The Miracle On Ice
By Sterling Bryant This is the story of my first time seeing a Hockey Game, this is the game that I learned of The Soviet Union's reputation for Dominance and this is also the game that I learned that Reputations aren’t everything. The United States Team Starters were Goalie- Jim Craig, Defenseman-Ken Morrow, Defensemen- Mike Ramsey, Center- Mark Johnson, Left wing- Rob Mcclanahan, And Right Wing- Dave Silk and The USSR Team Starters were Goalie- Vladislav Tretiak, Defensemen- Viacheslav Fetisov, Defensemen- Alexei Kasatonov, Center- Vladimir Petrov, Left Wing- Valeri Kharlamov, Right Wing- Boris Mikhailov. “Dmitry! Dmitry!” I hear my Mama calling my name. “Yes Mama?” I call back, trying to look through the hoards of people that were filing into the stadium. After finding her, I navigate my way towards her and my father, who were frantically scanning the crowd looking for me. “Never run off like that again”, my father scolded me. “I just wanted to see the Stadium”, I retorted and my father nodded. We had just arrived in New York from Philadelphia and i was so excited, we were going to watch the Olympic Hockey game between The United States of America and my parents’ home nation, The USSR. I pulled on my father's shirt, signaling that we should hurry up and get inside, he nodded, told my Mother something and together we pulled our eyes away from the stadium and began to walk inside. As we waited in line to get inside my mind was racing. I was going to see Jim Craig!! The best goalie in the world in my opinion. I’ve never seen him play in person and i couldn’t wait. “C’mon Dmitry”, my Mother said. When we found our seats she asked, “Do you want something to eat before it starts”? “No Thanks, When's it going to start”, I moaned impatiently. “The players are still warming up”, my father said, “Look, there’s Jim Craig” “WHERE!” “In front of the goal nearest to us”, He answered. I looked in awe. My favorite player in the world is right in front of me. As i was watching Jim Craig warm up i realized that one day i wanted to be just like him. Then, the players lined up on each side with their respective teams and first played the USSR National Anthem then they played the USA’s. Then the game started. “No Way that the US pulls this out”, Said my Father to my mom and she nodded. “Why not”? I asked. “Well you see Dmitry, there are certain things that people are just better at than other people. Hockey is to The USSR as baseball is to the United States.” was his response and, upon seeing the confusion on my face he continued his explanation. “Originally in the 1890s Russians played Hockey but it was with a ball instead of a puck and it had the rules of field hockey instead of hockey hockey. First, since hockey is played on ice, people in an icy climate will be more adept to moving their bodies in the cold or at least be able to do it better than someone who grows up in California”, he smiles at me. “So since the climate in The Soviet Union is colder they have an advantage?” I asked “Of course,” he replied,” they’ve even earned themselves the nickname “The Big Red Machine” for their Ice Hockey prowess. RIIING. The bell signaling the end of the quarter rings. The Score was 1-0 to The USSR and it looked like they were going to pull away. Maybe Dad was right… I think that my father sensed that i wasn’t seeing this as anything more than a hockey game because he began to tell me how important the game was to the political world if America could pull out a win and how especially important it would be if the Americans were to suffer a heartbreaking loss. “You know that these Olympic games are being held during times of political unrest, right?" he asked me. “Of course”, I replied, “The Cold War, we’re learning about it in school”. “Right, he said, now imagine how superior either one of these countries might feel if they know that they are more dominant than the other in a physically grueling sport like Hockey. It would vastly improve the moral of the winning country. This game, along with the other events that have both the Soviet Union and The United States competing in them, could possibly impact the spirits of the citizens in that respective country and the people fighting in that country as well.” That was a lot of information to soak in for me. So i just resorted to nodding my head and watching the game and trying to process it in tandem. The Second Period had just ended, The United States was falling behind 3-2 and i was watching the Soviet union celebrate their lead prematurely I thought. As I watched Vladislav Tretiak return to his place in front of the Soviet goal post a question popped into my head. “Do you think that America can win?” “I think that we shouldn’t count them out just yet, he said, but I think that the wisdom of experience will always trump the energy of youth” I took this as saying that he thought that Russia would pull away but he was right, you can’t count America out just yet because despite being down 1 point, they did score twice against a revered Soviet Defense. “SHH”, my Mother hissed, it’s the final minute” I have never heard a place get so loud in my life, however as soon as the players got out of the timeout the arena was deadly silent. USA had the puck and the whole Arena watched in amazement as Mike Eruzione skillfully weaved through Red Jerseys until he made his way to the Soviet Goal Post. In the split second between Mike Eruzione getting to the goalpost and him hitting the puck everyone knew what was going to happen. “GOAL”, The PA announcer yelled, “DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?” I looked excitedly at my father but when I saw him he looked extremely sullen. At the moment I hadn't even realized the internal conflict that my father would have been facing since he was born in the Soviet Union but moved to America. “What’s wrong?” i asked “Nothing Dmitry, Nothing” “Are you mad because the USSR lost?” “I'm not angry Dmitry, I’m just conflicted” “Didn’t you want the United States to win? I mean, this is our home.” “ No, this is your home, you’ve been here your whole life, this is the only place you’ve known, and all your friends are here. That isn’t the case for me and your Mother, Dmitry. We only decided to come here once we knew your mother was going to have you. Although we reside in America, The Soviet Union will always be home for us. Our families are still there. It’s just a little heartbreaking to see the Country you grew up in take a loss like this in a sport that we were suppose to dominate in.” The full extent of my father's little speech to me didn't hit me until later when i was alone and had time to contemplate everything he said. This was my story on the events that happened at the “Miracle on Ice Hockey” game that I attended with my parents and to this day, the words of the PA announcer stuck with me. “DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?” Work Cited http://www.arcticicehockey.com/2010/2/28/1330251/shot-totals-in-1980-us-ussr-game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_on_Ice#The_Soviet_and_American_teams https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey_in_the_United_States https://russkiyhockey.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/history-part1/ http://blog.acton.org/archives/82630-how-hockey-helps-us-understand-russia.html http://www.usahockey.com/miracle Sterling is sophomore. He originally wrote this piece for his United States History II class.
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About Epiphany
Epiphany Literary Magazine is a safe space for students at Franklin High School to share their creativity. Archives '16-'20
June 2020
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