The challenges were formidable: A Soviet hockey team that won by intimidation. After all, they hadn't been beaten in 15 years. But it could be done. Coach Brooks kept telling his 19 year-old players to play their game and to take the fight to the Russians. They had to WANT it. In some games, the players had given less than 100%, and coach Brooks would not stand for it.

But first things first. The team had to become a cohesive unit. And, even if it were never to become the best team in the world, it had to become the best conditioned team in the world. This took time. Finally, even if they were not better than the Russians overall, they HAD to be the better team that particular night.

The politics at the time was clear. President Carter had just given his malaise speech. The US was humiliated by Ayatollah Khomeini. A sign posted at the US-Soviet hockey game at Lake Placid said: "Get the puck out of Afghanistan!"

And so the stage was set for the miracle. The Soviet coach was staring with unbelief--like a fish out of water. A spell of delirium captured the US. Who could forget?

I grew up in Texas in the 60s. It's an understatement to say that hockey was a sport I had little knowledge of, and even less interest in.

That changed very dramatically in 1980. For those of you too young to remember the cold war, it's probably hard to understand the national significance attached to sporting and cultural events that pitted the US vs. the Soviet Union: Van Cliburn winning the Tchaikovsky piano competition in Moscow in 1958; Bobby Fischer defeating Boris Spassky for the world chess championship in 1972; the Soviet basketball team (in an extremely controversial game) ending the US's unbeaten streak in the Olympics that same year; and the Miracle on Ice depicted in this movie. In each case, millions of Americans who had little interest in classical music or chess or basketball or hockey suddenly found themselves very interested indeed. Whether or not these events should have been viewed as Cold War battles, it's simply the case that they were.

Having said that, how well does "Miracle" recall the events? I think it does so brilliantly, from the casting to the cinematography to the direction -- all of it. It's not hard to believe you're back in 1980.

Final note: next to hearing the famed Al Michaels line "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!", my favorite scene was a few seconds earlier. As the clock wound down with the US team protecting its lead, we see the coach's wife in the stands, head bowed and gloved hands rubbing together nervously, unable to watch. One of many, many great vignettes in this great movie.

I have the DVD with 2 disks and enjoy it very much. My cousin is one of the major stars in this and was never an actor, but a hockey player! He did a great job and so did all the other kids. I remember watching the USA gold winning hocky game played in the Lake Placid Olympics on TV when I was 13 (my family being from upstate NY) and remember the sheer exhilaration and awe we all felt at beating the odds. Having said that, I don't think the extras gave it the same feeling. But I guess you can't paid Canadians enough to cheer for the US in hockey. I think it means more to them. Still, loved the movie and I want to say 'Hi' to all the 'Miracle Cuties' who were part of it.

In the 1980 Olympic Games the US Hockey team overcame enormous disadvantages to successfully defeat the Soviet Hockey team and earn the gold medal, breaking a nearly twenty-year winning streak for the Soviets in what was aptly described as a miracle on the ice. 'Miracle,' starring Kurt Russell (Vanilla Sky, Escape From L.A.) as Olympic coach Herb Brooks, aims to retell this story as realistically as possible to show the audience what it was like to be a member of that remarkable team and be a part of such an astonishing accomplishment. The audience gets to see the process of forming such a team from the selection of the coach, to the selection of the players, to the grueling schedule of practice, through several defeats, to eventual success.

'Miracle' is a completely successful, realistic depiction of a remarkable event in American sports history. Herb Brooks and a variety of the members of the real 1980 US hockey team signed on as advisors with Brooks suffering an untimely death during the production. The contribution of these people enables the goals, action, story, and acting, to be dead-on accurate in its presentation of the events as they took place during the 1980 games. Kurt Russell shines brightly in his role as the coach of this team; from the Minnesota accent, to the coaching style, Russell's performance is as life-like as acting gets. All the hockey players are remarkable in their performances, but special attention should be paid to Billy Schneider, the son of Buzz Schneider, who portrays his father in this film, Patrick O'Brien Demsey who perfectly plays the role Mike Eruzione, and Mike Mantenuto, the former UMaine player, who portrays Jack O'Callahan.

While there are movies which are much more complex, much deeper, and much more artistically valuable, 'Miracle,' aims to be a simple, but accurate, depiction of this remarkable event in the history of the Cold War. Director Gavin O'Connor succeeds admirably in meeting and surpassing these modest goals. 'Miracle' is strongly recommended to all audiences and a hearty thank you is due to Disney for allowing such an exceptional film to be made.

As a hockey family, we all thoroughly enjoy this movie. No matter how many times you see it, you still want to stand up and cheer! Enjoyable even if you aren't a hockey fan. Does a great job capturing the feeling of the time when this originally took place.

I have seen this movie, may be 200 times. Because, I have been watching it since 2005. So purpose of buying this DVD is to watch it more, whenever I am down and depressed.

Ranked 2d on my "must have" movie list, Miracle is a true story of the 1980 USA Olympic Hockey team. How the team overcame personality conflicts, skating coordination, and the Olympic meetings with the European teams, build up to a climactic meeting with the Russians. Kurt Russell as the coach, Herb Brooks, was very memorable. His Brooks mannerisms were scary reminders at times of the real Herb Brooks. His support team was great! The players were talented to the nth degree. Get it and keep it for your grandchildren to see the miracle of the 1980 Olympics. USA! USA! USA!

My son has started to play ice hockey. In the past three years he has become obsessed with the sport. I remember wanting to see this movie when it came out because I was in high school when the US team won the gold medal. I never did see it when it was in the theaters. I bought this DVD as a gift for my son. What a great story. Well told and well acted.

One of the best hockey movies. A must to have, and watch over and over.

Despite our knowing the outcome, "Miracle" keeps us riveted right up to the final buzzer, revisiting a glorious moment in the storied history of the Olympics without resorting to all the familiar underdog-team clichés. Russell, assured in his role as Brooks, is ably supported by Patricia Clarkson, as his wise, supportive wife, Patty; Noah Emmerich as assistant coach Craig Patrick; and Eddie Cahill as team leader and goalie Jim Craig. Full of humanity and fun period detail (just check out Kurt's haircut and wardrobe!), "Miracle" scores as a first-rate family film.

I was 16 when this event happened and for some reason, I don't remember it. I saw the documentary "Do You Believe In Miracles" on HBO about three months ago, was totally in awe at this huge historical event, and to find out it was voted the sports event of the millennium in 2000 over incredible events such as Jack Dempsey, Joe Lewis, Seabuscuit, Secretariat, Walter Hagan, Joe Namath, Tiger Woods, Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton, MaEnroe, Billie Jean, Arther Ashe...and well.. it goes on and on, although I tend to agree with the other review before mine where sports is more commercially owned these days and more of a let down with it's drug use.

This movie depicts plays and events SOOO accurately you could have matched movie to documentary on tv's side by side and not seen much difference even where the players were on the ice!
The team for the movie was made up of real hockey players from the NHL, Canadian and Russian hockey teams.. only a couple were real actors, but ALL did superb in their portrayal of the player he was acting out.

If you are like me and didn't know of this most incredible event in American Olympic history (HOW did I MISS it??) I would highly recommend getting the documentary and the movie and soak in what it must have felt like.. you will leave this movie thinking "Wow.. maybe I can"...
A must see.

I was twelve years old when this event happened, sitting in a bedroom with my brothers and some friends, going absolutely crazy when they won the game. I wasn't aware of the larger implications, of the events in history that had been transpiring nor even the meaning of the Olympic games. I knew the Russians to be the bad guys, that was about it. Obviously I somehow knew there was something larger at stake because even my mother was surprised at how nuts we went when they won.

I hesitated to watch this film for a long time due, sadly, to the Disney attached to the film. I was afraid of it being given a gloss. Happily, this was not the case, as many reviewers here will attest to its accuracy and attention to detail.

The opening segue giving a quick and poignant synopsis of events that had been transpiring throughout that decade, with a few significant moments captured at various points throughout the film, grounds it in the history of which I was, at twelve years old, unaware.

Kurt Russell is incredible as the coach but it is the seasoned hockey players who were chosen to act in the film that really give this film its feel. Relive that moment or experience it for the first time, I highly recommend this film, especially in a day and age where the idea of sports has dissipated into big business. This was perhaps one of the last moments in sports history where there was something pure in the game.

A story of powerful healing & believing, incredible human ability to achieve the "impossible" when using heart body and soul and working as a team, preparing and believing. Wonderfully inspiring, incredible coaching and spirit displayed by young men when our country needed this healing and unity. Love this movie and display of determination, belief, love, patriotism, and spirit.

Who will ever forget that memorable Winter Olympics in `80 when a young, inexperienced U.S.A. hockey squad beat the juggernaut Russian team in the semi-finals on their way to the gold medal? Well if you have just watch this movie and rekindle the memory of what was unquestionable the ultimate moment in the history of American hockey.

Released in '04, the inspirational sports film `Miracle' is a nostalgic look back at a time before professionals took over the Olympic games and young, starry-eyed college kids reached for that one glorious moment of fame. Yes it's overly sentimental and just oozing with saccharine but deep down inside I think that's how most of us want to remember this game anyway. U.S.A. versus Russia, doesn't get any better than that!

It is easy to summarize the plot behind this movie. It is about the 1980 U.S. hockey team that went all the way to gold in the Olympics at Lake Placid. What is harder to summarize is the era and feelings of the United States at that time, and just what a kick in the behind this game was for the U.S.

1980 was a very bad time. Inflation was horrible. We recently left Viet Nam, failing to accomplish whatever mission we had. Students kidnapped Americans from the embassy in Teheran. We suffered from a president who was tied to a politically motivated hotel break-in and from a president who was unable to effectively deal with politics in Washington, D.C.; then came the 1980 Olympic hockey team.

The hockey team of the Soviet Union was the dominant team for 20 years. They were favored to win the 1980 Olympics. The U.S. team might have a shot for bronze, if we were lucky. Instead, the U.S. team kept beating teams that "everyone" expected to beat the U.S. Americans began holding their breath as the team played each new opponent, and won. It was amazing. The gold medal game against Finland was almost an anti-climax after the game against the Soviet Union. While Coach Brooks was there to play hockey and go all the way, the biggest hurdle was going to be the tough, professional Soviet team.

This movie captures it all; the feeling of the era, details of the era, the thrill of each team victory, and Coach Brook's refusal to celebrate any victory until the truly important one. I was amazed at Kurt Russell's performance. He is compelling as Coach Brooks. Brooks is obsessed in his drive to make his team the best, and he skillfully transmits that obsession to his players. Kurt Russell was perfect for the role of Brooks, and it is one of his finest moments in a movie.

This movie is perfect for most members of the family, and may well serve as an inspiration for some family members. Some younger members of the family may be distressed by the violence of hockey, which is well replicated in this movie. You may not want to be eating while watching some portions of the movie.

Enjoy!

i like the perspective the movie tried to portray, that individual Olympians who are great at what they do are not representing themselves, but are representing their country. im really glad our hockey team won in those adverse times and that this movie was made to reflect a bit of the triumph they experienced.

What a great movie this was there was not one bad part in the whole Movie i think that the actors who played this made the Real guys looked amazing this is my favriot movie ever i just love it I think that Kurt Russell did a great Job betraying herb brooks i don't think that any other actor could do it as well as he did.

This movie is based (loosely) on the 1980 Olympic victory of the USA Mens Hockey team. The main character in the movie is Herb Brooks (played by Kurt Russel). The hockey games are filmed more realistic than in anyother movie that involved hockey that I've seen. I recommend this to anyone that is a huge fan of hockey. This is not to be confused with the movie "Miracle on Ice" from the eighties based on the same story, starring Steve Gutenburg as Jim Craig, the goalie.

Miracle is the best story ever. It has so many different levels beyond just a hockey game. Inspiring!!

This is a 2 CD set that I found it at Target cheap. CD1 is the movie itself and CD2 is chock full of a buncha extras like the story of the "actors" playing the players. I didn't think of this before, but it's not like you can hire actors to pretend they can skate and play hockey. The director wanted the movie to be as realistic as possible, so he had to hire a bunch of hockey players with the acting gene.

I'm not going to bother reviewing the movie because if you're even reading the reviews on this site, then you already know just how astonishgly good it is. But I will say this much about it. I can't believe that Disney put out such a high quality product. That said, there are a lot of other extras on the CD that you'd probably enjoy assuming you're into the 1980 Olympics Hockey Team. I just wish I could find a decent version of the game itself, but the only copies I've found are like $100 bucks on VHS.

Where it concerns history, the 1980 hockey game itself should already be on DVD. It shouldn't be available only from sellers on eBay pushing a crappy, poor quality, beat up VHS tape. But I don't expect the DVD will ever become a reality because the publisher of the DVD would have to seek the permission of the USOC and otherwise jump through ABC's copyright hoops in order to make it happen.

This inavailablity is a prime example of copyright clusterf*ck to the detriment of the culture. I know I'm not the only guy in the world who wants this game on DVD. But thanks to the morons in Congre$$ and their moneyed corporate taskmasters who paid them off to pass draconian copyright laws, this game will most likely deteriorate on the celluloid in its tin in a vault somewhere. Just like all the other vintage events shot on celluloid that are languishing because copyright laws have locked down permanently what has permission to be transferred to DVD versus not. And that's your copyright 101 fundamentals o'the day.

I had never had any interest in the Olympics, Summer or Winter, until I was a 13-year old kid who was laid-up with the flu in 1980 and watched the Winter Olympics because they were the only alternative to soap operas during the day. As a 40-year old, I now have a great appreciation for history and am glad that I developed enough interest in the Olympics that I watched and witnessed this historic moment.

The film does a fantastic job of recreating the social climate of the late '70's and early '80's: the aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate, the disco craze, oil embargos, and unrest in the Middle East (i.e. the Iranian Revolution and hostage crisis). President Carter gave his infamous "Crisis of Confidence," a.k.a. 'malaise,' speech in which he pointed the finger at the American public while doing nothing to provide inspiring or effective leadership. He was right, though: America was having a crisis of confidence. We needed a morale boost.

And along came the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. It was a team of true amateurs unlike the Soviet team that had won the gold medal in the previous four Olympics. The Soviets were so well-funded by their government that they were able to focus entirely on their hockey game and were so good that they even beat a team of NHL all-stars. And yet our amateurs beat our (at that time) arch-enemy's hockey juggernaut and gave the entire country a confidence and morale boost. The fact that they won the gold medal by beating Finland was just icing on the cake; all that really mattered was that they had beaten the Soviets.

It's great to get the background behind the players and their coach, Herb Brooks, in this movie. The movie contains many sports cliches: the diverse group of players who need to learn to function as a team, the hard-nosed coach who teaches them, and the underdog comes out on top cliches are all here. None of that matters, though, because it was all true. If you were alive and old enough to remember this time, then this movie will warm your heart as much as the team's victory did in 1980. If you weren't alive or old enough to remember, then watch and see what Americans did (and still can do) when we set our minds on achieving a goal even as everything around us seems to be falling apart. Sports truly can be a metaphor for life, so let's all learn a lesson from this team.

I live in the hometown of David Christian, one of the members of the 1980 team and the son and nephew of Bill & Roger Christian of the 1960 Olympic Gold-Medal winning team. Neal Broten (1980 team) is from down the road in Roseau. We're very proud of these men and the teams they played on. This movie just makes your heart soar. All the actors did a wonderful job, but Kurt Russell was magic.

This movie re tells the tail of the biggest moment in sports history. A bunch college kids play the olympics and play the russians who have never lost a game for 15 years.

Thompsan murry team USA.

I am not really a sports lover, and movies that are about sports, sports teams, coaches, etc...well, they 'miss' more often than 'hit' with me.

That said, I'm old enough that I remember the Olympic games where "Miracle" occurred. I remember the thrill, the excitement, the way that it brought folks in our community together in a very special way. It was a very moving event.

This movie does justice to those memories. Kurt Russell is wonderful as the coach. And I was amazed to watch the 'special/bonus features' on the DVD afterwards, and learn that almost all of the main actors were actually NOT actors to begin with, but actual hockey players who were recruited based upon their hockey skills, how much they resembled the Olympic players they were representing, and LASTLY their 'acting skills'. And knowing Mike Eruzioni, I can vouch for how closely the actor who represented HIM speaks/looks/acts like Mike!

My whole family (none of us hockey fans) loved this movie.
I highly recommend it to anyone...it's a clean movie, so it's great for kid-viewing. But it's mainly just a great movie, good for anyone's viewing.

A+++

I will give this much of a preface: I don't watch many movies in general. However, considering that this movie was based on actual events from the 1980 Miracle On Ice Men's Hockey Teams, I figured that this had to be better than the 1981 "Miracle On Ice" with Karl Malden and Steve Guttenberg. My assumptions were proven right!

The production staff in this film put months of R+D into this movie. (Watch the supplemental DVD about the making of the movie. That says it all right there.) I was thoroughly impressed with how they turned actual hockey players into actors for this movie. I was also impressed with how they kept the focus on Herb Brooks' determination to beat the Soviet Union. (BTW, for those of you reviewers out there who say that the Soviets "threw" the game to ease tensions between us and them, check your facts. Mike Eruzione, the team captain, said in an interview on XM 204's Home Ice that those same Russians have come back to him years later and said that they still can't believe they lost the game back in Lake Placid.)

Here's another sidenote: when Home Ice did a 26th anniversary show dedicated to the American triumph over the Soviets, they brought back players like Ken Morrow and Neal Broten -- to name a few. They made it perfectly clear that both movies that were based on their team really made Herb Brooks out to be much softer than he really was. Remember that scene where he had them skate back and forth on the ice after a game against Norway, even when the lights were turned out? That lasted an hour. According to them, he was an extremely tough coach.

Granted, there are some who say that there should have been some more off-ice drama. I say, "Not at all". Whatever was off-ice in the movie perfectly complemented the storyline.

Here's my final sidenote: if it wasn't for Herb Brooks, US Hockey would not be where it is today. The 2006 NHL Entry Draft is proof of this. Ten Americans were picked in the first round, and that had never happened before.

It's just a shame that Herb Brooks didn't live to see the finished product from this movie.

Take a bow, Kurt Russell and Co.!
And Patricia Clarkson's best since
the Dead Pool in 1988 with C.Eastwood.
Recreates the improbable 1980 Lake
Placid, N.Y. Olympic American Men's
Hockey win over the Commies in pro-
per prespective. Recreates also all
the stupidity going on in knuckle-
head Jimmy Carter's America. Habitat
"for Humanity", my keester! The 2-DVD
set has a great piece with the late,
great Herb Brooks, who died several
months after filming in an auto acci-
dent in Minnesota @ age 66. Wonderful
movie for the whole family and some-
thing to be proud about as an Amer-I-
can! The greatest Olympic win ever!

Although it may have been trendy after the fact to play down the impact and achievements of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" Hockey Team, an honest appraisal of that momentous and inspirational event will give you an understanding of how important it was to the American psyche at the time. (As to those "reviewers" who claim the Soviets threw the game? Utter pathetic nonsense. The venom and hatred spewed forth by some of these "reviewers" is absolutely unreal and beyond my comprehension. Maybe it does speak volumes as to how good the movie really is.)

The movie opens with a montage of film clips from the 1970's. Don't just read the opening credits. Watch and listen. By the time the movie itself actually begins, you can feel the funk this nation was in at the close of the decade. Therein lies the importance of that "hockey game". The economy was stagnant. The Soviet Union was ascendant. The U.S., post-Watergate and post-Vietnam, was adrift and lacking in confidence. Along come a bunch of college kids, bringing down the Soviet hockey ogre that had dominated international hockey for 20 years, and was considered to be unbeatable.

Kurt Russell nails Herb Brooks, possibly Russell's best acting performance ever. Unlike a lot of his earlier movies, throughout Miracle, although you know it is "Kurt Russell" playing Brooks, you do not see Kurt Russell. You "see" Herb Brooks. While some seem to react negatively to the Herb Brooks character, he coached at a time when a coach was expected to push his kids to the limit in order to make them achieve. In today's more "sensitive" times, maybe we could not have a Herb Brooks?

But the kids stole the movie. The overwhelming majority of them were hockey players first, with little or no acting experience, and they were wonderful (including one kid whose father actually played on the 1980 team). Michael Mantenuto as Jack O'Callahan and Eddie Cahill (some acting experience) as goalie Jim Craig, nearly steal the movie.

This country probably needed to chant "USA! USA!" a few times at the end of the 1970's, and the "Miracle on Ice" team let us do it. So enjoy the movie, and the anticipation of one of the most famous endings in sports ("You've got ten seconds . . . . "), as the end of the game against the Soviets draws to and end (". . . . the count down going on right now . . . ."), and Al Michaels makes the final call of the game (". . . .Morrow up to Silk . . . "), a call that would live in sports lore (". . . five seconds left in the game . . . "), and hopefully bring a tear to your eye every time you hear it (". . . Do You Believe in Miracles!!?"). Even though you know the ending already.

I felt this movie was very well done. Of course, everyone knows the story and a few points in the USSR/USA game and after the Norway exhibition were changed, but the movie is still quite exciting and entertaining. The sports scenes were made very well and Kurt Russell portrays Herb brooks honorably. As this just isn't a sports movie, I recommend this movie to everyone.

Great movie based on a true story. You don't have to be a sports fan or a hockey fan to realize the amazing effort put into the team in 1980. Shows grit and determination and Kurt Russell is Herb Brooks in this film.
A good family film. I highly recommended.

I could watch this movie a thousand times and never get tired of it! I watched the original games on TV and get the same feeling of excitement while watching this movie. The movie demonstrates the time and effort that was given by all involved to make that "miracle" happen. It's interesting and entertaining, as well. Definitely worth watching.

The movie was a give and exactly what I was looking for. An inspirational movie choice for anyone!

This was one of the best sports movies of all time. This was the only one where I cried. This followed the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. This also had the Memorable Miracle on Ice. This was a great film.

This movie is very amazing. It's very well acted and the story is told very well. Everyone knows it's about the US defeating Russia in 1980 at the Winter Olympics in ice-hockey, but it's so well acted and so true to the actual events, we get to see it unfold again and relive that incredible match. I barely remember the 1980 games, but I do know how much I love ice-hockey and so this is very interesting to me and is an inspiring movie to everyone out there that shows that with hard work, and enough determination, you can achieve your goals (get it?) and dreams. These guys were facing such fierce competition, but they were so passionate about helping their country win, they went all out to make it happen. Kurt Russell is incredible in this and should have received an Oscar nomination at the very least. A great movie for everyone that I know you'll all enjoy.

i was in 7th grade when the 1980 olympic games and watch this moment in history unfold. it was one of the best sporting events i have or ever will see. miracle tells the story behind the espn voted greatest moment in sports history. kurt russell gives the proformance of his life as herb brooks the coach who wants one thing to beat the russia's and to heal the sting of being cut from the 1960 team that won a gold medal. the team is filled with fresh young actors who really play hockey. this film reminds you that sometimes it's not the money but the love of the game that matters.my family has watched this movie many times and never gets tired of it.a great piece of movie making.

As someone who has watched the Winter Olympics for twenty years and has been watching sports in general for perhaps a little bit longer than that, it would have been difficult to have not heard about the United States Olympic Hockey Team from 1980. You know, the one that shockingly beat the dominant Soviet team, a Soviet team so strong it was beating the NHL All Stars in exhibition games. I knew this, but I didn't really understand. "Miracle" is the story of the 1980 team and follows the team from the formation to the conclusion at the Lake Placid Olympics.

We open with coach Herb Brooks (a nearly unrecognizable Kurt Russell) talking to a group of me, probably the US Olympic Committee about his vision for the squad and how he would like to form the team. He doesn't want to pick the best players, he wants to pick the best team. He knows this is the only way to have a chance against the Soviets who work so well as a team against the All Star Teams which are made up of individuals. Making the players into a team will be a challenge, one which is suggested throughout the movie as Coach Brooks asks the players their name and what team they play for and the players give their names and then their college (University of Minnesota, Boston College, University of Wisconsin, etc). It is easy to tell what answer Brooks is going for and not going and it is a bit later in the film that Brooks gets the answer he wants and that the viewer knows is a key turning point.

One would think that knowing exactly how the movie has to end would rob "Miracle" of dramatic tension. Somehow the director is able to make the viewer doubt that this team really is good enough to win in the Olympics at all, let alone to face the mighty Soviet squad which had won the previous four Gold medals for Hockey. Even when we get to the Gold Medal match is the ending in doubt. The US may have won their previous games, but these are the mighty Soviets. So much credit has to go to the filmmakers, the actors, the director, and the editor for cutting this film together in such a way that even knowing the ending does not lessen the impact of the ending, the emotion of the ending.

It is clear that I like this movie. It is a "feel good" movie in the best sense of the phrase because it isn't sappy and sweet, but a hard played game that brought out the best in the players and the underdog (which the United States is not used to being) is able to come out on top in the end

-Joe Sherry