2026 Winter Olympics

[Gurth 2.0]

Not sure if it's been mentioned itt, but we watched the new Netflix doc on the 1980 team last night.

Most excellent. I recommend.

Lots of interviews and old footage.

I suppose we all know the story pretty well at this point and I don't think I really learned anything new. That said, getting to listen to the players and others talk about it and get emotional and seeing the non-game footage was worth the time.

 

[WCHornet]

And in some part, either did Italy.

Yup, up until a couple minutes to go they were still in it !

 

[WCHornet]

Not sure if it's been mentioned itt, but we watched the new Netflix doc on the 1980 team last night.

Most excellent. I recommend.

Lots of interviews and old footage.

I suppose we all know the story pretty well at this point and I don't think I really learned anything new. That said, getting to listen to the players and others talk about it and get emotional and seeing the non-game footage was worth the time.

Living in Plattsburgh, NY we go to Lake Placid several times a year for various reasons. Our granddaughter who just graduated from Chazy Central Rural School this past spring was a 3 season athlete and Lake Placid High School was a common opponent. The LPHS athletic fields are at the horse show grounds where the 80 openning ceremonies were held. The cauldron and ski jumps were always towering over the soccer and softball games. We have attended many events at the Herb Brooks arena, Stars on Ice, Disney on Ice, Northwood School hockey Games, The D3 College Hockey Final 4, and just to walk around. Watching this documentary gives me goose bumps whenever watching it. A huge advantage living in Plattsburgh,is we were able to attend events during the 80 games. Unfortunately we could not get tickets for the USSR - USA game, but because of our location were able to watch the game live on the CTV (Canadian) station CFCF 12 out of Montreal. So far I have watched this documentary 3 times and will watch it again for sure.

 

[robertearle]

(I have yet to watch the Netflix documentary, but...)

In case people aren't aware of it, there's a ESPN documentary called "Of Miracles and Men" from ten years ago that tells the story in great depth from the Russian point of view. Very interesting.

 

[Timothy A]

(I have yet to watch the Netflix documentary, but...)

In case people aren't aware of it, there's a ESPN documentary called "Of Miracles and Men" from ten years ago that tells the story in great depth from the Russian point of view. Very interesting.

I believe I've seen that or another documentary from their perspective. It was quite good from what I recall and I should give it another crack.

 

[TJ77]

(I have yet to watch the Netflix documentary, but...)

In case people aren't aware of it, there's a ESPN documentary called "Of Miracles and Men" from ten years ago that tells the story in great depth from the Russian point of view. Very interesting.

I've seen this one. I would highly recommend it.

 

[robertearle]

(I have yet to watch the Netflix documentary, but...)

In case people aren't aware of it, there's a ESPN documentary called "Of Miracles and Men" from ten years ago that tells the story in great depth from the Russian point of view. Very interesting.

I just finished watching the Netflix documentary. A couple 'notes' that came to mind:

- Only the rare glimpse of defenseman Bobby Suter (the 'other player' from Madison and UW). He must have been doing his job well. LOL

- The segments interviewing Mark Johnson at the LaBahn Arena in Madison were recorded across from the main/only concession window, and there are a couple screens mounted to the wall above it, so people waiting in line during a game can keep an eye on what's happening behind them on the ice. MJ is looking up at those screens while watching game footage and commenting on it.

- I was about a year out from graduating from UW, and was in my first year (of only two) teaching high school math in a town called Hortonville, WI. The documentary seems to imply that the Russian game was televised live; at least it seemed to me they were doing that when they were showing the Eruzione family watching in Boston. Maybe it was somehow shown live in Boston, because there were so many players from there playing; but in most of the country, it was definitely not shown live. I remember being in the teachers' lounge between classes while one of the earlier games was being played mid-week, and hearing the score on the radio, then seeing only part of that game on ABC that night. The thing about it that "kids" these days would have trouble believing is that the TV coverage we got during the Olympics was a maybe four-hour broadcast that night, on only one channel. And they had to fit everything from that day into that four hours. So, maddeningly, you might get ten minutes of hockey, then they'd show some figure skating, and then bobsled, and skiing, before going back to hockey for another chunk of the game. The Russian game was played in the later afternoon on a Friday, but not broadcast until that night. Maybe they showed it in full, but I'm not 100% of even that. And I don't recall for certain, but I think I knew the outcome already by the time the delayed broadcast got to "Do you believe in miracles?"

- I also remember being out at bar with my brother and a couple of his friends the next night, Saturday, explaining to them that they still needed to beat Finland the next day to win the gold, and that was no sure thing. In the documentary, when they start showing that Finnish game, on the shot of the TV broadcast they used, you can see that it says "LIVE", because that was unusual, and so needed to be noted on-screen. I expect that that game was shown live in full during the day on that Sunday

 

[eastcoastgopher]

I just finished watching the Netflix documentary. A couple 'notes' that came to mind:

- Only the rare glimpse of defenseman Bobby Suter (the 'other player' from Madison and UW). He must have been doing his job well. LOL

- The segments interviewing Mark Johnson at the LaBahn Arena in Madison were recorded across from the main/only concession window, and there are a couple screens mounted to the wall above it, so people waiting in line during a game can keep an eye on what's happening behind them on the ice. MJ is looking up at those screens while watching game footage and commenting on it.

- I was about a year out from graduating from UW, and was in my first year (of only two) teaching high school math in a town called Hortonville, WI. The documentary seems to imply that the Russian game was televised live; at least it seemed to me they were doing that when they were showing the Eruzione family watching in Boston. Maybe it was somehow shown live in Boston, because there were so many players from there playing; but in most of the country, it was definitely not shown live. I remember being in the teachers' lounge between classes while one of the earlier games was being played mid-week, and hearing the score on the radio, then seeing only part of that game on ABC that night. The thing about it that "kids" these days would have trouble believing is that the TV coverage we got during the Olympics was a maybe four-hour broadcast that night, on only one channel. And they had to fit everything from that day into that four hours. So, maddeningly, you might get ten minutes of hockey, then they'd show some figure skating, and then bobsled, and skiing, before going back to hockey for another chunk of the game. The Russian game was played in the later afternoon on a Friday, but not broadcast until that night. Maybe they showed it in full, but I'm not 100% of even that. And I don't recall for certain, but I think I knew the outcome already by the time the delayed broadcast got to "Do you believe in miracles?"

- I also remember being out at bar with my brother and a couple of his friends the next night, Saturday, explaining to them that they still needed to beat Finland the next day to win the gold, and that was no sure thing. In the documentary, when they start showing that Finnish game, on the shot of the TV broadcast they used, you can see that it says "LIVE", because that was unusual, and so needed to be noted on-screen. I expect that that game was shown live in full during the day on that Sunday

They really didn't cover the three players who are no longer with us. Pavelich got off to a very hot start once he reached the NHL, playing for Brooks in New York, and was a member of the Conehead line with Harrington and Schneider. Wells was probably the last guy on the team, the one who made it over Ralph Cox.

 

[thirdtime's . . .]

I just finished watching the Netflix documentary. A couple 'notes' that came to mind:

- Only the rare glimpse of defenseman Bobby Suter (the 'other player' from Madison and UW). He must have been doing his job well. LOL

- The segments interviewing Mark Johnson at the LaBahn Arena in Madison were recorded across from the main/only concession window, and there are a couple screens mounted to the wall above it, so people waiting in line during a game can keep an eye on what's happening behind them on the ice. MJ is looking up at those screens while watching game footage and commenting on it.

- I was about a year out from graduating from UW, and was in my first year (of only two) teaching high school math in a town called Hortonville, WI. The documentary seems to imply that the Russian game was televised live; at least it seemed to me they were doing that when they were showing the Eruzione family watching in Boston. Maybe it was somehow shown live in Boston, because there were so many players from there playing; but in most of the country, it was definitely not shown live. I remember being in the teachers' lounge between classes while one of the earlier games was being played mid-week, and hearing the score on the radio, then seeing only part of that game on ABC that night. The thing about it that "kids" these days would have trouble believing is that the TV coverage we got during the Olympics was a maybe four-hour broadcast that night, on only one channel. And they had to fit everything from that day into that four hours. So, maddeningly, you might get ten minutes of hockey, then they'd show some figure skating, and then bobsled, and skiing, before going back to hockey for another chunk of the game. The Russian game was played in the later afternoon on a Friday, but not broadcast until that night. Maybe they showed it in full, but I'm not 100% of even that. And I don't recall for certain, but I think I knew the outcome already by the time the delayed broadcast got to "Do you believe in miracles?"

- I also remember being out at bar with my brother and a couple of his friends the next night, Saturday, explaining to them that they still needed to beat Finland the next day to win the gold, and that was no sure thing. In the documentary, when they start showing that Finnish game, on the shot of the TV broadcast they used, you can see that it says "LIVE", because that was unusual, and so needed to be noted on-screen. I expect that that game was shown live in full during the day on that Sunday

Both games were indeed shown live in Boston, and presumably anywhere else that paid their ABC dues. Strange to think that the Boston connection was any stronger than the Minneapolis/Madison axis. The miracle game created an instant "Where were you when?" moment for a certain generation. Finland was almost an afterthought. Everyone assumed that Herb Brooks & Co. would take care of business. The last great triumph of the amateur spirit!

 

[WCHornet]

I just finished watching the Netflix documentary. A couple 'notes' that came to mind:

- Only the rare glimpse of defenseman Bobby Suter (the 'other player' from Madison and UW). He must have been doing his job well. LOL

- The segments interviewing Mark Johnson at the LaBahn Arena in Madison were recorded across from the main/only concession window, and there are a couple screens mounted to the wall above it, so people waiting in line during a game can keep an eye on what's happening behind them on the ice. MJ is looking up at those screens while watching game footage and commenting on it.

- I was about a year out from graduating from UW, and was in my first year (of only two) teaching high school math in a town called Hortonville, WI. The documentary seems to imply that the Russian game was televised live; at least it seemed to me they were doing that when they were showing the Eruzione family watching in Boston. Maybe it was somehow shown live in Boston, because there were so many players from there playing; but in most of the country, it was definitely not shown live. I remember being in the teachers' lounge between classes while one of the earlier games was being played mid-week, and hearing the score on the radio, then seeing only part of that game on ABC that night. The thing about it that "kids" these days would have trouble believing is that the TV coverage we got during the Olympics was a maybe four-hour broadcast that night, on only one channel. And they had to fit everything from that day into that four hours. So, maddeningly, you might get ten minutes of hockey, then they'd show some figure skating, and then bobsled, and skiing, before going back to hockey for another chunk of the game. The Russian game was played in the later afternoon on a Friday, but not broadcast until that night. Maybe they showed it in full, but I'm not 100% of even that. And I don't recall for certain, but I think I knew the outcome already by the time the delayed broadcast got to "Do you believe in miracles?"

- I also remember being out at bar with my brother and a couple of his friends the next night, Saturday, explaining to them that they still needed to beat Finland the next day to win the gold, and that was no sure thing. In the documentary, when they start showing that Finnish game, on the shot of the TV broadcast they used, you can see that it says "LIVE", because that was unusual, and so needed to be noted on-screen. I expect that that game was shown live in full during the day on that Sunday

Several times they stressed that it was tape delayed, but, here along the Canadian border we saw it live on CTV. For me it was CFCF 12 in Montreal. It was channel 13 on cable. CTV showed all of the games in their entirety, including the ones from the 32 rink as well. CTV broadcast the Olympics all day and evening.

 

[robertearle]

Both games were indeed shown live in Boston, and presumably anywhere else that paid their ABC dues. Strange to think that the Boston connection was any stronger than the Minneapolis/Madison axis. The miracle game created an instant "Where were you when?" moment for a certain generation. Finland was almost an afterthought. Everyone assumed that Herb Brooks & Co. would take care of business. The last great triumph of the amateur spirit!

I googled ["miracle on ice" game tape-delayed Boston] to see if anyone had anything to say about it being live in the Boston area. Maybe the most relevant article is an AP article on the web site of WHDH TV in Boston. Plenty about the game airing on tape-delay, and nothing about Boston being any sort of exception to that.

(The article also says that the US - Russia game was shown in its entirety. So that question also answered.)

Miracle on Ice shows how much Olympics on TV have changed - Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

When the Summer Olympics begin in Tokyo in July, viewers will be able to watch every event either live or on demand. That wasn’t the<a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://whdh.com/news/miracle-on-ice-shows-how-much-olympics-on-tv-have-changed/">Read More</a>

whdh.com

 

[WCHornet]

I googled ["miracle on ice" game tape-delayed Boston] to see if anyone had anything to say about it being live in the Boston area. Maybe the most relevant article is an AP article on the web site of WHDH TV in Boston. Plenty about the game airing on tape-delay, and nothing about Boston being any sort of exception to that.

(The article also says that the US - Russia game was shown in its entirety. So that question also answered.)

Miracle on Ice shows how much Olympics on TV have changed - Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

When the Summer Olympics begin in Tokyo in July, viewers will be able to watch every event either live or on demand. That wasn’t the<a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://whdh.com/news/miracle-on-ice-shows-how-much-olympics-on-tv-have-changed/">Read More</a>

whdh.com

As I stated in a previous post, Canadian TV did carry in live on CTV. Living 64 miles from Montral in Northern New York, we did see it live. Canadian channels are still on cable in this area to date.

 

[ARM]

I know we sat around our on-campus apartment on Friday and listened to at least the 3rd period live on the radio. It almost seemed like even the quality of the radio broadcast wasn't great, like it was being carried over a phone line, but that may be related to whatever antena we had for our stereo system. In those days, trying to listen to sports on AM radio was pretty normal, with the signal fading out later in the evening when stronger signals from Chicago, Oklahoma, or some other random place were interfering. It seemed to take a long, long time to get to the final buzzer after the US went up 4-3.

 

[Lindsay]

Sweden upset Czechia to advance to the semis.

Other quarters
USA Italy starting a 320 eastern
Canada Germany tomororw
Switzerland Finland tomorrow

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Both games were indeed shown live in Boston, and presumably anywhere else that paid their ABC dues. Strange to think that the Boston connection was any stronger than the Minneapolis/Madison axis. The miracle game created an instant "Where were you when?" moment for a certain generation. Finland was almost an afterthought. Everyone assumed that Herb Brooks & Co. would take care of business. The last great triumph of the amateur spirit!

NOBODY in America saw the USSR live on ABC. Nobody. ABC did not televise the game live because it was during the 6:00 news, and back then, they would not preempt the local news.

However, like others said, if you lived or went to school near the border (like me in Potsdam) we saw it live on Canadian TV.

The USA-Finland game was shown live in it's entirety on Sunday. It started at 11:00am local time, if I remember correctly. All I know is I got into the game for the third peirod!

 

[Lindsay]

Wow Russell that’s pretty cool. How did that happen? Shouldnt it have been packed? Or do you just sneak in a door between periods after people’s smoke breaks?

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Wow Russell that’s pretty cool. How did that happen? Shouldnt it have been packed? Or do you just sneak in a door between periods after people’s smoke breaks?

When I was a student at Potsdam State, I also was a volunteer worker at the Olympics. Our pass allowed us into all outdoor events, but not indoor events. But there are ways to persuade... (nudge, nudge, wink, wink)

For those of you who weren't around USCHO back when the movie Miracle came out, I wrote this piece talking about my personal experiences concerning the Miracle on Ice:

https://www.uscho.com/2004/02/03/remembering-the-miracle

 

[thirdtime's . . .]

Plenty about the game airing on tape-delay, and nothing about Boston being any sort of exception to that.

"Where was I when?" Apparently in a delusional as well as a manic state. Memory is cunning, as are TV producers.

Thanks to Gurth 2.0 for getting this puck bouncing. My favorite takeaways were the population of the Eruzione family's triple decker in Winthrop and the expression "doing Herbies."
Soopah!

 

[robertearle]

More Wisconsin presence at the women's tournament. LOL

The guy doing the play-by-play of the Canada-Germany game is a guy named Chris Vosters, who does volleyball for BTN (and probably other stuff), and is a UW grad. Not my favorite BTN volleyball announcer, is doing a passable job even though I don't think I've even heard him doing hockey for BTN or anywhere else.

 

[eastcoastgopher]

More Wisconsin presence at the women's tournament. LOL

The guy doing the play-by-play of the Canada-Germany game is a guy named Chris Vosters, who does volleyball for BTN (and probably other stuff), and is a UW grad. Not my favorite BTN volleyball announcer, is doing a passable job even though I don't think I've even heard him doing hockey for BTN or anywhere else.

He worked for the Blackhawks for a couple years after Pat Foley retired and the fans never gave him a chance. He also did the 2019 Frozen Four for BTN.