Mike Eruzione on how legend of 1980 Olympic team continues to thrive

I’ve gotta be on the cusp. Don’t I?

Completely on the outer edge of the age range.

I mean, if you are even a few months younger than me you probably don’t remember. Right?

At 45 years old, my earliest sports memories were largely constructed in those few months between October 1979 and February 1980.

I can’t remember any games from 1979 against the Baltimore Orioles. But I do remember showing off my Pirates jacket on the school bus the morning after they won the World Series.

I don’t remember all of Super Bowl XIV in January 1980. But I do remember jumping up and down after Terry Bradshaw hit John Stallworth.

And I don’t remember much of the “Miracle on Ice.” But I do remember my father bursting through the door and yelling, “We’ve got to put on the Olympics! We’re about to beat the Russians in hockey!”

Did he catch word before the tape delay started? Did he run into the house between periods?

That’s the stuff I don’t remember.

What I do remember thinking is that I was about to become an orphan because obviously my father had lost his mind. Because every adult I knew and all the older kids at school — you know, the wise second graders — said there was no way Team USA was going to beat the Russians.

And there you had it. At a little over six years old. My first sports shocker.

And it was one the rest of the country will never forget either.

But if you are even slightly younger than me, you never even saw it to forget it. You were likely too young to remember it, if you experienced it all.

The Miracle on Ice turns 40 on Feb. 22. That’s the date when America’s hockey team beat the vaunted Russian “Red Army” 4-3 in the medal round of the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.

The Penguins honored that moment Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena by inviting team captain Mike Eruzione to drop the opening puck along with former team general manager Craig Patrick.

Mike Eruzione and Craig Patrick drop their pucks during a pre-game ceremony at PPG Paints Arena on Feb. 11, 2020. @TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/VYL1bAn6uw

— Nate Smallwood (@nsmallwoodphoto) February 12, 2020

Patrick was an assistant coach on that Olympic team.

Eruzione spoke with media members before the event Tuesday afternoon. I asked him if he ever notices the magic of that event aging out. Does he see younger generations who may not have lived it actually still appreciating it?

“Oh! Eight-, nine-year-old kids who saw the movie ‘Miracle,’” Eruzione exclaimed. “That’s where they got it from.

“Because of the movie, it’s created a new fan and new generation.”

Eruzione was referencing the 2004 Disney film about the team, starring Kurt Russell. He portrayed Herb Brooks, who coached the 1980 club before eventually running the Penguins bench in 1999-2000.

“The letters I get from kids who watch the movie and want an autographed picture,” Eruzione added. “The kids who have gone to Lake Placid and gone to some of those fantasy camps up there. It’s great to see the legs that it has.”

That was uplifting to hear. Because the older and dustier people my age (and older) get, the importance of that game should never fade.

That’s why it’s so encouraging to see Eruzione still making appearances like this one to make the moment tangible and prominent. He is still writing about it, in his new book “The Making of a Miracle.”

And he’s still spreading the message of why it is important.

“This moment captured the spirit of a country,” Eruzione said.

You can hear all of Eruzione’s comments in Wednesday’s podcast. He relives his memories of that game, eventually winning the gold medal, his teammates, the influences of Brooks and Patrick, his friendship with Mario Lemieux, and what he plans to do with his gold medal.

Listen: Mike Eruzione, captain of 1980 USA Olympic hockey team, shares his thoughts on how the legend of that team’s victory continues