November 18, 2004�

Wow! It has already been 24 years since the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid. It seems hard to believe. But with the new release of �Miracle�, all the memories of those times come rushing back to your mind.

Back in June 1979 at the Colorado Springs Headquarters of the US Amateur Hockey Association, Herb Brooks and some of his colleges were reunited to come up with a plan to beat the dreaded Soviets. Despite the worries of Brooks� colleges, they accept his idea and start the try-outs period. The players included the goalie Jim Craig (Eddie Cahill, Robbie Mc Clanahan (Nathan West), Jack O�Callahan (Michael Mantenuto)and eventually named team captain Mike Eruzione (Patrick O�Brien Demsey). Pretty much all these players were �underdogs� at the try out session but they all met up with coach Herb Brooks� team chemistry philosophy.

Between practices and off-ice training, we can see that some tension existed between some players (See Clip). A good part of the team was from Minnesota and the other Boston. These two cities had a strong rivalry. The staff had also their period of adaptation but quickly got through it. There was also lots of tension between Herb Brooks and his wife, Patti, because of his own unresolved issues connected to his disappointment on the 1960 US Olympic hockey team.

After the first try out session, the team was made. Craig Patrick was really surprised to see that the best players on the ice weren't on the roaster sheet that Brooks had made. All the players were very surprised. Herb Brooks came out and introduced himself as there new coach. (See Clip)

After several training and various exhibition games, during which Brooks pushed his players to their limits, there were sometimes of frustration. Tying the Norwegian National Team was an embarrassment. Brooks expressed his disgusts by keeping the team on the ice after the game and making them go through a tough skating drill. Despite some concerns from the team doctor, Doc Nagobads (Kenneth Welsh) and the assistant coach Craig Patrick, Brooks told them to keep skating. He wanted to make realize to the team that they are not individual�s people playing together but a real team, playing for the United States of America. (See Clip)

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