Miracle

NATE GARCIA
Sports Editor

“If we played [the Soviets] 10 times they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight.” The monologue delivered by U.S. Olympic Hockey Coach Herb Brooks before the semifinal game of the 1980 Winter Olympics was one that would impact several following generations, and eventually become the plot for the 2004 film “Miracle.”

The film follows Brooks, a former hockey player, as he coaches a young team of college hockey players through the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. The movie is the ultimate tale of David and Goliath, in which the United States team, an underdog in the hockey world at the time, unites under the leadership of Brooks to defeat the seemingly invincible Soviet Union team. Throughout the movie, there are several scenes filled with joyful celebrations of scored goals, dramatic losses and intense training, giving the film an overall bone-chilling feeling. The movie depicts that even the cliche phrase “practice makes perfect” holds a meaning for an underdog team that can pick themselves up, dust off and keep moving forward. This phenomenal event has earned itself the name “Miracle on Ice.”

The movie is definitely a must-watch for any athlete. “Miracle” currently holds the second place spot in the “Best Movies of All Time,” based on an ongoing poll on the website Sports in Movies. It depicts the struggle of a seemingly inferior team to rise to win the gold in the highest competition worldwide. As Brooks said before the semifinal match, “Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world.” And they were.