Miracle on ice: A story of triumph

Michael Vital

Boys Of Winter
By: Paul Coffey


 A story of rejoice and triumph. The story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, a Winter Olympics the country will never forget.  The 1980 Winter Olympics were possibly the most memorable for the USA as the hockey team beat the Soviet Union in the finals of the winter games. Conquering a feat that never seemed possible for the bunch of banded brothers. Herb Brooks, born and raised in St. Paul Minnesota assembled a very young hockey team. Most players freshman and sophomores in college, but Herb saw something great in them.

 The U.S. team played over 100 exhibition games before stepping on the ice for possibly the most important game of their young lives. The coach, Herb Brooks was a hockey player himself who attended the University of Minnesota and played Division 1 college hockey there for four years before starting his very long coaching career.  The road to the Olympics was very bumpy and rough as many players failed to play at their highest potentials in the months leading up to the Olympics. One practice Brooks had the team skate suicides as many players failed to finish the drill right and he soon lost his temper. He set the players on the goal line and simply shouted "Again!'', signaling that he wanted the players to repeat the endurance skating from red line to red line. Many players became fatigued and gave up. He asked out of the blue to the very tired players, "Who do you play for?".  Many shouted back their college or Jr. Teams, but that was not the answer he was looking for. He made the team skate until finally a heroic young man by the name of Mike Eruizone said, "I play for the United States of America.".  Herb finally got the answer he was looking for and the skating ended. There is no real explanation into why he was looking for this particular answer, but that is the way Herb was. The Soviet Union was one of the most powerful hockey teams in the world. Their players were grown men vs. the U.S.A's college players. Yet, anything is possible in the world of sports as underdog teams win all the time.

 This book is a must read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves books about triumph and overcoming obstacles. You do not need to be a sports fan to fall in love with this book as it is a page turner and will keep you up all night wanting to read on and on. The book is very factual and historical and contains a lot of important U.S. sports history. I personally put this book at my favorite book I have ever read. The main character, Herb Brooks sets a hopeful mood throughout the book as he hopes his team and him can reign as champions in the Olympics.  The book is very motivational
and made me want to become a better athlete.  The moral of becoming better and overcoming odds really hit me. "Great things are born from great opportunities.(384)". Quote from the main character Herb Brooks. If that quote dose not motivate you then I am sure you'll find plenty more in this great book.