29 years ago today

[Hpslugga]

The Link

 

[hookem2003]

If there was any sporting event that I could go back in time to be at, this would be it.

 

[accuratehorn]

Remember it well-we were all hockey fans for a few days-really exciting games.

 

[HornHuskerDad]

Could this have been the greatest upset in the history of modern sports?

HHD

 

[Bill in Sinton]

HornHuskerDad I would definitely say so. It would be like someone going to Russia and getting a bunch of college students together to put together a football team and beating the Steelers. Or a better comparison would be like going to Spain when the USA had their first great Dream Team and basketball and putting together a basketball team in Spain consisting of young college students and pulling an upset on the USA dream team.
It was a great game for us and a much needed victory at the time. And what was great is that the team went on to beat Sweden for the gold medal.
I can't think of any bigger upset ever. Everyone thought it was a big upset when Joe Namath and the Jets beat Baltimore in the third super bowl but nothing compares to this that I can think of.

 

[Hpslugga]

In reply to:

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[hookem2003]

I saw a clip the other day that said the average age on the US team was 22, and essentially the same Russian team had come over and beaten the Islanders (who were AMAZING at the time), Rangers, and Nordiques a year or two before.

 

[Hpslugga]

Actually those were just your average Russian club teams that did that. It wasn't the national team. From 79-80, various USSR club teams had exhibitions against various NHL teams and the Soviets won the "series" 5-3-1.

So their pro club teams were better than our pro teams, their pro all stars were better than our pro all stars, and in the Olympics, we were asking our college all stars to play their pro all stars. When people keep repeating that Gowdy (or Enberg) quote about the Miracle on Ice being like a group of Canadian college kids beating the Steelers in football, they don't do it justice. This was like the Canadian college all star team beating the all NFL team. Imagine back in 1980 a group of the best Canadian college football players beating a team who ran the Air Coryell offense with Dan Fouts, Earl Campbell, Walter Payton, Charlie Joyner, JT Smith, Kellen Winslow, Mike Kenn, John Hannah, Mike Webster, Herbert Scott, and Dan Dierdorf and a defense with Dan Hampton, Charlie Johnson, Randy White, Lee Roy Selmon, Ted Hendricks, Jack Lambert, Matt Blair, Lester Hayes, Pat Thomas, Donnie Shell and Nolan Cromwell and specialists Eddie Murray and Dave Jennings. A Canadian collegiate all star team that could have beaten them would have been the proverbial Miracle on the Gridiron.

 

[Handler XIII]

That HBO documentary gets me every time.

 

[hudsonhorn]

Me too, Handler.