Great sports moments are greater when the home team accomplishes something amazing.  And in the Olympics, this point is illuminated even further.  When a host country is able to do something unprecedented in front of its countrymen, magic can happen.  And the 1980 US Olympic hockey team playing in Lake Placid, New York, was able to create a moment that has lived in fame.

It was on this date, February 22nd, in 1980, that the US Olympic Hockey team defeated the heavily favored Russian Soviet team in an Olympic hockey game. The US team was made up of amateur and collegiate players which made the victory all the more impressive.

The US trailed the Soviets by a score of 3 – 2 entering the final period. The US tied the game at 3, and then Mike Eruzione, who was captain of the team, scored the goal to give the US a 4 – 3 lead.  The US was able to hold on despite a frantic finish, and when time expired, legendary broadcaster Al Michaels said the famous line “Do you believe in miracles? YES!”