British Guy Reacts to MIRACLE on Ice - The Greatest American Sports Moment of All Time *AMAZING* 

By far the greatest call in all of sports history "DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES? YES!"

I watched this Olympic game back in 1980. Mark Johnson scored 2 of the 4 goals for the USA against the Russians. Mark went on to play in the NHL, then returned to Wisconsin to become the University of Wisconsin’s women’s hockey coach. He is the winningest coach in college hockey. He led the UW to their latest championship this past hockey season in 2021!

Anyone in America who is old enough to remember this still knows the name Mike Eruzione by heart, and probably never will forget it.

I recall many many years ago seeing a documentary about the game that included interviews with players of both teams. The Russian players said that winning for them had become such an expectation and more like a job that when the Americans went crazy celebrating this win, they just stood there watching them like act like little kids and admired it because they realized that they themselves had forgotten what it was like to win for joy instead of an expectation.

I watched this game live while serving in the US Army. I still get chills seeing it.

Get emotional everytime I see anything on this. I was only 5 but remember this vividly. This was crazy nobody thought it was possible. Don't count out tenacity, grit and pride. This game brought the country together.

I was a freshman in high school. My family sat and watched this game. Still get chills when I see clips of it. 🇺🇸

this game was the pinnacle but this usa team pulled off quite a few miracles by beating better teams just to get a shot at the soviets . If this was soccer it would be like amateur college kids winning a tournament by beating real madrid , barcelona , manchester city and liverpool all in the same tournament

I was in Mililani Hawaii when this occurred. In the apartment I was watching this with my friends. We shouting ourselves horse: USA USA USA USA.... The front door was open for a breeze. We realized that shouts of USA USA was echoing all through the complex. It was unforgettable.

Love an "Underdog story"?! Watch the Disney movie!! The effort they made to make it as authentic as possible is amazing! Coach Herb and the team helped a lot, one player in the movie plays his own Dad..

This was the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid NY. I was there at the game with my dad and my brother. We had watched this Soviet team play one other time on TV against the NHL all-star team, which was North Americas best professional Canadian and Americans COMBINED, and they kickedthe NHL all-stars asses 6-0.

Two weeks prior to this game, The Soviets waxed our youngsters 11-3. They also blew out an NHL All-Star team. Nobody thought this could happen.....Except for Herb Brooks, those exceptional young men! I was 10 years old. My family went nuts! Jumping and screaming around the house. Then the neighbors came out in the street. My dad and a neighbor had been feuding for years. They toasted beers, high fived, hugged it out. They remained dear friends after that. This game really did bring people closer together.🇺🇸👍🏼✌🏼

The movie "Miracle" on Netflix is amazing

I remember watching this on TV. This was a great moment of National pride a bunch of College athletes were playing Russian Professionals for the Chance to advance to the Gold Medal Game. I will never forget Al Michaels call.

I was in college, watching the Olympics and especially this game with friends. I remember thinking we were going to be slaughtered. It was essentially David vs Goliath. I also remember cheering, crying with emotion when Al Michaels asked, “Do you believe in miracles?”

I remember this game quite well....I was 9. And the state of America's morale was indeed incredibly low heading into 1980. This did SO much to help our morale improve.

My first year of high school when this occurred. I was at a friend's house with several friends. We were shouting "USA! USA!". My friend's parents were shouting with us!

Played just 6 months before I entered the US Air Force. I watched on TV. 11 months later our 52 hostages in Tehran were released. I was 18 and stationed in Wiesbaden, West Germany by this time, where they were brought. I was young, but knew the importance of these 2 events within 1 year. Great reaction!

I was in my parents living room with my dad, we actually started crying and hugged each other!😀

I’ll cry every time I see this video

I was actually working in an ice skating arena on the West Coast at that time. That Friday night was insane, what people often forget is that that was NOT the gold-medal game. They still had to play Finland, and the way the points were, because of the USA's early tie against Sweden, if they hadn't a beat Finland Not only would they not get the gold, they would not have medaled AT ALL. On Sunday the 24th it was my job to come in and resurface the ice between the second and third periods for our local double-a team, the West Covina Eagles. Even though the team had paid for the ice, nobody was playing because somebody had brought a little 13 inch portable black and white TV and everybody was watching the USA/Finland game!

This was a semi-final game. The US had to beat Finland for the gold medal. This is when the "USA!" chant became common among American sports fans. Another interesting story is the "Blood in the Pool" water polo game between the Soviet Union and Hungary in 1956, right after the Soviet Union had invaded Hungary.

I still cry every time I watch this lol...same thing when the US women gymnastics team won gold.

Mark Johnson and Bob Suter are from my area. Until his sudden passing a few years ago Suter was known as a servant to the area youth hockey scene and owned the rink where the Madison Capitals junior league team plays (the rink is now named after him). Johnson is the Badger women's hockey coach and is without a doubt the greatest women's hockey coach ever, at least in the US. They were both Capitals teammates at some point and they're both honored at an annual Miracle On Ice celebration put on by the team, where the Caps wear modified versions of the 1980 US kits and they force the away team to wear modified Soviet kits, which I find hilarious

This Miracle on Ice game made me relive watching it on TV when it first happened. I started crying after their first score against the USSR. I was watching the game on a TV in the kitchen. By the last period I could no longer sit, I was nervously dancing around the front of the TV and when the USA team finally pulled ahead, my heart sank. How can this happen? Against the Soviets? With 10 minutes left, how can our younger, less experienced or powerful team possibly hold them off??? I didn't think it was possible. It was like a replay of the ALAMO, only with us winning against all odds. 10 minutes is a lifetime in hockey. But we did it, our team fought the odds without care. They gave their all, and lived their life for each of those 10 minutes. Yes, it was a MIRACLE on Ice. I was a basket of tears, yelling and screaming at my TV with a knot in my throat and chest swelling with pride. It remains the most awesome of sports memories for me. With immense pride in my team and country, yet here I am watching the game recap and my pride was still swelling within me, but not for our Team USA. My pride is for the current underdog, the Ukrainians. God Bless them.

This still gets me. I was a teenager when this happened. I believe it was shown tape delayed, if you can believe that. Yes it truly is considered the greatest moment in American sports.

You would be surprised how many people think this was the gold medal game. This was only the semifinals.

I was 10 years old.... will never forget watching this game!!! The middle of the Cold War - scary time for us. Two weeks before this game the USSR beat us by about 7 or 8 goals. The Olympics were in the US! Every US television was watching this game! I'll never forget it!

“The Flyover: America’s Greatest Pregame Tradition”. Thanks

I'll never ever forget my very witty, yet reserved Dad actually tearing up at the end. 1st time I ever saw him show that much emotion. We wondered how they fit the entire team on that podium! Just shows how close they were as a team!!! I've been an avid hockey fan ever since!

I watch it live as a kid on tv . And just started playing hockey at that time . Also I have been to Lake Placid to ski 🎿 where this all happened.. it was awesome

I was up at dawn to watch in Phoenix Az, was 24yrs old. It was the greatest game EVER!😊❤

Will always remember watching this moment!

There is a movie called Red Army which is a documentary on how the Russian team trained. It was brutal.

"Miracle" (2004) starring Kurt Russell is an excellent film telling this story. I was 9 and watched this live in my basement with my family in Minnesota. A lot of "our guys" were on this squad, as well as Herb Brooks, the head coach. Damn, if Al Michaels' call doesn't still bring me to tears. The last game against Finland was almost anticlimactic, even though these weren't single-elimination games. This was a round-robin tournament, and if Team USA had lost the game to Finland the Soviets would still have won Gold based on their overall record. As it was, by beating Finland, the US Team had the most overall points (5) and took Gold, while the Soviets and Sweden played a game for Silver/Bronze.

I wasn’t born till 87 but I’ve watched miracle countless times and I’m so proud to be an American that had to be the craziest atmosphere ever.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

That same year the Soviet national team beat the NHL all-stars 6-0 and just before the olympics started they beat the same USA National team 10-3 The rockets at the start were nukes.

Now remember the Miracle on ice is not held in high regard if the USA team didn’t beat Finland in the gold medal game but yes this one of many examples that show the importance of sports affect our society as a whole

You ought to watch the movie, Miracle. Kurt Russell absolutely nails it as the coach. And the original team says it's extremely close to what happened, except for a few creative choices. Mark Johnson is actually portrayed by his own son! I was ten years old, and lived just a few hours from Lake Placid. I'll never forget seeing this on the news. It was far more than a game, because we were going through a lot of the same things were going through in America today. We need something like this again, because right after the win, things turned around for us. By the way, this was 1980. We had already been to the moon ;)

Yes great choice

Everyone is telling you to check out Miracle but you should also check out the movie called Red Army. It is a documentary about how the Russians trained children to become professional hockey players. And their journey as a team playing against the Philedelphia Flyers, when they beat the Canadian All Star team with players from the Nhl such as Wayne Gretzky in a seven game series, and this game. I also think it tells about how some players. defected to play in the Nhl.

One of my favorite videos I've watched. Especially because of the circumstances. It's just so legendary

I remember watching it on tv live. What a wonderful outcome.

Goose bumps every time, and I am Canadian!! It was a great game!!

I was 28 during these Olympic Games. It was truly a miracle for the American college students to beat the dominant Soviet team which was, essentially, a group of professionals who practice together all year long. The American team came from many different colleges and practice together only for a couple of months before the Olympics.

I watched it as a college student. it was uplifting to everyone.

In the Gold Medal game, we're down a goal at the second intermission against Finland. Herb Brooks made it short and sweet: "If you lose this game, you will carry it to your graves." Brooks turns to walk out, turns around, and says, "Your fucking graves."

Great moment indeed.

Greatest American sport moment. Nothing comes close

In interviews that he's done in later years, Al Michaels, who was the play-by-play announcer for ABC for this game, says that people still ask him about this to this day. He's still working in broadcasting to this day, but he mainly does NFL football games for NBC these days.

My husband and I watched this game….I think he cried tears of joy!

I'll never forget watching this game on TV. The entire country was on the edge of their seats. People that weren't old enough to remember have no idea how huge this game really was.

Another amazing thing about this game was that just a few days before the olympics started, the Soviet and the American played eachother and the Soviets won 10-3

I was there at Lake Placid in the New York Adirondack mountains. I was at the game. The reason it was so emotional, was that the Soviets were by far the best hockey team in the world. They had won the gold medal in 1964, 1968, 1972 & 1976. The Americans were given no chance to even qualify for a medal, nevermind beating the Soviets. Plus it was smack in the middle of the cold war between the east and west. The Americans got coach Herb Brooks from the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. He had won three NCAA championships. He picked most of his players from the mid-west and Boston area's.

I get chills every time. I watched this game live when I was 7 years old.

I remember hearing him say that decades ago! It still has the same effect!

I remember watching this live...in Colorado Springs.

Really enjoying your personality since I subbed last week. You need some merch that says “Fair Play.”

My house is only a few blocks away from the US Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth on the Iron Range in Northeastern Minnesota. The Hall of Fame played the Miracle on Ice game & documentary footage on repeat in it's little theater for about 4 decades (I think it's still playing, but in a smaller exhibit now - it's been a while since I was there). We went to the Hall of Fame frequently when my nephew was young in my teens & my son was young in the 1980s, 1990s & 2000s. Eveleth is known as Hockey's Home in the US & has a long hockey history. Eveleth produced many hockey players who went on to play in college, the Olympics & professional leagues. There's Olympic Medal winners in a few different Olympics as well - the top two I remember are 1960 & 1980. Mark Pavelich from the 1980 Miracle game had his gold medal at the Hall of Fame for a few decades - my son & his friend were allowed to hold it on one visit (it was usually in a case). The 1980 US team actually played Russia a couple weeks before the Olympics started & lost. The Miracle on Ice game wasn't actually the Gold Medal game, it was the quarter finals if I remember correctly. If you are interested in the Miracle on Ice game story, you should check out the game footage & documentaries about it & especially watch the Disney film Miracle. They did a great job! Here's some info on it. www.mentalfloss.com/article/61728/20-things-you-might-not-know-about-miracle-ice

I was 18. Didn't give a hoot about hockey then, but everyone loved hockey that day. Have a look at the Flyers vs. the Red Army 1976.

I got chills, I get chills everytime I hear that famous line.

Great video. The Soviet hockey team was just a machine at that time. Not only did they win, but most of their wins were not even close. They battered everyone that they played. That was how good they were. They played and beat two NHL teams the year prior to this [I believe it was} as well as this same US Olympic team just before the Olympics started at Madison Square Garden in New York {final score in that one was 10-3 USSR}. Unfortunately, I am a little too young to remember it {I would have just turned 3 years old literally a week prior to this game}, but I get chills and tear up every time Al Micheals asked "Do you believe in miracles? YES"! . Almost nobody remembers is that this wasn't for the Gold. In fact, there was still a chance that they wouldn't even medal if they didn't beat Finland a few days later. Trailing 2-1 heading into the final period, the US scored 3 unanswered goals for the 4-2 win and the Gold medal.

I remember this happening!! Great video and reaction!! Thrilling to see it again!

Disney made a movie called miracle about this. Sadly coach Herb Brooks died in a car accident before filming had finished. He never saw the film...... he lived it

I was 9 years old when the miracle on ice occurred. It’s difficult to overstate how much meant to the country at the time. You should definitely watch the movie.

I watched this live, when it was on. My brother and went crazy, broke a lamp...my mom came down stairs to yell at us...then she jumped up and broke the ceiling light lol. Large fun had by all. I still get misty thinking about it.

I was 10 years old when this happened. Dad and I watched it on tv. We were jumping around in the living room screaming USA USA USA. I about cried.

I was in grade 9 and remembered everyone was watching it and couldn't believe it when we won.

You absolutely have to watch the movie "Miracle"! It's been one of my favorite movies since it came out! You'll love it I promise!

What an incredible way to start such an awesome decade!

Al michaels... greatest commentor at a moment in history. 1980 Winter Olympics. Watched it live.

I was 14 and listening to this game on the radio in Minnesota USA while unloading firewood we had sold from a truck. Many of the US players were from the University of Minnesota and Boston University 2 big rivals in hockey.

I was a young boy and watched it on a tiny TV in a corner store in Maine. Great game. 👍

I thought this was your reaction to the movie, Miracle on Ice. After seeing this, you did watch the movie didn't you? If not then all I can say is, "ARe you freaking crazy?" You do know there was a movie made about this? A very good movie. Blew me away to find out the back story to this team. How hard the coach worked those guys. I mean he busted their asses. If you haven't seen it, it would make a great reaction video. If you have then ok maybe your not freaking crazy. hahahhahaha Everytime I see and hear Michaels miracle thing, including this time as well, I get a rush and goose bumps. 40 years ago and still get the most patriotic feeling ever.

The US needed to beat Finland to win the gold. Also, the US trailed in every game they played in and didn't lose a single game with their worst result being a 2-2 draw against Sweden in group play

I know this is old, but I was 9 when this happened, my brother was 10. I will never forget watching those last 10 minutes with him, on tape delay but it was live for us......My brother died a year ago.....One of my happiest memories with him

Got to the moon in 69 . That was nuke missiles in 1980

Little Miracle on ice History, ( Herb Brooks), tried out for the last winners of the Gold medal in 1960, in Olympic Hockey ( again against the Soviets), he was bumped and would not get to play on the 1960 team, picked as head coach in the 1980 team, Truely an incredible story

I was a 23year old father to be for the first time. Wondering what kind of world we where bringing this child into. this stabilized our country and my wife and I's fears. Thank you hockey team

They made a great movie about this

This is the BEST underdog movie I've ever seen in 60 years :)!

1st hockey game I ever watched.

I do love the story of when the Soviets came to the US and played the Flyers. That was a brutal game.

I believe Herb Brooks told this team that the name on the front of the jersey means a hell-of-a-lot more than the name on the back...

I was living in Alaska, in school, loved going to watch our semi pro hockey team, when this game was played we were excited to see it as they didn’t televise the hockey games. Our family loved the Olympics and we were all piled in the living room, dad in his chair, us four kids on the couch, mom, not a sports fan, off reading in her room, watching this. USA was given no chance to win this game. I MEAN NO CHANCE, betting was based on how many goals we would lose by. I can’t imagine the odds on the USA winning, lol. It was always the same, Russia with grown men, professionals, and us or other countries with our very young men getting stomped. We were yelling so much through out the game, mom actually came out and joined us to watch. When we won, we lost our minds. We lived on base in 8-plex housing units grouped 3 in a semi circle, thin walls, and we could hear our neighbors cheering. We kids went outside with all the kids in the neighborhood whooping and hollering. You could hear cheers all over the base. It was good for us military brats as our dads were looked down on because of Vietnam. Our dad had done his tour already. It’s a great memory. Hadn’t thought of this in years, thanks for bringing it back to mind. Mom and dad have passed away, dad due to a variety of issues due to Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam, but I need to text my brothers and sister, we are still incredibly close, to remind them of this. Great video.

Just a small point: college students aren’t generally as young as 16. The vast majority of them are 17-22 years old.

Just found your channel and I’m glad I did. Your reactions are so animated and exciting to watch. People say music is universal and I think that’s true. I also believe sports can be that way. Watching how you as a Brit(hope its not bad to say Brit?) reacts to all these great American sports moments on your channel shows exactly that. Thanks for sharing this with us and keep em coming.👍

A less known story is from years before this, when this Soviet team travelled to Philadelphia to play the broadstreet bullies. The Flyers not only won the game, but brutalized the soviet players so bad that they left the ice and refused to return until they were told they wouldn't be paid unless they finished the game.

I was 25 and watched the game live. Most exciting hockey game I have ever seen.

I was 10 years old watching that game on a little 13" TV. Just a few weeks prior to that game the Russians had beat the Americans in an exhibition game 10 - 3. The score made the game look much closer than it was; the Russians dominated. The idea that just a few weeks later those college kids would beat the greatest team in the world was preposterous. But that game was not the gold medal game. The Americans still needed to beat Finland, and in another come from behind win the Americans won the gold. It is hard to convey how important that game became. When the game ended our economy was still tanking, Iran still had our hostages, and the Soviet military was still on the move. But somehow life seemed a bit different. The enemy had been vanquished if for only one day. Instead of feeling like we were heading into a long dark night as a nation, we began to feel as if the sun was just coming over the horizon.

8 year old boy from California watching this game with my three older brothers. It's really tough to grasp the magnitude of this victory having not had the Soviets and the red scare as a living adversary. Before this Olympics I don't think I had ever watched a hockey game. After the Olympics ended we would lace up the roller skates and play hockey in the driveway for years.

And all of watched holing our breath for them. Enjoy

If you haven't seen the movie. It is one of the best sports movies ever made. One of the best sporting moments in history!

I was in college when this happened. There were about 20 of us crammed into one tiny room yelling like maniacs. It was great.

I was 15 years old when this Happened I watch this Game with my Dad and Brothers I'll never this moment in History

Love your enthusiasm in Chicago! You are awesome. I’m sure many have suggested that you watch Miracle (with Kurt Russell), has one of the most moving music scores you’ll ever hear. Just amazing.

You should watch the movie staring Kurt Russel that movie truly puts it into perspective

The time and place where the chant, "USA! USA!" was born.

I played youth hockey in Minnesota. Played against many of them.

I was in college. It was the greatest thing to happen in the 80s.