before they played the Soviet Union hockey team for the gold medal, who’s team consisted of professional amateurs’ fresh …show more content…
He used amplification and anadiplosis for repetition purposes. He repeated the word ‘tonight’ seven times in his speech. He wanted to emphasize the present, the right now. He didn’t want his players to look beyond their duty on the ice, which was to compete at the highest level. He didn’t want them to think about a gold medal. He wanted them to recognize that if they wanted to be the best, they would have to beat the best. “If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight.” It didn’t matter how many times the Soviets could beat them; at that moment, if they were going to win they were going to have to fight for it. The players on his team trusted him, that’s why as soon as he spoke they gave him 100 percent of their attention. If there was one person who could make them believe in themselves and each other, it was their
Hockey, U. (N.d.). THE 1980 U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from USA Hockey: http://www.ushockeyhalloffame.com/page/show/831562-the-1980-u-s-olympic-team
When I was accepted into the University of Oklahoma, I was not aware of the tradition or prestige that the football team carried. Moreover, I had no idea about the honor it was to don the crimson and cream in the arena of athletics. And, I never envisioned rooming with them. I enjoyed sports, but I loved reading and writing more. Initially, I was focused on building a collegiate career that one day would propel me to my goal of studying law. Yet, the more time I spent interacting with the athletes, the more parallels I noticed between their personalities and mine. Their diligence, perseverance and compassion were all traits that I could identify with since they were reflective of me. For the most part, the majority of the athletes were hungry to achieve and they desired knowledge at all costs; a combination that still resonates with me today.
In the book “The Boys of Winter” by Wayne Coffey, shows the struggle of picking the twenty men to go to Lake Placid to play in the 1980 Olympics and compete for the gold medal. Throughout this book Wayne Coffey talks about three many points. The draft and training, the importance of the semi-final game, and the celebration of the gold medal by the support the team got when they got home.
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.
But, the most meaningful way I have connected myself to Russian culture is through ice hockey. I have played hockey throughout my entire life and many of my favorite players are Russian. I realized this connection when my teammates and I were watching the movie Miracle at a hockey tournament in Lake Placid, not in 1980 though. In the movie, it showed the Soviets having the best ice hockey program in the world at the time, while the young U.S. ice hockey program was developing. Throughout the entire movie, I was cheering for the Soviet Union because it was my homeland. But what I didn’t know at the time was that I was the only one in the room who had not seen the movie. During the first game that the U.S. played, the Soviets crucified the U.S. 10-3. … And then came the Olympics
As a consequence, they have to suicides across the ice rink, Brooks orders "Red line, back. Blue line, back. Far blue line, back. Far red line, back. And you have 45 seconds to do it. Get used to this drill. You'll be doing it *a lot* (Miracle). The coach continues to discipline his team: When you pull on that jersey, you represent yourself and your teammates. And the name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back! Get that through your head" After a few sprints Brooks then asks the team “Who do you play for?” (Miracle) numerous times. and each time the answers were different. The assistant coach and trainer insisted he stop before somebody got hurt. Brooks continues, despite the players becoming physically ill. That is until one player announced his name was Mike Eruzione and he played for the United States of America (Miracle). The constant drilling and verbal abuse and even more constant drilling together was a method to get the players to finally understand what it means to be the on team.Coach Brooks’s methods are unlike those of Coach Rake in Bleachers, which are more hardcore. He trained the Spartans to conquer their fears, never accept defeat, and pushed his boys beyond their boundaries by using torturous
...rk, Michael A. "Winning. How Important Is It in Youth Sports?" Youth Sports Institute: Michigan State University.
The defining moment of the importance of hockey in Canada was “The Goal of the Century” in 1972. It was the evening of September 28th; the site was Moscow – U.S.S.R. In the midst of the Cold War, a game-winning goal by Canadian hockey player Paul Henderson at the end of the third period with only 34 seconds left on the clock vaulted Canada to a victory at the Summit Series and put them on top of the hockey world. The heart and character of Canadian hockey internationally began. “The exact moment of that spectacular goal has become a reference point in our national collective consciousness.”- R. Eagleson (Foreword). It was the climatic goal watched by almost every Canadian, and their pride swelled to amazing heights. Hockey is more than just a game in Canada, it is a celebrated history. Hockey is Canada’s identity. “Hockey captures the essence of Canadian experience in the New World. In a land so inescapably and inho...
College sports are a major revenue producing industry. Athletic programs and their student-athletes can achieve national recognition and generate millions of dollars in revenue for their university. Colleges use this revenue to invest in players, pay for their education, and provide state of the art training facilities, which are used to improve their athletic performance. As revenue driven colleges begin to prioritize athletics, the emphasis on the quality and standards of an undergraduate education are diminishing. Compromising their academic acceptance requirements, universities have now found that the educational ability of their newly accepted student athletes are inadequate, to say the least (Gurney). The same universities must then spend millions of dollars to provide these athletes with “learning specialists”, who in turn helps them to meet academic requirements and maintain their eligibility (...
In 1990 women’s hockey had its first World Championship. Team Canada was made to wear pink jerseys as described in Hockey: A People’s History which showed a clear difference in the opinions of men playing versus women, as the women did not get to wear the red and white that the men wore to represent their country. However, this was still an important step. Men’s hockey was introduced to the Olympic Games in 1920. Women’s hockey was not included until 1998. It took 78 years for female hockey players to get to the same level on an international scale that men had been welcomed to. Olympic competition is arguably the best of the best; as countries send their most successful athletes to compete against the best from countries that they may not have the opportunity to play against in regular competition. While it may have taken many years, the introduction of women’s hockey into the Olympics was a clear display of the legitimization of the game. Thanks to the addition, many girls in Canada and around the world have had more exposure to women playing hockey. Especially for Canadian’s, seeing Team Canada dominate so frequently on the world stage has helped the growth of the game for women and has helped with the acceptance of female
“‘They score! Henderson has scored for Canada!’” Foster Hewitt wordlessly described” (Pelletier) when Paul Henderson scored the series-winning goal. This allowed Canada to win the 1972 Summit Series, a moment that no one would ever forget since it all happened during the climax of the Cold War. Prior to this, the Soviets had won the previous three Olympic gold metals since Canada could not use its NHL players. Thus, this provided Canada with the chance to play hockey against the USSR using its best players. This raised the question: if Canada were able to send its best players, would it still be enough to beat the Soviets? Everyone in Canada was certain that the Soviets would not win a single game, but little did they know they underestimated the extent of the Soviets abilities. Tied in the last few minutes of game eight, Canada had to score or they would lose the series. However, when Paul Henderson scored the game-winning goal, never before had a single sporting event meant so much to Canadians. Therefore, Paul Henderson’s goal is a defining moment for Canada in the twentieth century becauseit provided Canada with the opportunity to evolve hockey, proved that Canada and our democratic society were superior to the USSR and their communist society, and brought citizens together to unify Canada as a nation.
“The odds of a high school basketball player making it to the “next level” to play college basketball (DI, II, or III) is slim. In fact, only 3.4% of high school players go on to play college basketball. Taking it even further, only 1.2% of college basketball players go on to get drafted in the NBA” (Winters, 2016). There are two types of players in the game. There are the kids who play basketball because they are athletic, and all they are seeking to gain is the recognition and awards. They want to be known. Those players are self-centered, they do not play for the team, and generally don’t play because they love the game. These are the types of players who don’t usually go on to play at the next level. On the other hand, there are the players that absolutely dedicate their life to the game of basketball just because they love the game. That is what coaches are looking for in a player, and that is the kind of player I am striving to be.
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...
“7 Strategies to Help Your Athlete Be More Confident.” Phoenix Coyotes Care. Pheonix Coyotes, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. Edger, Mike. “How Bully Coaching Affects Athletes.”
Players show their professionalism in many ways. An example of this is how professional athletes wea...