How The Miracle On Ice Changed American Culture

The date was February 22, 1980 in a snowy Lake Placid New York; “Morrow up to Silk, you’ve got five seconds left in the game, do you believe in miracles? Yes!” and so it began. Al Michael’s call ended the game, but the games impact just began to be recognized across America. The United States Men’s Olympic Hockey Team had just beaten the Soviet Union’s Olympic team 4 to 3 in a major upset that shocked the world. The game sparked a wave of change and excitement across America. The Miracle on Ice, as it is now called, not only changed who won Olympic Gold, it changed American culture and international history. The Miracle on Ice specifically altered three major areas in American culture and international history. The first of these was the game’s

The Miracle on Ice inspired many players around the country to believe that anything is possible and also introduced them to the sport of hockey. Part of the reason there was such a large increase in hockey participation after the game was because hockey became a national sport, instead of being a “northern sport.” The spread of hockey needed a tipping point, and this moment was it. The game also inspired many people to go on and play hockey including into the high levels, as they wanted a shot to do what that team had done. Hockey in America continued to grow into the southern parts of the country like Arizona, Nevada, and Florida. This growth increased the number of hockey players in the country and also more competition to make the Olympic Team, which resulted in better American hockey players. Overall, the Miracle on Ice had a positive and needed impact on hockey in

Trey Jones wrote a Bleacher Report article on the Miracle on Ice that captures what the game really meant to America. Jones says, “The result of this match restored hope to a wounded people, gave promise to the future to those who had none, and completely reversed a mental decline that had gripped our country by the throat for several years.” To completely understand what affect the game had on the American public, one must understand why it mattered so much. At the dawn of the 1980’s US patriotism was at an all-time low thanks, to many of the events that occurred to diminish our patriotism to almost nothing. “But to put things into perspective, let’s take a stroll down 1980 memory lane…President Carter signed legislation approving a $1.5 billion loan to help bail out the Chrysler Corporation. The FBI was busy fishing for crooked Congressmen via the Abscam sting operation. The Sandinistas took over Nicaragua. The Soviet Union had recently invaded Afghanistan. The Iran Hostage Crisis was in its 108th day. The U.S. dollar was at an all-time low. Interest rates reached high double digits. Unemployment was rising” (Jones). All of these events game Americans no reason to be optimistic. The upset, however, game Americans a reason to look forward the future as America had just beaten the Soviet Union. Americans began to