KUSA – Thirty-five years ago Sunday, a group of teenagers took on one of the greatest powerhouses in professional sports. Thirty-five years ago, the United States stood on edge to see a group consisting mainly of college kids take on the Soviet powerhouse. Thirty-five years ago, Al Michaels uttered the phrase that has become legend: "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"
The 1980 U.S. hockey team played the USSR for a chance to compete for the gold medal, a prize the U.S. hadn't won since 1960. The Soviets, however, had won the gold medal in five of the previous six Olympic Winter Games. The Soviets were considered unbeatable.
On this Sunday, the anniversary of that legendary game, the United States men's team got together in Lake Placid to remember the day.
"If you go on a scale from one to ten, we were a two," center Neil Broten said. "They were a ten."
In a time of Cold War uncertainty, the boys were playing for more than a medal. They were playing for a nation.
"We were up against what at that time was considered one of the best teams that had been put together," defender Dave Christian said. "So in that respect it was just a game. But, it has carried, we continue to be amazed that it has carried on and lived on."
The game didn't start as planned. The U.S. fell to a 2-1 deficit in the first. But hard pressure from center Mark Johnson tied the game in the waning seconds. The Soviet Union's coach pulled goaltender Vladislav Tretiak - considered by many to be the greatest goalie in 1980 - from the game.
Going into the third period the U.S. was down 3-2. Johnson scored a second goal to tie the game in the third, and captain Mike Eruzione scored the go-ahead goal with around 10 minutes left in the game.
The Soviets couldn't find an answer and the Americans completed what has become known as the "Miracle on Ice."
As the team gathered 35 years later, Eruzione summed up the mentality of the team then, and now.
"We are the most immature people that you would ever, ever be a part of. You think we're grown men," Eruzione was saying as a teammate threw a piece of paper at him. "You see? You think we're grown men? Not happening. No. Not happening."
Thirty-five years later, the miracle lives on.
(KUSA-TV © 2015 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
