Changed my life?

On this rainy Saturday afternoon, after my primary chore for the day was accomplished (taking down the outdoor Christmas lights before the rains came), I thought I'd settle in with a magazine and wait for the Syracuse - Marquette game. Syracuse has managed to capture my attention this season because they are maintaining a perfect winning record, in the midst of the Bernie Fine scandal.

So there I was sitting in my recliner turning the pages of a dismally boring issue of Golf Magazine. Actually, the pages began to get heavier and heavier until I eventually stopped on a full page advertisement and request by HBO to send in my feelings about a sporting event that had changed my life. As I sat there pondering this weighty matter my head drooped foreward and I lapsed into "la-la land."

I woke up when our neighbor called about a half hour before dinner. Alas, I had missed the game -- but learned later that Syracuse won by a score of 73-66, and still maintains its perfect season record. Well, this event did not change my life one iota, especially since I completely missed it.

The HBO request though still rattled in my head. Then the answer came to me. There WAS a sporting event that changed my life. It was an event that had previously stirred memories of world tension and the Cold War. Years before, I sat through the Cuban Missile Crisis and wondered if a nuclear winter was in my future (and everybody elses).

The 1980 Winter Olympics, by good fortune, was held in nearby Lake Placid, NY. A colleague from the college called me a few days before wondering if I would be interested in the USA/Soviet Hockey game. He was literally trying to give away tickets that he couldn't use. Fool that I am, I turned them down. We had company coming and commitments had already been made to attend ski jumping, speed-skating and figure skating. And four days in a row traveling to Lake Placid in mid-winter was a sketchy idea to begin with... I said no. And at any rate, it was a waste of time, the Soviet team was the best in the world.

In 1999 Sports Illustrated named the "Miracle on Ice" the top sports moment of the 20th century. And the International Ice Hockey Federation chose that game as the century's number-one ice hockey story. (Wiki) I hope you appreciate the irony here.

"Do you believe in Miracles?" The Field House (capacity 8,500) was packed. The home crowd waved U.S. flags and sang patriotic songs. The game was aired live on CTV in Canada, but not on ABC in the United States. Thus, American viewers who resided in Canadian border regions and received a CTV signal (residents of Potsdam) could watch the game live, but the rest of the country had to wait.

Before the game Herb Brooks, the American coach, read his players a statement he had written out on a piece of paper, telling them that "You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours."

I won't bore you with the game's details. In short, the U.S. team, a somewhat unconfident "rag-tag" group of America's best college players were now pitted against an elite professional team. It was like nearby St. Lawrence University playing the New York Rangers and beating them.

Professional broadcaster Al Michaels said: "11 seconds, you've got 10 seconds, the countdown going right now! Morrow to Silk. 5 seconds left in the game. Do you believe in miracles? YES!"

It wasn't event the gold medal round. The U.S. team still had to beat Finland the next day. They managed to win that one too, 4-2.

So yes, I DO believe in miracles. And my life is the better for it.

Carry on,

Paul in Potsdam

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