Do you believe in miracles? (Sports thread)

[l0cke]

I was born 12 years later. I've heard about it a bunch, but never watched the entire thing.

 

[pcgeek11]

You are old.

Yes, but there is one good point.

I know I will live to be this old. All these whipper snappers don't.

 

[Wingznut]

I was 12 when it happened, and I remember watching it live. It was an incredible moment. If you weren't born yet, I don't think you can truly realize the tension between the USSR and the USA. There was genuine fear of whether or not the world would end because of a global nuclear war.

And also realize, the Soviets were a professional team, compared to our rag-tag amateurs thrown together. The athletes in that day weren't allowed to leave the USSR, and if they didn't perform well, they could face severe punishment.

It truly was a miracle.

 

[Slew Foot]

Its kinda like if the North Korean college basketball team beat the NBA all stars in the Olympic (semi)finals. Its that big an upset.

 

[rh71]

anybody can win on any given night. NHL teams depleted by injuries requiring multiple AHL callups have beaten elite teams. If the goalie is standing on his head, nothing else matters. You run into a hot goalie, you're done.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Honestly from my perspective at the time, Eric Heiden was the larger story of that Olympics because I lived (and do again) in his home town, but overall it was the most amazing Olympics for the US ever.

 

[waggy]

to young to see it.


yes i do believe in miracles! the 72 USSR basketball team loves them....(and paid off refs)

 

[Squisher]

I think a lot of you that said you watched it live are a little off, however us people along the northern border thank those of Canuckistan for bringing us the miracle live.

The Field House (capacity 8,500) was packed.[16] The home crowd waved U.S. flags and sang patriotic songs such as "God Bless America."[10] The game was aired live on CTV in Canada, but not ABC in the United States. Thus, American viewers who resided in Canadian border regions and received the CTV signal could watch the game live, but the rest of country had to wait.
After the Soviets declined a request to move the game from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for U.S. television (this would have meant a 4 a.m. start in Moscow for Soviet viewers), ABC decided to broadcast the late-afternoon game on tape delay in prime time.

 

[CZroe]

Born in '80. Sorry I missed it.

 

[Wingznut]

I think a lot of you that said you watched it live are a little off, however us people along the northern border thank those of Canuckistan for bringing us the miracle live.

True... But since this was long before the internet and pretty much even cable TV, it was relatively live since we didn't know what happened.

 

[allenk09]

The only miracle I'm hoping for is that both the Giants and Patriots lose this weekend.

 

[brainhulk]

there was a special, miracle at mile high stadium a couple weeks ago

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

Uh... what? Where are you?

SA and I was 2yrs old

 

[Fingolfin269]

The most compelling, gripping, gut-wrenching sporting event I ever watched live was the Duke/Kentucky NCAA regional final in the 90's.

Don't care about Duke, don't care about Kentucky, but over the coures of those few hours I might have become the biggest Kentucky fan on the planet. Those guys (who had no right to be there) gave everything they had against one of the best teams in NCAA history.

Laetner's shot was gutting. If you didn't see it as it happened you just can't know.

This x100. Especially the last sentence.

I also want to throw in that Kirk Gibson home run. It's easily the most amazing baseball memory I have.

 

[Wingznut]

The most compelling, gripping, gut-wrenching sporting event I ever watched live was the Duke/Kentucky NCAA regional final in the 90's.

Don't care about Duke, don't care about Kentucky, but over the coures of those few hours I might have become the biggest Kentucky fan on the planet. Those guys (who had no right to be there) gave everything they had against one of the best teams in NCAA history.

Laetner's shot was gutting. If you didn't see it as it happened you just can't know.

This x100. Especially the last sentence.

I also want to throw in that Kirk Gibson home run. It's easily the most amazing baseball memory I have.

Obviously, those were both phenomenal sports moments. But (imho) they just can't compare to the Miracle On Ice because of the political climate, and the fact that it was a world wide event... I doubt a whole lot of people outside of the USA knows of the Laettner or Gibson finishes.

 

[MotionMan]

I was 12 and I remember that beating the Russians in anything in the WInter Olympics was a big deal. I knew they were suppose to be good, but I had no idea how good they were until much later in life.

The gold medal game against Finland was very exciting, too, BTW.

MotionMan

 

[Ns1]

Its kinda like if the North Korean college basketball team beat the NBA all stars in the Olympic (semi)finals. Its that big an upset.

 

[bguile]

Too young to remember miracle on ice, but I did watch Belarus beat Sweden in 2002 winter olympics.