Do you believe in Miracles?

With tension between the Soviets and American was still high, the Soviets agreed travel to Lake Placid to beat the USA on their own soil. Herb Brooks, the head coach, scheduled a game against the Soviets three days before the Olympics games. Hoping it would give his young team a taste of the world's best. The Soviet's gave the US more than just a taste. They dominated the USA in every fashion of the game, winning 10-3. 

After the resent defeat to the Soviets no one thought the USA hockey team had a shot at a medal or let alone a gold medal. USA opened the Olympic games playing Sweden, a very tough and skilled opponent. With, less then a minute to go, goalie Jim Craig was pulled from the net for an extra skater on the ice. The risky decision paid off for the US because with twenty seconds left, a slap shot from the point tied the game at 2-2. The team started to turn heads after the game against Sweden. Hope had started to grow in a nation that so desperately needed something to pick out their patriotic spirit. The men's team took this confidence and ran with it. Blowing out the rest of the teams they had to qualify for the medal rounds and face the Soviet Union once again.

Both nations knew of the stakes that were on the line with this game. It was more than just a hockey game it was a way to determine the superior super power. Soviets and Americans had fought over everything since World War II. From land to the quality of the guns each country made. It was men vs boys, David vs Goliath, and it was a game that would change how one nation thought of themselves.  

How this book relates to me.

The story of the 1980's Men's Hockey team is one that every USA hockey player knows of and wishes they could have been apart of. The story not only relates to me because it is about a hockey team, but also because it is such a greater under-dog sports story. It's arguably the best upset in sports history. It influences me to play hockey, and respect the game to the fullest because on the ice nothing else matters and anything is possible.
Through my years playing hockey I've seen some monumental upsets and some ridiculous come backs that I thought I'd never witness. As the USA Hockey Team proves in the book, it is not the amount of talent on a hockey team, but the amount of  sacrifice your body endours to help your team come out victorious. This is another aspect that relates to me. On the ice I try to do my best to help my team in anyway possilbe, wheather it be scoring goals or playing tough defense to ensure my team does not go down by a goal.
Never get caught telling a hockey player, "it's just a game." With the amount of time and effort put into each practice, the commitment it takes to play hockey. The player would be have to refuse because when one loves something more than anything else, it may be crazy, but it's certainly not,"just a game".