We want to take the opportunity to make a brief mention that today, February 24, marks the 42nd anniversary of the victory by the unheralded USA men’s hockey team over Finland to capture the gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games at Lake Placid.
Two days earlier, the USA had achieved the fabled Miracle on Ice when they toppled the seemingly-invincible Soviet Union in the semifinals in which
Winthrop’s Mike Eruzione scored the winning goal late in the third period.
The world was a much different place then. There was no internet and Americans watched all of the action on their TV screens, including the fabled call by the still-great broadcaster Al Michaels, “Do you believe in miracles!!!†at the conclusion of the USA-USSR contest.
The Olympics back then were a proxy for the ongoing Cold War struggle between the US vs. Soviet-bloc nations. Our athletes’ Olympic achievements were a source of national pride that united Americans of all ages and political leanings.
Today, the Olympics are but a shadow of what they used to be, for better and worse, although it is ironic that the US and Russia today are once again fierce enemies on the international stage.
But today we simply want to recall that happy memory from 42 years ago and thank Mike Eruzione, who was the captain of that team, for the pride and honor he brought to our country at that time, as well as for the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Mike and his family have contributed to our community for charitable causes over the past four decades.