In 1980 I was stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY living off base in a dilapidated trailer. My wife had left me, and I was counting the days to ETS. I got all of 2 channels on my crappy TV and most everything on was garbage. I wasn't much of a hockey fan but happened to tune into The Americans first game. Watched every minute of every game right through the Gold Medal. That team pulled out of a suicidal depression. As far as I'm concerned that movie is the best movie ever made.
Brooks was actually took a Team USA in April 1979 to the Worlds in Moscow. About half the team were players from the NCAA including Joe Mullen who would go pro over the summer. That team tied the Czechs 2-2 with Craig in net. Brooks took 9 UMinn players, 4 from BU and 2 each from Wisconsin and BG. They had quite a bit of familiarity. That helped them.
Keep in mind that the Soviets were also professional hockey players. They were technically amateurs because they were all members of the army, but all they ever did was play hockey. The players even called themselves professional hockey players because they were drafted into service just to play
I like this scene because there's an attempt to discuss system of play. Not the typical "go out there and play" mentality you see in a lot of sports moves.
Exactly. "Go out there and play" is the mentality you need in baseball. That is a team sport almost ENTIRELY predicated upon the talent (or lack there-of) of the individual. You can't alter the play of the players all that much to fit within a team system (that is unless you use Bill James and his Sabermetrics.) You can say never bunt and never steal bases, make tactical decisions like that. But ultimately, its the individual that means who wins and who loses. And that individual is almost always standing on the mound. Hockey is completely different. You have to pass the puck. And you have to know someone is going to be there to receive it when you pass it. That is not based on talent. That is based on a system. Where do you want to be on the ice? What options does it give the players when they are where they are? What options should they take? Just go out there and play hockey, that is high school thinking. You would never tell football players (at any level) to just go out there and play. Everything is based on plays and a system and schemes and how the players work together.
You still need the skill to execute. There are tools in hockey just like baseball. Plus skating ability, puck handling, and shooting are absolute skills you need to win at that !evel, get real.
Kurt Russell's best performance by far. His Herb Brooks was so solid, steady and determined, and Kurt looked absolutely genuine playing this role. Probably didn't hurt that he was a jock before committing to being an actor. And Amanda Davis you are right, Kurt deserved an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal. Problem is I don't think Hollywood takes "sports movies" that seriously. Shame, he was perfect here,
@@KYExtemper Agreed. The real Kurt is a little gritty and it shows now and then. People forget that he was an almost big league ballplayer which had to have helped his performance as a coach.
@@ffryan It's literally a communist propaganda point. The irony here is these so called "patriots" in this comment section are getting suckered into believing liberal hollywood's traiterous lies under the guise of being "inspirational". Well Stalin was pretty inspirational. He also inspired millions of alive Russians to become dead Russians by starving themselves to death for the glorious name of Communism. This movie is basically Hollywood saying collectivism (communism) is good and effective and individualism (capitalism) is bad and worthless.
@@wthwasthat8884 Really? This is factual statement about team sports in general. A player not doing his own assignment for trying to make a big play could in turn hurt your team. When you are playing in a team sport you are playing as a collective. Stop making idiotic analogies. 330 million people acting as a collective in everything is monumentally different than 20 players for one specific goal.
Pretty certain Kurt and Herb spent a lot of time together so Kurt can get all the information and ways to accurately portray Herb Brooks in the movie. I believe Herb knew all along Kurt did the best job and was a proud coach again
This is arguably the greatest upset ever. College kids. New system learned in months. Never played together. Going up against a team that one the gold medal for numerous games in a row. Geese!
@@bobarcher5837 nobody else has ever caused an upset of that magnitude. That's just an actual statement; I might not like America much but its the truth. They took a team of barely adults and managed to beat the most dominant team to ever exist. Its the equivalent of a high school football team beating NFL Allstars in the superbowl.
@@cousinpatsey2471 They were college kids so thats clearly at a higher level than high school kids. I never said it wasn't an upset but a lot of Americans act like its the most amazing thing to ever happen. There have been many other upsets that were arguably greater than this
I attended many of those Gopher hockey games in the late 70's while living in Mpls. Proud to be a Minnesotan during those years. Herb's teams were always prepared and competitive. Best college coach ever. And dare I say, best U.S. Olympic coach ever.
He lost with arguably the best US Team at that point in the 2002 Olympics to Canada. Where was his coaching then? USSR was overrated. They hit housed teams giving them a huge advantage. Hit house Team Canada and the USSR might have won 1 Gold Medal between 1960-1980, maybe. As it was, they still lost 2 out of 6 to US amateurs and lost the 1972 Super Series to Canada. What's so phenomenal about that?
@@KMK7355 he coached the U.S. ONLY in 1980 and 2002. beat Russia both times. won a Gold medal and a silver medal. AND THAT'S BAD? hahahahahahahahahah Brooks was hired as head coach of Minnesota in 1972. He would lead them to three NCAA championship titles in 1974, 1976, and 1979. 3 championships in less than 10 years YOU'RE FUCKING WHACKED. show me another coach who's done this........
@@KMK7355 ASSHOLE.... Brooks only coached 2 Olympic teams. in 1980 and 2002. HR DIDN'T COACH ANY OTHERS!! ONLY THOSE TWO!! AND HE WON GOLD AND SILVER!! DO YOUR FUCKING RESEARCH MORON
He had basically a .500 record in the NHL. He caught lightning in a bottle once, it happens in sports. As far as his NCAA resume, yeah he was an excellent NCAA Coach but he had the most fertile ground to recruit right in his backyard. The best Minnesota HS kids were going there no matter what.
Very important scene to introduce the movie with. Herb Brooks talking about a fusion style of hockey. Canadian meets Russian hockey at the meeting and hopes the USA Team he builds can adapt to it in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Herb had his doubters in the conference room, but (like he said) he was looking for the right players over the best players for his Olympic hockey program.
They WERE THE BEST PLAYERS. You could maybe argue 2-3 spots on the 1980 Team. However everyone else were the best players available at the conclusion of the 1978-79 NCAA season. Ralph Cox got injured, Langway, Mullen and Nilan were already in the NHL\AHL.
@@LiveINtheGood53 well not Eruzione. He graduated in 77 and BU won the national championship in 78 the year after he left but Herb liked his style. He was a grinder and hustler. He had a winner’s attitude and that’s what stuck with Herb.
And the rest is history. Never watched ice hockey before that Olympic Games but captivated by the underdog drama. One of the greatest American moments at the Olympics IMHO.
Not just that on Paper and in reality 99 times out of 100 the Russian Red Army Team was the Best Team in the World for a long long time. But not that Day
@@peterkyriopoulos2684 But you're still talking about Team Canada. Literally the best NHL players Canada could muster, and the Soviet national team still beat them multiple times in the Summit Series in 1972. It would be like the best college football players beating one of the best NFL teams, and someone saying, "well, this other professional football team beat that team too, so, its not that big a deal". I mean, this was pretty insane for them to pull off.
Man: _"That a pretty lofty goal, Herb."_ Herb: *"That's why I want to pursue it."* And that's the dividing line between those who might become great and those who never will. You have to be willing to aim at the highest point possible to even try to reach it. If you can't even aim at it, don't even think about trying to reach it!
Herb Brooks had the boldness and the vision to give the team the best chance of success and ultimately the committee came to that conclusion as well, albeit reluctantly at first.
Herb Brooks and Lou Nanne were very good friends and they are depicted here as distant. I heard Herb’s brother give an interview on local Minneapolis radio a while back. He commented that Herb took great delight in how the actor portraying Lou in the movie was a little twerp who looked like, “A chewed up piece of caramel” lol.
Watched this movie for the first time with my new wife on the flight to St. Thomas for our honeymoon. That was 17 years ago. I still think of it every time I watch this movie. I told our 4 kids about it when they watched it the first time.
Believe me, it's exaggerated strictly for drama. Nanne flat out knows hockey. I don't know anyone else in Minnesota whose opinions are more respected. Nanne knows the game and the players from the high school level clear through the pros. Aside from playing pro hockey and captaining the '68 US Olympic hockey team, he was an outstanding GM fot the North Stars. Nanne respected Herb greatly. I also know he has Zach Parise's ear. Parise trusts Nanne and has taken his advice on a number of decisions
@@davidgonzalez2580 Lou Nanne. He's in the Miracle movie and the guy who plays him is portrayed as hating Herb Brooks and not agreeing with any decision Brooks made. Lou played college hockey at the University of Minnesota, played pro hockey with the North Stars, and was later their GM. He's basically Mr. Hockey in Minnesota.
@@CZcams.Algorithmic.F___kery nanne was a terrible GM for the north stars look no further than drafting Brian Lawton #1 with Steve Yzerman and pat LaFontaine available. Zach parise should have been out of Minnesota five years ago. Plus nanne is a cake eater from Edina.
This man got cut from the U.S.Olympic team in 1960 watching the team that he was a part of win on the couch with his pops. "Guess they took out the right man." said pops. In Herbs mind "Im wanna punch you but I will prove you wrong in 20 years."
Fetisov when he came to the Devils explained what happened. He saw them as dangerous even though they beat them soundly in the exhibition said these guys are dangerous. The Soviets didn't really believe him and Kasatanov " allegedly " said we can beat these guys drunk. So they partied the night before and Fetisov said we got what we deserved. That's why " supposedly " Fetisov and Kasatanov despised each other when they played for the Devils.
The key to an upset boils down to three things. One, the underdog must have some advantage, even an obscure one. The Americans were younger and more eager to win (even if they thought it was a pipe dream). Two, the underdog must have a coach who can exploit that advantage. Brooks trained them hard, until the young players were better conditioned than the Russians, and made them believe their pipe dream was no pipe dream. Three, the favoured contender must make a mistake. The Russians partied the night before (surprising Tikhonov would even consider allowing that), Tikhonov pulled Tretiak after the first period, didn't deploy younger players by the third period, didn't pull Myshkin for an extra attacker. And despite all those mistakes, they lost by just one goal (meaning, had they corrected just one mistake, the Russians would have won).
@@broadstreet21 Pulling the goaltender for Russia destroyed whatever psychological advantage they had. You have to remember this Russia team of all stars embarrassed the USA all stars in an exhibition. Yes it was an exhibition but man they got embarrassed. Fetisov explained what happened. I doubt he partied the night before but can you imagine the frustration Fetisov had to endure during that game. 4 years later Russia won another gold medal so beating Russia was definitely a miracle.
@@euclideszoto997 Tretiak was a negative psychological force on opponents, but Myshkin, even if he lacked Tretiak's psychological force, was still a top goaltender, who I believe beat out NHL all stars. Furthermore, Russia had firepower. Even with an average goaltender, they normally should have won on offense - that should have left them some psychological advantage. That is had the young Americans not been conditioned. And had Tikhonov countered by playing his younger troops, instead of relying on the older ones.
@@broadstreet21 I always got the feeling the coach for Russia panicked. Did he know that these guys partied the night before because like you said he wasn't known for that. If you ever see the interview of Fetisov when he came to the Devils and his story of what happened you can still see a bit of disgust in him. You can definitely tell it is a sour memory.
Well, if it's not dramatic it's not entertainig. I have to think all those guys on the board, including Nanne, doubted the Soviets could be beaten, but they all knew hockey and respected Herb. Funny how things work out because their first choice was BU's coach and he turned them down. Good thing he did!
Parker's wife died in March 1978. She left behind two young daughters so no way Parker was going to take the job. It was pretty much Brooks job from the end of the 1978 NCAA season.
i love this scene. anybody else have the Miracle DVD with the Herb Brooks interviews? They're really good, but i lost the DVD. wish they were on youtube.
I just noticed after watching this a dozen times. At the end, at about 2:50, at the conclusion of the meeting, Herb ("Kurt Russel) reaches out to shake the guys hand next to him and he misses it. Kurt Russel just plays through and the scene didn't have to be reshot. I wonder who that actor was portraying and if that was intentional, or just a goof that made it through the final cut of the movie.
That's what I loved most about this movie...how they illustrate Herb's commitment to a team concept and how that alone is what makes a champion. Sounds corny, I know...especially in this day and age when the name on the back has become more important than the one on the front!!
Lou Nanne was an advocate of Herb Brooks as coach from the very beginning. Herb and Lou both played on the 1968 US Olympic team together. They both went to the U of Minnesota and played hockey for the Golden Gophers. Lou Nanne played his entire NHL career in Minnesota for the North Stars. Herb and Lou go back decades. They really got this wrong here. He comes off like some slick smart ass who doubts everything Herb says. I could see Lou trying to not show his bias toward Herb Brooks, but they went way too far here if that was their intention.
Still one of my favorite hockey movies and favorite scene of the movie. I've always been a fan of the European style of hockey....speed and creativity which is what the NHL is today but at the same time there still has to be body contact which seems to slowly dying in hockey. You never see a big hit anymore and when u do u got the team receiving the big CLEAN hit throwing a tantrum and go after the guy that made the hit lol. A good hockey game is both teams making nice plays, scoring goals and making big hits.
... The producers of the film took a lot of "creative license" in this particular scene - more so than any other point in the movie. The USA hockey team won a silver medal in the 1972 Winter Olympics and finished fifth in 1976. Not world-beaters, but hardly embarrassing results. There was no "15-1 loss to the Czech B-team" in 1976; the loss being alluded to was a 10-2 loss to the prime Czech club at the 1976 World Championship tournament, a tournament where the USA finished fourth. In fact, that same Czechoslovakian team ended up beating the Soviet Union and winning the championship. Hardly a "B-team." And, as some have pointed out, in real life the USAHA was very familiar with Herb Brooks and his achievements at the U of Minnesota, and they had a good deal of respect for him. This scene treats Brooks almost as some sort of upstart nobody. Nothing could be further from the truth. He was one of the favorites to be the head coach for USA hockey from day one of preparing for the 1980 Olympics.
+J.T. Dutch True. They hired him precisely because they knew if anyone could mold the available talent into a team capable of competing for a gold medal, it was him.
Also, from what I've heard there was little to no talk about "beating the Soviets". They weren't even in the same group, and if they didn't beat the Swedes or the Czechoslovaks they wouldn't get a chance to play them. But of course, they were building to the climax of the film so they had to constantly refer to the 1979 Challenge Cup and show the team watching game film on a team they might never play.
lol bullshit there was no talk about beating the soviets. Did you live during the cold war? Everything was about beating the soviets even if it was never directly mentioned.
Unless they finished in the top 2 teams in their group (which was considered unlikely before the Olympics began) they were not even going to play the Soviets, so talking about a strategy against them was a moot point. I don't remember who it was, but in the aftermath of the movie coming out, one of the players said that was one of the exaggerated points about the movie -- all the talk about the Soviet team. They didn't sit there watching film about them in the middle of the season. Not until they made the medal round and had to face them.
I don't see it as the board members' lack of respect for Brooks. I see it as board members who are just being frank on the situation they're dealing with, money involved with a relatively short amount of time to prepare.
From 1960-1980 the USSR lost 2 of 6 Golds to the US. They lost the 1972 Super Series to Canada and lost to Poland in the 1976 Worlds. What is so phenomenal about that record over 20 years playing lots of punching bags like Japan and Holland? Very goid team aided by being hot housed. If you had hot housed Team Canada NHL 1960-1980 USSR might have won 1 Gold, maybe.
I often wondered why no one adopted the Flyers strategy from 1976. In that game they didn't only hit hard and intimidate the Soviets, they adopted a strategy of not chasing them around. They set up a picket fence at the blue line and didn't allow them to penetrate the zone. This looked like a sound strategy as it confused the Soviets and the Flyers ended up blowing them off the ice.
Flyers were goons. They were the only team to beat the soviets largely I’m part to van Impe elbowing the soviets best player. The Canadians tied the soviets and swept the flyers in the finals that year.
In real life, Lou Nanne (smug guy listing off the recent Soviet success-yet failing to mention their Gold medal in 1956) was actually the individual who recommended Herb Brooks for,the job. He’s a fixture on sports talk radio and tv in the Twin Cities these days. One of the tribal elders of hockey in Minnesota.
My favorite part about this is the swagger involved in being the only psycho in the room and knowing it. I don't know how to fake that -- I've been on both sides for sure -- so acting it is really impressive to me.
A coach is he who sees that his team needs to change strategies not just get the famous most talented player who probably does not want to adapt to change
That’s a good movie. Kurt’s a damn good actor because he kept working at it, became better and better until he could produce this gem. I remember after seeing this being surprised at how good it was.
HIS STYLE WAS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN THE GREAT UCLA COACH Wooden, but then again he had 10 NT in 12 years, including 7 in a row! Still very interesting to contemplate. Each human & each human experience is different.
If you watch the actual game what Herb was really saying "I want to take Canadian style goons and teach them to pass" The 1980 Olympic team was PHYSICAL. Euros don't play that style and it knocked the soviets off their game mentally. Brilliant.
Did brooks somehow engineer it so we lost so badly to the soviets in the pre Olympic game? Soviet overconfidence was a key part of the miraculous upset
@@prorespluscom The kids didn't play the same way. My opinion is in the first game they were awe struck and didn't play the hard nosed style they did in the olympics. Watch both matches and you'll see the difference.
I hope the movie was accurate in the sense that these “hockey minds” blew Herb off in the meeting. So once he had the team doing their thing he blew them off when they all seemed to get on the bandwagon and wanting to spend time with the team pre-game. Herb did this his way and proved what he said in the meeting. Not much is said in the hockey world of how impactful he was to hockey in the US and how the kids play the game now.
What I take from this, Herb Brooks is basically telling them there is no I in team, as cliche as it is, that is what he is doing without actually saying it. Note when he says All Star Teams fail, because they rely soley on the individual's talent, note he uses the I word individual. He then states the Soviets win, because they take that talent and use it in their system designed for the betterment of the team, there's the t word Team. He basically sets the tone right off the bat, telling these guys he's not looking for talented individuals to play for his team.
My gosh I don’t know how poor herb lit up with all that BS from a bunch of negative losers! If these schlubs had as many solutions as they did excuses,’they might actually have won and herb wouldn’t have to be there! Thankfully he was!
This is why the Tampa Bay Lightning fail to win the Cup right now. Jon Cooper looks to let the individuals do what they want, but you put them up against a TEAM, a team that relies on mutual trust and chemistry, well then you know what happens.
In 1980 I was stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY living off base in a dilapidated trailer. My wife had left me, and I was counting the days to ETS. I got all of 2 channels on my crappy TV and most everything on was garbage. I wasn't much of a hockey fan but happened to tune into The Americans first game. Watched every minute of every game right through the Gold Medal. That team pulled out of a suicidal depression. As far as I'm concerned that movie is the best movie ever made.
Whatever the reason you had for it, glad you aren't part of the 22 a day, brother.
Good thing for you then USA won. Hopefully, you didn’t watch in ‘84 and ‘88 when the soviets won again.
Awesome story. Thanks for sharing. Peace and blessings.
Makes you believe
For whatever it is worth, the world is better for you being here.
The energy in this room is a lesson for me, when you share a lofty goal to people they often dismiss you like this, make sure you don't stop
They didn't entirely dismiss his lofty goal. They hired him.
Brooks was actually took a Team USA in April 1979 to the Worlds in Moscow. About half the team were players from the NCAA including Joe Mullen who would go pro over the summer.
That team tied the Czechs 2-2 with
Craig in net.
Brooks took 9 UMinn players, 4 from BU and 2 each from Wisconsin and BG. They had
quite a bit of familiarity. That helped them.
Kurt Russell should have AT LEAST been nominated for an Oscar.
agreed.
Which one of the five nominees from that year would you replace?
He really was fantastic in this.
And won
@@possiblepilotdeviation5791 all of them.
"It wasn't because you weren't good enough."
Bam. Hello. Herb threw down the gauntlet with that one. Love the reactions.
Keep in mind that the Soviets were also professional hockey players. They were technically amateurs because they were all members of the army, but all they ever did was play hockey. The players even called themselves professional hockey players because they were drafted into service just to play
"That's a pretty lofty goal Herb.".... "That's why I want to pursue it."..... The only goals worth pursuing in life are the lofty ones.
In one statement, he transformed the gentleman into the follower, complainer, and no-risk character that he is.
Llo
The most American thing said in the room was from a Canadian.
Couldn’t agree more
Damn right!!!
I like this scene because there's an attempt to discuss system of play. Not the typical "go out there and play" mentality you see in a lot of sports moves.
Exactly. "Go out there and play" is the mentality you need in baseball. That is a team sport almost ENTIRELY predicated upon the talent (or lack there-of) of the individual. You can't alter the play of the players all that much to fit within a team system (that is unless you use Bill James and his Sabermetrics.) You can say never bunt and never steal bases, make tactical decisions like that. But ultimately, its the individual that means who wins and who loses. And that individual is almost always standing on the mound.
Hockey is completely different. You have to pass the puck. And you have to know someone is going to be there to receive it when you pass it. That is not based on talent. That is based on a system. Where do you want to be on the ice? What options does it give the players when they are where they are? What options should they take? Just go out there and play hockey, that is high school thinking. You would never tell football players (at any level) to just go out there and play. Everything is based on plays and a system and schemes and how the players work together.
You still need the skill to execute. There are tools in hockey just like baseball.
Plus skating ability, puck handling, and shooting are absolute skills you need to win at that !evel, get real.
Kurt Russell's best performance by far. His Herb Brooks was so solid, steady and determined, and Kurt looked absolutely genuine playing this role. Probably didn't hurt that he was a jock before committing to being an actor. And Amanda Davis you are right, Kurt deserved an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal. Problem is I don't think Hollywood takes "sports movies" that seriously. Shame, he was perfect here,
I'm partial to his performance in Tombstone. It's just overlooked by Val Kilmer slaying his role and taking over the film in the process.
@@KYExtemper Agreed. The real Kurt is a little gritty and it shows now and then. People forget that he was an almost big league ballplayer which had to have helped his performance as a coach.
@@peterjeffery8495 that Battered Bastards of Baseball documentary, on Netflix, he did about the team his dad started was amazing.
Kurt & Goldies son was a D1 NCAA Hockey player, so he was a real life hockey Dad.
You read my mind exactly.
"all star teams fail, because they rely solely upon the talent of the individual."
Definitely an E F Hutton moment!
How many teams, organizations and workplaces need to hear this speech!
@@ffryan The more important question is how many would even take it seriously if they did hear it.
@@ffryan It's literally a communist propaganda point. The irony here is these so called "patriots" in this comment section are getting suckered into believing liberal hollywood's traiterous lies under the guise of being "inspirational". Well Stalin was pretty inspirational. He also inspired millions of alive Russians to become dead Russians by starving themselves to death for the glorious name of Communism. This movie is basically Hollywood saying collectivism (communism) is good and effective and individualism (capitalism) is bad and worthless.
@@wthwasthat8884 Really? This is factual statement about team sports in general. A player not doing his own assignment for trying to make a big play could in turn hurt your team. When you are playing in a team sport you are playing as a collective. Stop making idiotic analogies. 330 million people acting as a collective in everything is monumentally different than 20 players for one specific goal.
Kurt Russell has been awesome his whole career..Miracle was just the movie the doubters noticed...
Russell was a Hockey Dad. His kid was an NCAA D1 goalie.
One of the greatest coaches of all time, in any sport.
His record was 219W- 222L.
Scotty Bowman is on line 1. Shall I patch him through?
Makes me tear up knowing Herb Brooks died before he was able to see the finished film and see how Kurt brought his story to the screen.
If you really want to tear up, watch the very ending of the movie during the dedication where the quote states "He never saw it. He lived it."
Pretty certain Kurt and Herb spent a lot of time together so Kurt can get all the information and ways to accurately portray Herb Brooks in the movie. I believe Herb knew all along Kurt did the best job and was a proud coach again
Herb died between filming and release. All reports had Herb on set for much of the filming.
@@clarkerots9348without a doubt
"That's why I want to pursue it." I worked in upper mgt for many years. A person who says that is hired on the spot.
It’s often not enough to have talented people. You got to have a system that can foster and exploit that talent.
Notice at the end how the guy ignores Herb Brooks when he goes for the handshake.
I bet he regretted that move later.
This is arguably the greatest upset ever. College kids. New system learned in months. Never played together. Going up against a team that one the gold medal for numerous games in a row. Geese!
@Gay Frogs maybe in your opinion in my opinion but not everyone's opinion which makes it arguable 😂
@Stem Degree Kevin Ya cause nobody else has ever caused an upset....... American ignorance
@@bobarcher5837 That's why he qualified it with "greatest", you ignorant douche.
@@bobarcher5837 nobody else has ever caused an upset of that magnitude. That's just an actual statement; I might not like America much but its the truth. They took a team of barely adults and managed to beat the most dominant team to ever exist. Its the equivalent of a high school football team beating NFL Allstars in the superbowl.
@@cousinpatsey2471 They were college kids so thats clearly at a higher level than high school kids. I never said it wasn't an upset but a lot of Americans act like its the most amazing thing to ever happen. There have been many other upsets that were arguably greater than this
This nod of understanding and approval at 2:43 is the beginning of getting those who to believe.. he knew what Herb was about... WAS REAL.
I attended many of those Gopher hockey games in the late 70's while living in Mpls. Proud to be a Minnesotan during those years. Herb's teams were always prepared and competitive.
Best college coach ever. And dare I say, best U.S. Olympic coach ever.
He lost with arguably the best
US Team at that point in the
2002 Olympics to Canada.
Where was his coaching then?
USSR was overrated. They hit housed teams giving them a huge advantage.
Hit house Team Canada and the USSR might have won 1 Gold Medal between 1960-1980, maybe.
As it was, they still lost 2 out of
6 to US amateurs and lost the
1972 Super Series to Canada.
What's so phenomenal about that?
@@KMK7355 they beat Russia and lost to Canada in the finals in 2002. and that's bad?
you're fucking looney..........
move to Russia you loser
@@KMK7355 he coached the U.S. ONLY in 1980 and 2002. beat Russia both times. won a Gold medal and a silver medal. AND THAT'S BAD? hahahahahahahahahah
Brooks was hired as head coach of Minnesota in 1972. He would lead them to three NCAA championship titles in 1974, 1976, and 1979. 3 championships in less than 10 years
YOU'RE FUCKING WHACKED. show me another coach who's done this........
@@KMK7355 ASSHOLE....
Brooks only coached 2 Olympic teams. in 1980 and 2002.
HR DIDN'T COACH ANY OTHERS!! ONLY THOSE TWO!! AND HE WON GOLD AND SILVER!!
DO YOUR FUCKING RESEARCH MORON
He had basically a .500 record
in the NHL. He caught lightning in a bottle once, it happens in sports.
As far as his NCAA resume, yeah he was an excellent NCAA Coach
but he had the most fertile ground to recruit right in his backyard.
The best Minnesota HS kids were going there no matter what.
Very important scene to introduce the movie with. Herb Brooks talking about a fusion style of hockey. Canadian meets Russian hockey at the meeting and hopes the USA Team he builds can adapt to it in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Herb had his doubters in the conference room, but (like he said) he was looking for the right players over the best players for his Olympic hockey program.
Lurvy1963 he studied both schools of hockey.
They WERE THE BEST PLAYERS.
You could maybe argue 2-3 spots on the 1980 Team. However
everyone else were the best
players available at the conclusion
of the 1978-79 NCAA season.
Ralph Cox got injured, Langway, Mullen and Nilan were already
in the NHL\AHL.
Well lou that’s why I wanna pursue it
Thank you for telling us exactly what we just gathered from the video.
"Walter we don't have years, we have months" ya and pretty much half of the team already playing in Herb's system with the reigning National Champs.
Herb picked winners for this team. Every guy on that team was from a winning championship type team.
@@LiveINtheGood53 well not Eruzione. He graduated in 77 and BU won the national championship in 78 the year after he left but Herb liked his style. He was a grinder and hustler. He had a winner’s attitude and that’s what stuck with Herb.
Jim Craig was a big reason BU lost in the 1977 NCAA Semifinals
to Michigan. Gave up a horrible goal to Michigan. Highlights are on CZcams.
This is my idea of a good job interview. Be prepared to talk about the nature of the job and don’t be afraid to voice your opinions about such work.
And the rest is history. Never watched ice hockey before that Olympic Games but captivated by the underdog drama. One of the greatest American moments at the Olympics IMHO.
"Gold medalist in '64, '68, '72, '76...that's a pretty lofty goal Herb." Go big or go home.
Lou Nanne never would have said that. That's why Louie never liked the portrayal of him in this movie.
@@tom5848 I've heard that Lou & Herb were friends & if that's the case than I can see why Lou would not have liked this portrayal of himself.
I know this movie makes it sound like soviets were invincible, but Canada beat them in 72 and 76.
Not just that on Paper and in reality 99 times out of 100 the Russian Red Army Team was the Best Team in the World for a long long time. But not that Day
@@peterkyriopoulos2684 But you're still talking about Team Canada. Literally the best NHL players Canada could muster, and the Soviet national team still beat them multiple times in the Summit Series in 1972. It would be like the best college football players beating one of the best NFL teams, and someone saying, "well, this other professional football team beat that team too, so, its not that big a deal". I mean, this was pretty insane for them to pull off.
And this is why the 86 Celtics would wipe their ass with any team today.
Yup
That 86 Celtics team was loaded with talent. And if only Len Bias had lived, they would’ve made the Lakers look like the Sparks.
You mean aside from the 85 and 87 Lakers?
I’d bet any NHL player or coach would say this is the greatest hockey movie of all time.
Even better than Slap Shot?
@@starguy2718 yep
@@starguy2718 snapshot is a bad movie with a few funny scenes.
Man: _"That a pretty lofty goal, Herb."_
Herb: *"That's why I want to pursue it."*
And that's the dividing line between those who might become great and those who never will. You have to be willing to aim at the highest point possible to even try to reach it. If you can't even aim at it, don't even think about trying to reach it!
Herb Brooks had the boldness and the vision to give the team the best chance of success and ultimately the committee came to that conclusion as well, albeit reluctantly at first.
Success has many father's, failures have none. They probably jumped for joy at the win.
This person was a legend! And should always be remembered!
One of the greatest stories ever retold in one of the greatest movies ever. Herb brooks dialogue is absolutely iconic, beginning to end
“You don’t defend them…You ATTACK them!”
Different scene I know but damn the chills still show up on that line delivery.
Not only a great sports movie, but a great movie.
Grew up just a neighborhood over from Jim Craig’s brother in Newtown grant, PA. Talked to the guy a few times when I was a kid.
he reinvented the game in staggering turnaround for Team USA; brilliant leader
"All Star teams fail because they rely solely on the individuals talent"
- Oh how right he was and is...
That team was literally an
NCAA All Star Team from 1978-79.
2:36 - That's when he got the job.
Herb Brooks and Lou Nanne were very good friends and they are depicted here as distant. I heard Herb’s brother give an interview on local Minneapolis radio a while back. He commented that Herb took great delight in how the actor portraying Lou in the movie was a little twerp who looked like, “A chewed up piece of caramel” lol.
Herb died before the movie came out
@@Melissa-rt7uu true but he met with cast just prior to filming and was obviously aware who was portraying who in the film.
Why would Brooks give a shit about the actor portraying Nanne?
The actor was given a line to read.
Don. S. Davis having the look of General Hammond like "what the hell O'Neal came up with this time?" :D
idk why I'm watching all the clips of the movie, when I can just watch it haha
Watched this movie for the first time with my new wife on the flight to St. Thomas for our honeymoon. That was 17 years ago. I still think of it every time I watch this movie. I told our 4 kids about it when they watched it the first time.
That's great....."Pretty lofty goal, Herb......Well, that's why I want to pursue it"
Herb had a goal and vision and had studied the Soviets, he was the right man for the job
Herb Brooks never saw this movie… He lived it….
So much cigarette smoke in the room and yet, nobody's smoking LOL!
Love Bobs he lead nod reaction to Herbs answer "that's why I wanna pursue it"
Believe me, it's exaggerated strictly for drama. Nanne flat out knows hockey. I don't know anyone else in Minnesota whose opinions are more respected. Nanne knows the game and the players from the high school level clear through the pros. Aside from playing pro hockey and captaining the '68 US Olympic hockey team, he was an outstanding GM fot the North Stars. Nanne respected Herb greatly. I also know he has Zach Parise's ear. Parise trusts Nanne and has taken his advice on a number of decisions
CZcams Algorithmic Board of Safety who is Nanne?
@@davidgonzalez2580 In this scene he is the guy who says "That's a pretty lofty goal"
@@davidgonzalez2580 Lou Nanne. He's in the Miracle movie and the guy who plays him is portrayed as hating Herb Brooks and not agreeing with any decision Brooks made. Lou played college hockey at the University of Minnesota, played pro hockey with the North Stars, and was later their GM. He's basically Mr. Hockey in Minnesota.
With all due respect, Nanne was not the reason the 1980 team won the gold metal. Herb Brooks was.
@@CZcams.Algorithmic.F___kery nanne was a terrible GM for the north stars look no further than drafting Brian Lawton #1 with Steve Yzerman and pat LaFontaine available. Zach parise should have been out of Minnesota five years ago. Plus nanne is a cake eater from Edina.
This man got cut from the U.S.Olympic team in 1960 watching the team that he was a part of win on the couch with his pops. "Guess they took out the right man." said pops. In Herbs mind "Im wanna punch you but I will prove you wrong in 20 years."
I believe that he was the Last player cut before the Olympics.
@@anthonykobiec8569
And he was the team captain when they cut him
Fetisov when he came to the Devils explained what happened. He saw them as dangerous even though they beat them soundly in the exhibition said these guys are dangerous. The Soviets didn't really believe him and Kasatanov " allegedly " said we can beat these guys drunk. So they partied the night before and Fetisov said we got what we deserved. That's why " supposedly " Fetisov and Kasatanov despised each other when they played for the Devils.
And they played with a few of their former American opponents.
The key to an upset boils down to three things. One, the underdog must have some advantage, even an obscure one. The Americans were younger and more eager to win (even if they thought it was a pipe dream). Two, the underdog must have a coach who can exploit that advantage. Brooks trained them hard, until the young players were better conditioned than the Russians, and made them believe their pipe dream was no pipe dream. Three, the favoured contender must make a mistake. The Russians partied the night before (surprising Tikhonov would even consider allowing that), Tikhonov pulled Tretiak after the first period, didn't deploy younger players by the third period, didn't pull Myshkin for an extra attacker. And despite all those mistakes, they lost by just one goal (meaning, had they corrected just one mistake, the Russians would have won).
@@broadstreet21 Pulling the goaltender for Russia destroyed whatever psychological advantage they had. You have to remember this Russia team of all stars embarrassed the USA all stars in an exhibition. Yes it was an exhibition but man they got embarrassed. Fetisov explained what happened. I doubt he partied the night before but can you imagine the frustration Fetisov had to endure during that game. 4 years later Russia won another gold medal so beating Russia was definitely a miracle.
@@euclideszoto997 Tretiak was a negative psychological force on opponents, but Myshkin, even if he lacked Tretiak's psychological force, was still a top goaltender, who I believe beat out NHL all stars.
Furthermore, Russia had firepower. Even with an average goaltender, they normally should have won on offense - that should have left them some psychological advantage. That is had the young Americans not been conditioned. And had Tikhonov countered by playing his younger troops, instead of relying on the older ones.
@@broadstreet21 I always got the feeling the coach for Russia panicked. Did he know that these guys partied the night before because like you said he wasn't known for that. If you ever see the interview of Fetisov when he came to the Devils and his story of what happened you can still see a bit of disgust in him. You can definitely tell it is a sour memory.
“It wasn’t because you weren’t good enough”. So great.
One of the best midwestern accents I have heard in a movie, reminds me of home.
Well, if it's not dramatic it's not entertainig. I have to think all those guys on the board, including Nanne, doubted the Soviets could be beaten, but they all knew hockey and respected Herb. Funny how things work out because their first choice was BU's coach and he turned them down. Good thing he did!
Parker's wife died in March 1978.
She left behind two young daughters so no way Parker was going to take the job. It was pretty much Brooks job from the end of
the 1978 NCAA season.
This opening scene shows how determined Herb Brooks was! He was determined to get the job AND beat the Soviets! 🇺🇸
i love this scene.
anybody else have the Miracle DVD with the Herb Brooks interviews? They're really good, but i lost the DVD. wish they were on youtube.
Greatest sports moment in my lifetime!
The bald guy shaking his head like yup this is our guy
I just noticed after watching this a dozen times. At the end, at about 2:50, at the conclusion of the meeting, Herb ("Kurt Russel) reaches out to shake the guys hand next to him and he misses it. Kurt Russel just plays through and the scene didn't have to be reshot. I wonder who that actor was portraying and if that was intentional, or just a goof that made it through the final cut of the movie.
DON S. DAVIS
A.k.a. general George Hammond from Texas. From Stargate SG1
R.I.P.
All the haters were in that room… little did they know what the future held
That's what I loved most about this movie...how they illustrate Herb's commitment to a team concept and how that alone is what makes a champion. Sounds corny, I know...especially in this day and age when the name on the back has become more important than the one on the front!!
Lou Nanne was an advocate of Herb Brooks as coach from the very beginning. Herb and Lou both played on the 1968 US Olympic team together. They both went to the U of Minnesota and played hockey for the Golden Gophers. Lou Nanne played his entire NHL career in Minnesota for the North Stars. Herb and Lou go back decades. They really got this wrong here. He comes off like some slick smart ass who doubts everything Herb says. I could see Lou trying to not show his bias toward Herb Brooks, but they went way too far here if that was their intention.
Lou said he hated the way they portrayed him. He back Herb fully and pushed for his ideas, as he championed Brooks be named coach.
Still one of my favorite hockey movies and favorite scene of the movie. I've always been a fan of the European style of hockey....speed and creativity which is what the NHL is today but at the same time there still has to be body contact which seems to slowly dying in hockey. You never see a big hit anymore and when u do u got the team receiving the big CLEAN hit throwing a tantrum and go after the guy that made the hit lol. A good hockey game is both teams making nice plays, scoring goals and making big hits.
... The producers of the film took a lot of "creative license" in this particular scene - more so than any other point in the movie.
The USA hockey team won a silver medal in the 1972 Winter Olympics and finished fifth in 1976. Not world-beaters, but hardly embarrassing results.
There was no "15-1 loss to the Czech B-team" in 1976; the loss being alluded to was a 10-2 loss to the prime Czech club at the 1976 World Championship tournament, a tournament where the USA finished fourth. In fact, that same Czechoslovakian team ended up beating the Soviet Union and winning the championship. Hardly a "B-team."
And, as some have pointed out, in real life the USAHA was very familiar with Herb Brooks and his achievements at the U of Minnesota, and they had a good deal of respect for him. This scene treats Brooks almost as some sort of upstart nobody. Nothing could be further from the truth. He was one of the favorites to be the head coach for USA hockey from day one of preparing for the 1980 Olympics.
+J.T. Dutch True. They hired him precisely because they knew if anyone could mold the available talent into a team capable of competing for a gold medal, it was him.
Also, from what I've heard there was little to no talk about "beating the Soviets". They weren't even in the same group, and if they didn't beat the Swedes or the Czechoslovaks they wouldn't get a chance to play them. But of course, they were building to the climax of the film so they had to constantly refer to the 1979 Challenge Cup and show the team watching game film on a team they might never play.
lol bullshit there was no talk about beating the soviets. Did you live during the cold war? Everything was about beating the soviets even if it was never directly mentioned.
Unless they finished in the top 2 teams in their group (which was considered unlikely before the Olympics began) they were not even going to play the Soviets, so talking about a strategy against them was a moot point. I don't remember who it was, but in the aftermath of the movie coming out, one of the players said that was one of the exaggerated points about the movie -- all the talk about the Soviet team. They didn't sit there watching film about them in the middle of the season. Not until they made the medal round and had to face them.
I don't see it as the board members' lack of respect for Brooks. I see it as board members who are just being frank on the situation they're dealing with, money involved with a relatively short amount of time to prepare.
"Gold medalists in '64, '68, '72, '76... that's a pretty lofty goal, Herb."
"Do you believe in miracles?"
From 1960-1980 the USSR lost 2 of 6 Golds to the US. They lost the
1972 Super Series to Canada and
lost to Poland in the 1976 Worlds.
What is so phenomenal about that record over 20 years playing lots of punching bags like Japan and Holland?
Very goid team aided by being hot housed. If you had hot housed
Team Canada NHL 1960-1980
USSR might have won 1 Gold, maybe.
Second best sports film of all time behind the Natural, bar none. No discussion.
I often wondered why no one adopted the Flyers strategy from 1976. In that game they didn't only hit hard and intimidate the Soviets, they adopted a strategy of not chasing them around. They set up a picket fence at the blue line and didn't allow them to penetrate the zone. This looked like a sound strategy as it confused the Soviets and the Flyers ended up blowing them off the ice.
Could be the Flyers were much bigger grown men instead of college kids.
But we'll never know
Flyers were goons. They were the only team to beat the soviets largely I’m part to van Impe elbowing the soviets best player. The Canadians tied the soviets and swept the flyers in the finals that year.
@@alwillk the Flyers beat the Soviets because they wouldn't let them into their zone. And by intimidation. They won because they were better.
Favourite movie as a kid ... Lol same with ECW with my older brother... Haha
This was an interesting scene. Great movie. Hockey rules all the other sports!!!
WAS AT THE GAME- THING OF BEAUTY WHATCHING HIS SYSTEM WORK . !!!!!
In real life, Lou Nanne (smug guy listing off the recent Soviet success-yet failing to mention their Gold medal in 1956) was actually the individual who recommended Herb Brooks for,the job. He’s a fixture on sports talk radio and tv in the Twin Cities these days. One of the tribal elders of hockey in Minnesota.
Nanna was a Canadian, you know that?
My favorite part about this is the swagger involved in being the only psycho in the room and knowing it. I don't know how to fake that -- I've been on both sides for sure -- so acting it is really impressive to me.
"Call me Snake..."
"Herb, what happened? Herb?! HERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRB!"
A coach is he who sees that his team needs to change strategies not just get the famous most talented player who probably does not want to adapt to change
Kurt Russell nailed this role! Ones who could do just as good maybe Tom Hanks and Harrison Ford
This scene is as engaging as any of the "on ice" scenes.
There is a Stargate connection
I never thought Kurt could pull off Herb. I told my wife. How wrong could I be. And I'm a Kurt Russell fan. Kurt is Herb Brooks.
That’s a good movie. Kurt’s a damn good actor because he kept working at it, became better and better until he could produce this gem. I remember after seeing this being surprised at how good it was.
HIS STYLE WAS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN THE GREAT UCLA COACH Wooden, but then again he had 10 NT in 12 years, including 7 in a row! Still very interesting to contemplate. Each human & each human experience is different.
Wooden had far more competition
in hoop and Brooks never had to deal with the racial issue.
@@KMK7355 The two situations are apples and oranges for a number of different reasons.,
What's cool about this scene is that all of those facts were accurate.
It breaks my heart that Herb never got to see this.
Like it said at the end, he lived it
Amazing acting by Russell
Herb had brains 🧠 and balls, RIP Sir!
Best sports movie ever
Let’s bring in the best available guy for the job and then completely scoff at what he thinks is the best way to win.
Good thinking
Great film.
If you watch the actual game what Herb was really saying "I want to take Canadian style goons and teach them to pass" The 1980 Olympic team was PHYSICAL. Euros don't play that style and it knocked the soviets off their game mentally. Brilliant.
Did brooks somehow engineer it so we lost so badly to the soviets in the pre Olympic game? Soviet overconfidence was a key part of the miraculous upset
@@prorespluscom The kids didn't play the same way. My opinion is in the first game they were awe struck and didn't play the hard nosed style they did in the olympics. Watch both matches and you'll see the difference.
Paul,
Part of it was the US team was set
and the US players might have played not to get hurt.
I hope the movie was accurate in the sense that these “hockey minds” blew Herb off in the meeting. So once he had the team doing their thing he blew them off when they all seemed to get on the bandwagon and wanting to spend time with the team pre-game. Herb did this his way and proved what he said in the meeting. Not much is said in the hockey world of how impactful he was to hockey in the US and how the kids play the game now.
Did the guy sitting to Herb's right decline his hand shake?
It's Santa Claus 🧑🎄 🎅
Winners don't win because they try they win because That's all they think about winning
What I take from this, Herb Brooks is basically telling them there is no I in team, as cliche as it is, that is what he is doing without actually saying it.
Note when he says All Star Teams fail, because they rely soley on the individual's talent, note he uses the I word individual. He then states the Soviets win, because they take that talent and use it in their system designed for the betterment of the team, there's the t word Team. He basically sets the tone right off the bat, telling these guys he's not looking for talented individuals to play for his team.
My gosh I don’t know how poor herb lit up with all that BS from a bunch of negative losers! If these schlubs had as many solutions as they did excuses,’they might actually have won and herb wouldn’t have to be there! Thankfully he was!
2:24 My goal is to beat them at there own game. That is a pretty lofty goal Herb!
He got it right!
Yes
They sure made Lou Nanne look like a doosh!!
Just learned that he was pissed about how they portrayed him
General Hammond!!
14 people think that the U.S. hockey team should have gone with the status quo back in 1980 . . .
14 players who got posted to Siberia by the Red Army after losing to Herb's team.
Whelp, guess I'm watching Miracle again.
Hammond of Texas sure gets around
Hey he didn't even have to leave Colorado Springs.
Sabres should take note
This is why the Tampa Bay Lightning fail to win the Cup right now. Jon Cooper looks to let the individuals do what they want, but you put them up against a TEAM, a team that relies on mutual trust and chemistry, well then you know what happens.
@Chris Smith Not at all.
They just won now