1980 Hockey Team

[Craine]

Damn... That was cool....

[Josh '99]

Yo, you're right, that was awesome.

[AdamGanderson]

Just in case any of you don't know what the esteemed Mr. Craine is talking about:

http://sports.yahoo.com/oly/hockey/news/ap/20020209/ap-torchbearer-1980usteam.html

[Craine]

Cool... I've always wanted to be esteemed  ::nut::

[Robb]

Just want to pat myself on the back a bit - as soon as Dorothy Hammill and Dick Butthead, er, Button carried the torch into the arena, I said to my wife, "I bet Eruzione gets to light it."  Swear to Harkness.

[Al DeFlorio]

The 1960 gold medal hockey team was honored at a dinner in Salt Lake City last night.

Jack Riley, their coach, lives across the street.  He can be ornery--kinda like Ned--and has always felt his team's accomplishment is undervalued compared with the 1980 team.  Likely the result of TV, Al Michaels, and the increased visibility of hockey in the US in 1980 (only the six original NHL teams in 1960, IIRC).

[ugarte]

The 1960 team is undervalued compared to the 1980 team.  I don't think the 1960 team deserves to be relegated in that way, but I think the most important factor is being left out: how familiar the audience was with Tretiak, KLM, etc.  

From my too-young-to-remember-1980-very-well-either eyes, the N.A. audience "knew" the 1980 Soviet team better than the 1960 audience "knew" the 1960 Soviet team.  IIRC, North America had gotten to see the Soviets take on the best the NHL had to offer in the Canada Cup.  In 1980, we thought that we were playing a team that had proven itself worthy of competing for, if not winning, a Stanley Cup if they were to join the NHL as a franchise.  And in the Olympics, they were going to play a bunch of college kids.  

I get the sense that in 1960 everyone knew that we had pulled off an upset, but only because the papers said so - not because the audience (as opposed to the cognoscenti) really knew how good the opposition was.

[Al DeFlorio]

Very true, apple.  Probably the best indication anyone had of the strength of the Russians--at least to those who paid attention to such things in 1960--was their 18-1 win over Riley's US team the year before.

[jy3]

yeah i predicted eruzione to light it about half way thru the opening ceremonies :-) who else would have gotten the torch?
 ::nut::

[AdamGanderson]

I firmly believe the word "cognoscenti" should be used far more often.  It might just make this forum a better place.  : )