29 Years Later And We Still Believe In Miracles
March 30, 2009 – 10:00 am by Jimmy Shapiro
29 years later and this callstill gives me the chills. It ranks up there with the greatest upsets in sports history. I don’t think people realize how enormous an upset it was. Imagine if in 1992, the Argentine men’s basketball team was led strictly by amateurs and beat the USA’s Dream Team led by Michael Jordan. And make no mistake, that Russian team was that good. That game is such a part of American Olympic lore that people forget it was only the semi-final game. The gold medal win was against Finland.
There’s a reason why people still loving talking to the members of the 1980 USA Olympic and they still keep getting endorsement and charity deals. Jim Craig, goalie of the 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team joined ‘The Fish’, Jeff Aaron of KRKOin Seattle in studio last week. Craig is doing a national tour for aneurysm screening as his father unfortunately died at 68 of an aneurysm.
On the countless interviews he’s done regarding the 1980 team:
“They never get old. People always have great questions and when you’re part of a team that lifted up the spirit of a nation, it’s always a nice thing to be a part of.”
On beating the Soviet Union to get into the gold medal round in the 1980 Olympics:
“It was almost like we had won a war. Our beliefs and what we believe in freedom kind of won over again. Being part of a team and part of something that people thought was unobtainable and you’re able to do it collectively is always a nice thing.”
Being 20 years old, did Craig know feel at the time that this was bigger than a hockey game:
“Well anytime you represent your country, you’re not playing for the Boston Red Sox, or the Seattle Sonics. When you put that jersey, a lot of pride comes on, and responsibility. We knew that we had just beaten the best team in the world. That team (Soviet Union) had just beaten the NHL All-Stars 6-0 and we just wanted to be players of the NHL. I think we knew the magnitude of the win from a sports perspective, but other than that we didn’t really know. It continues to hit us as we get older.”
More quotes from Jim Craig and the full interview after the break.
Craig’s opinion on actors that portrayed him:
“Steve (Guttenberg, Miracle on Ice, 1981) tried really hard to get the Boston accent down and that’s a really tough one to follow-up. When Eddie Cahill (Miracle, 2004) came, I think he did it just right. He did a really good job.”
Fish asks Craig if he ever felt burdened by his accomplishments or hold him back with his NHL career:
“I think there is. In sports you have to earn your position with the team and with the players. Some positions it’s a little easier because you’re on a line and they can put you on the fourth line and get you up to the third line. Whether you’re a goalie, a starting pitcher or a quarterback that’s a position that only one plays. The responsibility when I went with Atlanta was to keep the franchise there. There was an awful lot of burden. Everywhere I went people wanted to talk about what HAD happened. I wanted to talk about what NEEDED to happen.”
Listen to Jim Craig on KRKO in Seattle with Jeff Aaron
Tags: 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team, Do you believe in miracles?, greatest sports upsets ever, Jim Craig
