Mike Eruzione on the lessons behind the Miracle On Ice
Mike Eruzione, captain of the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team, revisited the moment he scored the winning goal against the Soviet Union and led his team to a gold medal over Finland — the sequence that gave rise to the miracle on ice — and laid out three lessons he believes explain how that group thrived. His reflections focus on mindset, the team’s living conditions in Lake Placid and how to handle outside criticism.
How the Miracle On Ice team lived in a "little cocoon" in Lake Placid
Eruzione said the U. S. team stayed in a little village in Lake Placid, N. Y., during the Olympics and called their living situation "a little cocoon. " There were three TV stations and obviously no social media, he said, which meant they weren’t aware of what was being said or written about them. Rather than going downtown to bars or restaurants, the players were just sharing the time in the village with their teammates and trying to enjoy the moment and embrace what they were doing.
Eruzione’s decisive moments against the Soviet Union and Finland
As captain, Eruzione scored the winning goal against the Soviet Union in the semifinals and then led his team to a gold medal with a win over Finland. Even amid all the buildup to those games, and even minutes beforehand, he said he wasn’t thinking too hard about what any of it meant. "I was just enjoying it, " he said, laughing, describing how he kept his focus in the immediate lead-up to those pivotal games.
The White House visit and the moment the scale sank in
It wasn’t until the team went to the White House that Eruzione had his "holy s— this thing is huge" moment. That realization came after the victories had already been won and celebrated, and it underscored the contrast between how he experienced the events and the larger public reaction. He said his sense of self didn’t come from Olympic success and that he remained steady: "I was very happy with who I was before the Olympics and very happy with who I am today, " he said.
Three lessons: avoid negative energy, lean on teammates, and keep perspective
Eruzione believes anyone can tap into the mindset that helped his team. He pointed to the team dynamic in Lake Placid — feeding off each other’s positive energy without having to spend energy blocking out negative comments — as crucial to their attitude throughout the games. He urged people to find ways to avoid negative energy in any form, saying, "There’s always going to be somebody that doesn’t like something that you do or are doing. "
On handling critics, he counseled a blunt practicality: "You’re always going to find somebody that’s critical of you. So ignore it. People can be cruel. And jealous. But we can’t control any of that anyway. Laugh it off or smile and just move on with your life. " That guidance, plus his view that one should enjoy the moment rather than overthink it, comprises the practical core of the three lessons he offered.
Illustrations credited to Dan Goldfarb and George Tiedemann
The piece includes illustrations credited to Dan Goldfarb and George Tiedemann.
