Patriotism In Hockey

Sports have an incredible ability to unite communities and nations, regardless of cultural and language restrictions. Often times, the general population overlooks the bonds and relationships that are formed through the participation of sports activities. The expression “more than just a game” emphasises the importance of sports not only on a physical level but also on a emotional and mental level. Sports fosters a place for positive connections. An event that best represents the impact that sports can have on a nation can be found by looking at the 1980 winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. The United States Men’s Hockey Team defeated The Soviet Union four to three, a game that will be remembered for generations. If I was given the opportunity

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

This game showed how anything can be accomplished with hard work and relentless effort. Certainly, this game affected both kids and adults far beyond the sport of hockey. It showed children all over the country that it is not always the talented player that wins, but those who work the hardest. I remember watching a rerun of this notorious game as a child while I was playing several competitive sports, one of which being ice hockey. The 1980 Men’s Olympic Hockey Team spent months training, and preparing in order to secure the gold medal. Sometimes you need to make sacrifices to accomplish your goals, but once that goal is achieved, everything you have done to prepare and all of the sacrifices you have made will be well worth