R.I.P. Herb Brooks

[KevMcNJ Is Bat Boy Find all posts View Profile Close KevMcNJ]

If you gotta ask who he is...

" A sad day for American hockey"
-Jeremy Roenick 8-11-03

I still remember the day USA beat the Soviet team in Lake Placid like it was yesterday. Of course most will say that was the day they won the gold. Real Hockey fans know better.

I believe hockey geeks like me are big on the history and tradition of the sport. Just like IMS geeks (like me)

Herb Brooks will always be a part of hockey history and tradition in the USA

I dont care for J.R. (guilt by association) but he was right.

[Truth Detector Wants Fair Moderation Find all posts View Profile Close Truth Detector]

Forget the bit about real hockey fans. I hate hockey but I know who Herb Brooks is and I know that the win vs. the USSR didn't give us the gold. (Was it Finland we played next?) I knew how strong the USSR hockey team was and what a feat it was that our college boys beat them. I can still see the goalie throwing his hands into the ice when the puck slipped past him. I remember thinking the USSR coach picked the wrong day to teach their starting goalie a lesson. I remember jumping up and down watching the game on TV. I remember hearing Al Michaels shout "Do you believe in miracles?.....YES!!" I remember that it was shown on tape delay but because I didn't have cable TV or the internet I didn't know the outcome. I remember the Sports Illustrated front page with the US flag going through the "US" of IllUStrated. I remember all the players taking the stage to accept the gold medal. I remember crying during the playing of the National Anthem.

Anybody watching replays on ESPN Classic can't possibly appreciate the magnitude of that win because it won't sufficiently reproduce the invincibility of that USSR team and it can't possibly recreate the stench of the cold war.

I remember Herb Brooks.

God bless him and his family.

[Truth Detector Wants Fair Moderation Find all posts View Profile Close Truth Detector]

I also remember that patriotism back then was an endangered species. Those college boys did more to restore national pride than they could ever have imagined.

[PHJIndy "h" is my middle name Find all posts View Profile Close PHJIndy]

Miracle on Ice was the greatest upset in the history of sports!

RIP, Coach!!

[PIGSKINPETE Member Find all posts View Profile Close PIGSKINPETE]

I cannot imagine a bigger upset and there will never be one. If those highlight do not give you goosebumps, nothing will. god bless him and his family. American sports fans are forever grateful. Thanks for the miracle.

[KevMcNJ Is Bat Boy Find all posts View Profile Close KevMcNJ]

my apologies for the real fans comment.

uncalled for adjective adjective. How about I say most hockey fans.

Yes that was a great feeling that day.

I managed to avoid any news that day so I didnt know who won.
No 24 hour news cycle back then. Or perhaps the very beginning of it.

My brother heard by accident And was so angry that he heard but watched it

I was on ly 14 but I do recall the funk Americans were in in 1980.

Not too much good news that year.

[PHJIndy "h" is my middle name Find all posts View Profile Close PHJIndy]

I was attending the Indianpolis Checkers hockey game that night, and they kept us updated as the game went along. There was more interest in the updates than the game on the ice. When they announced the final score, it was amazing as there was litterally dancing in the ailes!

I then went home and happily watched every second of the replay, secure in the knowledge that the US had won. It was quite an evening and then quite a Sunday morning when the lads played the Finns for the gold!

I wish I would of had a video recorder then. I did tape the HBO special that was aired a year or so ago.

I also wish I had espn Classic!

[crispy Insider Find all posts View Profile Close crispy]

Funny but the Gold medal game against Finland might have been tougher.

They weren't expected to beat the Soviets. Pressure off. And so they did.

Then they had to go up against a team that was every bit the favorite over the Yanks and win again. Only this time everyone assumed they would win. They HAD to win, they had just gotten past the real hurdle right...?

[PHJIndy "h" is my middle name Find all posts View Profile Close PHJIndy]

I believe that Coach Brooks did his finest coaching before and during the game against the Finns. There was always a chance for a letdown after the Russian miracle game, but Brooks made sure they didn't take their eye off the big prize.

[WAS WAS NOT! Find all posts View Profile Close WAS]

HBO re-aired their special the night Brooks passed. It was scheduled for that time, so just a weird coincidence.