We all know that in 1994 the us had the better hockey team.
That's weak. The most impressive hockey team the US has ever assembled (talent wise no, but they were a great team, they had guts, character and a fantastic coach that knew how to beat the Soviets) was the miracle on ice.
I agree. Realize I was just poking fun at soul.
I absolutely enjoyed our 3 Olympic Gold Medals in hockey in the last few Olympics. But that team the US sent lake placid. Just impressive. I have watched the movie at least a dozen times...
Amazing movie!! I show it to my classes when I teach the Cold War. Again! Again!
a hockey movie for cold war teachings?
Oh hell yeah, kids love it. Fantastic movie.
Maybe you and I are the only people that understand the significance of that hockey victory in that time of history...
It was significant in exactly the same way the Kardashians are significant now.
hats your opinion...
You are welcome to refute it with evidence that the hockey match had an actual impact on the world and the state of the cold war beyond people's warm fuzzy surface thoughts and feelings, but I've never seen any.
Have you heard of Google? Try it...I like I said your opinion I could care a less about. You are more than welcome to google and post articles to back-up your case...
generally the party that makes the initial assertion is the one that is required to make the case.
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
We all know that in 1994 the us had the better hockey team.
That's weak. The most impressive hockey team the US has ever assembled (talent wise no, but they were a great team, they had guts, character and a fantastic coach that knew how to beat the Soviets) was the miracle on ice.
I agree. Realize I was just poking fun at soul.
I absolutely enjoyed our 3 Olympic Gold Medals in hockey in the last few Olympics. But that team the US sent lake placid. Just impressive. I have watched the movie at least a dozen times...
Amazing movie!! I show it to my classes when I teach the Cold War. Again! Again!
a hockey movie for cold war teachings?
Oh hell yeah, kids love it. Fantastic movie.
Maybe you and I are the only people that understand the significance of that hockey victory in that time of history...
It was significant in exactly the same way the Kardashians are significant now.
hats your opinion...
You are welcome to refute it with evidence that the hockey match had an actual impact on the world and the state of the cold war beyond people's warm fuzzy surface thoughts and feelings, but I've never seen any.
Have you heard of Google? Try it...I like I said your opinion I could care a less about. You are more than welcome to google and post articles to back-up your case...
generally the party that makes the initial assertion is the one that is required to make the case.
We all know that in 1994 the us had the better hockey team.
That's weak. The most impressive hockey team the US has ever assembled (talent wise no, but they were a great team, they had guts, character and a fantastic coach that knew how to beat the Soviets) was the miracle on ice.
I agree. Realize I was just poking fun at soul.
I absolutely enjoyed our 3 Olympic Gold Medals in hockey in the last few Olympics. But that team the US sent lake placid. Just impressive. I have watched the movie at least a dozen times...
Amazing movie!! I show it to my classes when I teach the Cold War. Again! Again!
a hockey movie for cold war teachings?
Oh hell yeah, kids love it. Fantastic movie.
Maybe you and I are the only people that understand the significance of that hockey victory in that time of history...
It was significant in exactly the same way the Kardashians are significant now.
hats your opinion...
You are welcome to refute it with evidence that the hockey match had an actual impact on the world and the state of the cold war beyond people's warm fuzzy surface thoughts and feelings, but I've never seen any.
Have you heard of Google? Try it...I like I said your opinion I could care a less about. You are more than welcome to google and post articles to back-up your case...
generally the party that makes the initial assertion is the one that is required to make the case.
There are rules now. Yeah I'm sure.
huh? that's basically how it works. it irks me when people around here, or in real life:
Person 1 makes statement of claim Person 2 questions Person 1's statement Person 1 dismisses Person 2 with "do your own research"
it's weak and delegitimizes what Person 1 said.
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
We all know that in 1994 the us had the better hockey team.
That's weak. The most impressive hockey team the US has ever assembled (talent wise no, but they were a great team, they had guts, character and a fantastic coach that knew how to beat the Soviets) was the miracle on ice.
I agree. Realize I was just poking fun at soul.
I absolutely enjoyed our 3 Olympic Gold Medals in hockey in the last few Olympics. But that team the US sent lake placid. Just impressive. I have watched the movie at least a dozen times...
Amazing movie!! I show it to my classes when I teach the Cold War. Again! Again!
a hockey movie for cold war teachings?
Oh hell yeah, kids love it. Fantastic movie.
Maybe you and I are the only people that understand the significance of that hockey victory in that time of history...
It was significant in exactly the same way the Kardashians are significant now.
hats your opinion...
You are welcome to refute it with evidence that the hockey match had an actual impact on the world and the state of the cold war beyond people's warm fuzzy surface thoughts and feelings, but I've never seen any.
Have you heard of Google? Try it...I like I said your opinion I could care a less about. You are more than welcome to google and post articles to back-up your case...
I am supposed to prove I've never seen evidence of tangible impact with Google? How does that work?
We all know that in 1994 the us had the better hockey team.
That's weak. The most impressive hockey team the US has ever assembled (talent wise no, but they were a great team, they had guts, character and a fantastic coach that knew how to beat the Soviets) was the miracle on ice.
I agree. Realize I was just poking fun at soul.
I absolutely enjoyed our 3 Olympic Gold Medals in hockey in the last few Olympics. But that team the US sent lake placid. Just impressive. I have watched the movie at least a dozen times...
Amazing movie!! I show it to my classes when I teach the Cold War. Again! Again!
a hockey movie for cold war teachings?
Oh hell yeah, kids love it. Fantastic movie.
Maybe you and I are the only people that understand the significance of that hockey victory in that time of history...
It was significant in exactly the same way the Kardashians are significant now.
hats your opinion...
You are welcome to refute it with evidence that the hockey match had an actual impact on the world and the state of the cold war beyond people's warm fuzzy surface thoughts and feelings, but I've never seen any.
Have you heard of Google? Try it...I like I said your opinion I could care a less about. You are more than welcome to google and post articles to back-up your case...
generally the party that makes the initial assertion is the one that is required to make the case.
There are rules now. Yeah I'm sure.
This has always been the case.
It's not so much a matter of formal rules, as it is establishing one's credibility when asserting something that might be challenged.
As for the miracle... in my neck of the woods, we found the outcome to be marvelous- a true underdog overcoming exceptional odds. There was no national envy on Canadian's part: there was an authentic altruistic feeling for the US and its team coupled with respect.
"We beat the Russians" the impact of the 1980 Olympic hockey team
We all know it happened at the height of the cold war. America, much as it is today, was terribly divided. Domestic frustrations were running incredibly high. But not as high as the international tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
We desperately needed a shot in the arm. And from mid to late February, 1980 we certainly got it. The underdog United States Olympic hockey team gave us all a lift when it beat the overwhelming favorite and undisputed greatest team in the world.
The best part was not in the winning. It was how they won. They used good old fashioned American work ethic. Something many in our country feared was quickly evaporating. The impact was immediate and astounding.
In forward Buzz Schneider's hometown of Babbitt, Minnesota, men went out into their yards and began firing shotguns into the air. Like they did sometimes on New Year's Eve.
One scene was happening all over the U.S. People driving along highways were pulling over and getting out of their vehicles. They were dancing, and hugging strangers, and screaming " WE BEAT THE RUSSIANS ! " We beat the Russians. We. Not those unknown kids over in Lake Placid, New York playing a hockey game. We.
In Winthrop, Ma., more than 50 people gathered outside the home of the hockey team's captain, Mike Eruzione. During the celebration they spontaneously began singing the national anthem. What a sight that must of been.
My favorite story happened three thousand miles from the Olympic venue. In Santa Monica, California. A local photographer went into his hometown grocery store. Just a little mom and pop place run by an immigrant man and his wife. "Guess what?" He began. "Our boys beat the Russians." The old grocer's eyes welled. "No kidding?" He replied. And as the tears began to fall down his cheeks he asked again. "No kidding?"
The Cold War ended in the third period of a hockey game 30 years ago in Lake Placid, N.Y.
That's when Mike Eruzione, captain of the U.S. Olympic hockey team, scored the game-winning goal against the Russians. The toppling of the Berlin Wall nine years later, wonderful and historic as it was, was almost a formality after that.
The Russians seemed invincible. They had won ice hockey gold medals in the previous four Olympics and had defeated the Americans 10-3 not long before the 1980 Games. Small wonder that the Americans' victory has been called a miracle both then and now, but it's only a miracle if you can't explain it.
The Americans beat the Russians on the ice the same way that freedom won the Cold War. A team of plucky kids who didn't seem to have much of a chance -- not really hockey's "wretched refuse," but you get the picture -- pulled themselves up by their skate strings, outworked everyone else, and defeated the best team that soulless Soviet state planning could produce. That those boys were led by a man in search of redemption -- coach Herb Brooks, the last player cut from the gold medal-winning 1960 U.S. team -- makes the story even more American.
It's hard for today's young people to imagine what the country had been like in the years prior to Eruzione's goal. The United States had suffered through Vietnam, Watergate, and the wrenching upheavals of the 1960s, when people burned flags instead of waving them.
The previous three-plus years under President Jimmy Carter had been marked by inflation and humiliation caused by the prolonged imprisonment of American hostages by Iranian revolutionaries. Wordwide, there were many people shouting "Death to America!" and no one chanting "U.S.A.!"
Momentum seemed to be on the Soviet Union's side. It's not that Eruzione's goal forever changed world history. The United States would have won the Cold War even if Soviet goaltender Vladimir Myshkin had managed to get a stick on the shot.
American democracy and capitalism, as long as they have stayed true to their principles, have been the greatest wealth-producing engines ever created by man. Meanwhile Soviet-style communism was destined to crumble under its own weight.
But the goal did give the country a shot of confidence when it really needed it and, coming when it did, marked a turning point that foreshadowed its resurgence. The next decade would see Ronald Reagan's national recovery, victory in the Cold War, and the country's emergence as the world's lone superpower. Communist dictatorships toppled across the globe and were replaced by political and economic systems attempting to replicate America's wealth and freedoms. Thirty years later, another Winter Olympics is being held, and this time, the only Cold War being contested is the one on the ice. The 2010 U.S. hockey team, now a collection of National Hockey League millionaires, was one of the top seeds in this year's Games. The Russians are back as well, and this time they play for a democracy, sort of. Women now compete in hockey, and the Americans' coach, Mark Johnson, was one of the stars of the 1980 team.
It's a world many could not have envisioned 30 years ago, and a goal in the third period of a hockey game in Lake Placid, New York, helped make it possible.
"We beat the Russians" the impact of the 1980 Olympic hockey team
We all know it happened at the height of the cold war. America, much as it is today, was terribly divided. Domestic frustrations were running incredibly high. But not as high as the international tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
We desperately needed a shot in the arm. And from mid to late February, 1980 we certainly got it. The underdog United States Olympic hockey team gave us all a lift when it beat the overwhelming favorite and undisputed greatest team in the world.
The best part was not in the winning. It was how they won. They used good old fashioned American work ethic. Something many in our country feared was quickly evaporating. The impact was immediate and astounding.
In forward Buzz Schneider's hometown of Babbitt, Minnesota, men went out into their yards and began firing shotguns into the air. Like they did sometimes on New Year's Eve.
One scene was happening all over the U.S. People driving along highways were pulling over and getting out of their vehicles. They were dancing, and hugging strangers, and screaming " WE BEAT THE RUSSIANS ! " We beat the Russians. We. Not those unknown kids over in Lake Placid, New York playing a hockey game. We.
In Winthrop, Ma., more than 50 people gathered outside the home of the hockey team's captain, Mike Eruzione. During the celebration they spontaneously began singing the national anthem. What a sight that must of been.
My favorite story happened three thousand miles from the Olympic venue. In Santa Monica, California. A local photographer went into his hometown grocery store. Just a little mom and pop place run by an immigrant man and his wife. "Guess what?" He began. "Our boys beat the Russians." The old grocer's eyes welled. "No kidding?" He replied. And as the tears began to fall down his cheeks he asked again. "No kidding?"
I gotta say I'm with gambs on this one. did it have a cultural impact? sure. but to me it's pretty sad that we, as a society, lend any credence to grown men beating other grown men in a sport, like we had just won a literal war, not a figurative one.
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
"We beat the Russians" the impact of the 1980 Olympic hockey team
We all know it happened at the height of the cold war. America, much as it is today, was terribly divided. Domestic frustrations were running incredibly high. But not as high as the international tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
We desperately needed a shot in the arm. And from mid to late February, 1980 we certainly got it. The underdog United States Olympic hockey team gave us all a lift when it beat the overwhelming favorite and undisputed greatest team in the world.
The best part was not in the winning. It was how they won. They used good old fashioned American work ethic. Something many in our country feared was quickly evaporating. The impact was immediate and astounding.
In forward Buzz Schneider's hometown of Babbitt, Minnesota, men went out into their yards and began firing shotguns into the air. Like they did sometimes on New Year's Eve.
One scene was happening all over the U.S. People driving along highways were pulling over and getting out of their vehicles. They were dancing, and hugging strangers, and screaming " WE BEAT THE RUSSIANS ! " We beat the Russians. We. Not those unknown kids over in Lake Placid, New York playing a hockey game. We.
In Winthrop, Ma., more than 50 people gathered outside the home of the hockey team's captain, Mike Eruzione. During the celebration they spontaneously began singing the national anthem. What a sight that must of been.
My favorite story happened three thousand miles from the Olympic venue. In Santa Monica, California. A local photographer went into his hometown grocery store. Just a little mom and pop place run by an immigrant man and his wife. "Guess what?" He began. "Our boys beat the Russians." The old grocer's eyes welled. "No kidding?" He replied. And as the tears began to fall down his cheeks he asked again. "No kidding?"
I gotta say I'm with gambs on this one. did it have a cultural impact? sure. but to me it's pretty sad that we, as a society, lend any credence to grown men beating other grown men in a sport, like we had just won a literal war, not a figurative one.
I dunno.
I mean if you couple that event with Red Dawn and Rocky IV... maybe they're onto something?
"We beat the Russians" the impact of the 1980 Olympic hockey team
We all know it happened at the height of the cold war. America, much as it is today, was terribly divided. Domestic frustrations were running incredibly high. But not as high as the international tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
We desperately needed a shot in the arm. And from mid to late February, 1980 we certainly got it. The underdog United States Olympic hockey team gave us all a lift when it beat the overwhelming favorite and undisputed greatest team in the world.
The best part was not in the winning. It was how they won. They used good old fashioned American work ethic. Something many in our country feared was quickly evaporating. The impact was immediate and astounding.
In forward Buzz Schneider's hometown of Babbitt, Minnesota, men went out into their yards and began firing shotguns into the air. Like they did sometimes on New Year's Eve.
One scene was happening all over the U.S. People driving along highways were pulling over and getting out of their vehicles. They were dancing, and hugging strangers, and screaming " WE BEAT THE RUSSIANS ! " We beat the Russians. We. Not those unknown kids over in Lake Placid, New York playing a hockey game. We.
In Winthrop, Ma., more than 50 people gathered outside the home of the hockey team's captain, Mike Eruzione. During the celebration they spontaneously began singing the national anthem. What a sight that must of been.
My favorite story happened three thousand miles from the Olympic venue. In Santa Monica, California. A local photographer went into his hometown grocery store. Just a little mom and pop place run by an immigrant man and his wife. "Guess what?" He began. "Our boys beat the Russians." The old grocer's eyes welled. "No kidding?" He replied. And as the tears began to fall down his cheeks he asked again. "No kidding?"
"We beat the Russians" the impact of the 1980 Olympic hockey team
We all know it happened at the height of the cold war. America, much as it is today, was terribly divided. Domestic frustrations were running incredibly high. But not as high as the international tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
We desperately needed a shot in the arm. And from mid to late February, 1980 we certainly got it. The underdog United States Olympic hockey team gave us all a lift when it beat the overwhelming favorite and undisputed greatest team in the world.
The best part was not in the winning. It was how they won. They used good old fashioned American work ethic. Something many in our country feared was quickly evaporating. The impact was immediate and astounding.
In forward Buzz Schneider's hometown of Babbitt, Minnesota, men went out into their yards and began firing shotguns into the air. Like they did sometimes on New Year's Eve.
One scene was happening all over the U.S. People driving along highways were pulling over and getting out of their vehicles. They were dancing, and hugging strangers, and screaming " WE BEAT THE RUSSIANS ! " We beat the Russians. We. Not those unknown kids over in Lake Placid, New York playing a hockey game. We.
In Winthrop, Ma., more than 50 people gathered outside the home of the hockey team's captain, Mike Eruzione. During the celebration they spontaneously began singing the national anthem. What a sight that must of been.
My favorite story happened three thousand miles from the Olympic venue. In Santa Monica, California. A local photographer went into his hometown grocery store. Just a little mom and pop place run by an immigrant man and his wife. "Guess what?" He began. "Our boys beat the Russians." The old grocer's eyes welled. "No kidding?" He replied. And as the tears began to fall down his cheeks he asked again. "No kidding?"
If I had time and ambition, I could copy that and replace all the talk of hockey victory in the face of cold war desperation with escapism and dreams of financial mobility in the face of a crippling economic recession. The instances of people celebrating could be replaced with people binge watching and buying superfluous products. Or I could use Duck Dynasty and replace with country nostalgia, etc.
I would also say, if you read that little article with a country like North Korea in mind, it becomes a little scary. "In Winthrop, Ma., more than 50 people gathered outside the home of the hockey team's captain, Mike Eruzione. During the celebration they spontaneously began singing the national anthem. What a sight that must of been." Sounds like a North Korea/Dear Leader kind of thing if you think about it.
Ultimately, to me, they are both cases of people being overly sentimental about things the TV told them they should care about.
The Cold War ended in the third period of a hockey game 30 years ago in Lake Placid, N.Y.
That's when Mike Eruzione, captain of the U.S. Olympic hockey team, scored the game-winning goal against the Russians. The toppling of the Berlin Wall nine years later, wonderful and historic as it was, was almost a formality after that.
The Russians seemed invincible. They had won ice hockey gold medals in the previous four Olympics and had defeated the Americans 10-3 not long before the 1980 Games. Small wonder that the Americans' victory has been called a miracle both then and now, but it's only a miracle if you can't explain it.
The Americans beat the Russians on the ice the same way that freedom won the Cold War. A team of plucky kids who didn't seem to have much of a chance -- not really hockey's "wretched refuse," but you get the picture -- pulled themselves up by their skate strings, outworked everyone else, and defeated the best team that soulless Soviet state planning could produce. That those boys were led by a man in search of redemption -- coach Herb Brooks, the last player cut from the gold medal-winning 1960 U.S. team -- makes the story even more American.
It's hard for today's young people to imagine what the country had been like in the years prior to Eruzione's goal. The United States had suffered through Vietnam, Watergate, and the wrenching upheavals of the 1960s, when people burned flags instead of waving them.
The previous three-plus years under President Jimmy Carter had been marked by inflation and humiliation caused by the prolonged imprisonment of American hostages by Iranian revolutionaries. Wordwide, there were many people shouting "Death to America!" and no one chanting "U.S.A.!"
Momentum seemed to be on the Soviet Union's side. It's not that Eruzione's goal forever changed world history. The United States would have won the Cold War even if Soviet goaltender Vladimir Myshkin had managed to get a stick on the shot.
American democracy and capitalism, as long as they have stayed true to their principles, have been the greatest wealth-producing engines ever created by man. Meanwhile Soviet-style communism was destined to crumble under its own weight.
But the goal did give the country a shot of confidence when it really needed it and, coming when it did, marked a turning point that foreshadowed its resurgence. The next decade would see Ronald Reagan's national recovery, victory in the Cold War, and the country's emergence as the world's lone superpower. Communist dictatorships toppled across the globe and were replaced by political and economic systems attempting to replicate America's wealth and freedoms. Thirty years later, another Winter Olympics is being held, and this time, the only Cold War being contested is the one on the ice. The 2010 U.S. hockey team, now a collection of National Hockey League millionaires, was one of the top seeds in this year's Games. The Russians are back as well, and this time they play for a democracy, sort of. Women now compete in hockey, and the Americans' coach, Mark Johnson, was one of the stars of the 1980 team.
It's a world many could not have envisioned 30 years ago, and a goal in the third period of a hockey game in Lake Placid, New York, helped make it possible.
A fine example of hindsight bias.
my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
We all know that in 1994 the us had the better hockey team.
That's weak. The most impressive hockey team the US has ever assembled (talent wise no, but they were a great team, they had guts, character and a fantastic coach that knew how to beat the Soviets) was the miracle on ice.
I agree. Realize I was just poking fun at soul.
I absolutely enjoyed our 3 Olympic Gold Medals in hockey in the last few Olympics. But that team the US sent lake placid. Just impressive. I have watched the movie at least a dozen times...
Amazing movie!! I show it to my classes when I teach the Cold War. Again! Again!
a hockey movie for cold war teachings?
Oh hell yeah, kids love it. Fantastic movie.
Maybe you and I are the only people that understand the significance of that hockey victory in that time of history...
It was significant in exactly the same way the Kardashians are significant now.
hats your opinion...
You are welcome to refute it with evidence that the hockey match had an actual impact on the world and the state of the cold war beyond people's warm fuzzy surface thoughts and feelings, but I've never seen any.
I know what you're saying... but attitudes like this actually mattered back then. They really did impact Cold War relations. That's part of why it was called a Cold War and not a War War. I know this seems a bit strange, but it was a strange thing, the Cold War, and American/Soviet relations and everything. One significant front in that War was indeed public perception and shit like that. It was part of the propaganda machine.
Post edited by PJ_Soul on
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
Speaking of ending the Cold War, Rocky IV was released yesterday in 1985.
I loooooove Rocky IV. I'm a really huge fan of that franchise (can't wait for the new Creed movie!). Also, my dad is actually in Rocky IV, lol. The Russia fight was filmed in the PNE's Agrodome, and my dad went there for a couple days as an extra. They gave him a Russian fur hat to wear, lol, and to this day he talks about how exciting it was to get the free lunch they served to everyone. I think this experience must have been what gave him the "acting bug" or whatever. When he retired early at 57, he just went and got himself an agent and became a movie extra. He's been in TONS of movies and TV shows since then.
Post edited by PJ_Soul on
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
I just finished reading this piece (it speaks to Canada and the US- both having been compared at length in this thread):
Dear Canada,
You
need to know that my husband and I weren’t looking for love, but there
you were. I was born in Virginia, and my husband is from western New
York. We love our own precious country but, being what we consider true
patriots, we are not blind to its faults – particularly at the present
time.
Our love for you crept up on us slowly and, before we even knew what was happening, we were head over heels.
I
started coming to visit you in 1978 with my future husband for a change
of pace. These days, we visit at least twice a year, some years more
than that. We mostly head to Toronto, but also visit a number of your
other cities as well, including Vancouver, Windsor, Ottawa, Montreal,
Quebec City, not to mention almost every town on the highway between
Buffalo and Toronto.
The
first thing that captivated us was, yes, the stereotype: Everyone is so
very polite, so very nice. Such a small, subtle thing; such a
critically important indicator of a country’s values and culture, such a
civilized thing. And we absolutely delight in the fact that, being the
humble, funny country that you are, you have a long-running national
practice of making jokes about saying “sorry” too much.
When
visiting during the celebrations for your 150th anniversary, we saw a
sign on a store: “Celebrating 150 Years of Being Nice.” Was it a
corporate public-relations slogan? Of course. But of all the infinite
possibilities a country has to describe itself, what country celebrates that? You do, Canada.
We love that Toronto is considered one of the most multicultural cities on the planet. The
fact that downtown Toronto has banners reading “We’ve Been Expecting
You.” Every time we see those banners, my husband and I get a little
emotional, because for us, Canada, this sums you up in four words.
Our
emotions are shocking, because we are extremely pragmatic people. I am a
long-time trial lawyer with a skin so thick that turtles are jealous,
and neither of us are usually given to such displays. But you’ve done
that to us, Canada.
We love
Toronto’s Santa Claus parade. Well, what we really love is walking among
everyone gathered to watch prior to the parade. Children, yes, but so,
so many adults risking looking silly by wearing crazy Christmas
headgear, all in the service of joy. A street vendor with Christmas
lights on his turban. Runners in Santa gear. Although the parade itself
is fun, we skip it most years, as we’ve already found the day’s
treasure.
We love that you can find Hockey Night in Canada – Punjabi Version.
We love the gentleman outside SkyDome (sorry, not Rogers Centre) at
most Toronto Blue Jays games wearing full Scottish gear. Because nothing
says baseball like a man in a kilt playing the bagpipes.
We
love that you tweaked a line in the national anthem from “thy sons” to
“of us.” Having the courage and morality to change your mightily beloved
national anthem to become more gender inclusive. Well done, so very,
very well done, Canada. Because that’s what a civilized country does.
We
love that in Canada, you write sympathetic TV comedies about mosques,
on the prairie, no less. And – as if we needed another reason – we love
your ice dancers, Tessa and Scott. You are just taunting us with these
two!
We could mention the quaint,
Old World charm of Quebec City, or the stunning beauty of Vancouver.
But, like any true love, Canada, we love you for who you are, not what
you look like. And even though we adore you, we are not blind to your
faults, either. We know that you have your own problems, most
importantly your continuing treatment of the Indigenous. But if there is
one country on this earth that we believe will eventually right its
wrongs, it’s you.
But it was while attending a Jays game
on one of our visits in July that made me start writing this letter.
Between innings, a red and white sign on the scoreboard flashed “Welcome
To Canada!” and then showed a family with an Arab last name.
The Guess Who’s Share the Land
was playing: “Maybe I’ll be there to shake your hand/Maybe I’ll be
there to share the land/They’ll be giving away when we all live
together.”
The crowd applauded wildly during all of this, 100 per cent of the crowd applauded wildly – not one person booed.
I
watched this with total stunned delight, but also thought sadly about
how different this would be in my own country, if it even happened at
all. Only my mule-like stubbornness kept me from bawling right there
among 50,000 people. Thank goodness my husband managed to keep himself
together.
Canada, this says everything to us about you, everything.
In
fairness to our own country, our borders and our immigration history
are different. Comparing the two, truly, is like comparing apples and
oranges. On the other hand, given our own past history of how we treat
“other” people in the United States who are not immigrants, I am not so
sure that a comparison is totally unfair, either.
So, now you know, O Canada, why I had to write this letter. For a long time, our hearts have been glowing, too.
Critics Consensus: Creed II's adherence to franchise formula adds up to a sequel with few true surprises, but its time-tested generational themes still pack a solid punch.
"Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
Yes, it's the best, and the Rocky franchise is the best sports movie franchise, easy.
There are loads of other great sports movies of course, but nothing tops the Italian Stallion. And I can never stop being so impressed with Sylvester Stallone because of his Rocky work. It's amazing. And the way he came out with that out of complete obscurity, and won the Oscar.... it's amazing. I actually did a speech for a school public speaking contest in 1985 all about Sylvester Stallone. I've always been such a Sly fangirl, lol.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
I have deep love for the Rocky franchise, but I think there are much better sports movies out there. Even within boxing movies, I don't think Rocky can hold a candle to Cinderella Man in terms of acting performance, cinematography, fight choreography, and just about everything except nostalgia.
Comments
-EV 8/14/93
Person 1 makes statement of claim
Person 2 questions Person 1's statement
Person 1 dismisses Person 2 with "do your own research"
it's weak and delegitimizes what Person 1 said.
-EV 8/14/93
This has always been the case.
It's not so much a matter of formal rules, as it is establishing one's credibility when asserting something that might be challenged.
As for the miracle... in my neck of the woods, we found the outcome to be marvelous- a true underdog overcoming exceptional odds. There was no national envy on Canadian's part: there was an authentic altruistic feeling for the US and its team coupled with respect.
Can we say the same for Kim and Khloe?
http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-sports-heroes-then-now/2018/02/we-beat-the-russians-the-impact-of-the-1980-olympic-hockey-team/"We beat the Russians" the impact of the 1980 Olympic hockey team
We all know it happened at the height of the cold war. America, much as it is today, was terribly divided. Domestic frustrations were running incredibly high. But not as high as the international tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
We desperately needed a shot in the arm. And from mid to late February, 1980 we certainly got it. The underdog United States Olympic hockey team gave us all a lift when it beat the overwhelming favorite and undisputed greatest team in the world.
The best part was not in the winning. It was how they won. They used good old fashioned American work ethic. Something many in our country feared was quickly evaporating. The impact was immediate and astounding.
In forward Buzz Schneider's hometown of Babbitt, Minnesota, men went out into their yards and began firing shotguns into the air. Like they did sometimes on New Year's Eve.
One scene was happening all over the U.S. People driving along highways were pulling over and getting out of their vehicles. They were dancing, and hugging strangers, and screaming " WE BEAT THE RUSSIANS ! " We beat the Russians. We. Not those unknown kids over in Lake Placid, New York playing a hockey game. We.
In Winthrop, Ma., more than 50 people gathered outside the home of the hockey team's captain, Mike Eruzione. During the celebration they spontaneously began singing the national anthem. What a sight that must of been.
My favorite story happened three thousand miles from the Olympic venue. In Santa Monica, California. A local photographer went into his hometown grocery store. Just a little mom and pop place run by an immigrant man and his wife. "Guess what?" He began. "Our boys beat the Russians." The old grocer's eyes welled. "No kidding?" He replied. And as the tears began to fall down his cheeks he asked again. "No kidding?"
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2010-02-28-sfl-newnncol022810-story.html
The Cold War ended in the third period of a hockey game 30 years ago in Lake Placid, N.Y.
That's when Mike Eruzione, captain of the U.S. Olympic hockey team, scored the game-winning goal against the Russians. The toppling of the Berlin Wall nine years later, wonderful and historic as it was, was almost a formality after that.
The Russians seemed invincible. They had won ice hockey gold medals in the previous four Olympics and had defeated the Americans 10-3 not long before the 1980 Games. Small wonder that the Americans' victory has been called a miracle both then and now, but it's only a miracle if you can't explain it.
The Americans beat the Russians on the ice the same way that freedom won the Cold War. A team of plucky kids who didn't seem to have much of a chance -- not really hockey's "wretched refuse," but you get the picture -- pulled themselves up by their skate strings, outworked everyone else, and defeated the best team that soulless Soviet state planning could produce. That those boys were led by a man in search of redemption -- coach Herb Brooks, the last player cut from the gold medal-winning 1960 U.S. team -- makes the story even more American.
It's hard for today's young people to imagine what the country had been like in the years prior to Eruzione's goal. The United States had suffered through Vietnam, Watergate, and the wrenching upheavals of the 1960s, when people burned flags instead of waving them.
The previous three-plus years under President Jimmy Carter had been marked by inflation and humiliation caused by the prolonged imprisonment of American hostages by Iranian revolutionaries. Wordwide, there were many people shouting "Death to America!" and no one chanting "U.S.A.!"
Momentum seemed to be on the Soviet Union's side. It's not that Eruzione's goal forever changed world history. The United States would have won the Cold War even if Soviet goaltender Vladimir Myshkin had managed to get a stick on the shot.
American democracy and capitalism, as long as they have stayed true to their principles, have been the greatest wealth-producing engines ever created by man. Meanwhile Soviet-style communism was destined to crumble under its own weight.
But the goal did give the country a shot of confidence when it really needed it and, coming when it did, marked a turning point that foreshadowed its resurgence. The next decade would see Ronald Reagan's national recovery, victory in the Cold War, and the country's emergence as the world's lone superpower. Communist dictatorships toppled across the globe and were replaced by political and economic systems attempting to replicate America's wealth and freedoms. Thirty years later, another Winter Olympics is being held, and this time, the only Cold War being contested is the one on the ice. The 2010 U.S. hockey team, now a collection of National Hockey League millionaires, was one of the top seeds in this year's Games. The Russians are back as well, and this time they play for a democracy, sort of. Women now compete in hockey, and the Americans' coach, Mark Johnson, was one of the stars of the 1980 team.
It's a world many could not have envisioned 30 years ago, and a goal in the third period of a hockey game in Lake Placid, New York, helped make it possible.
-EV 8/14/93
I dunno.
I mean if you couple that event with Red Dawn and Rocky IV... maybe they're onto something?
The instances of people celebrating could be replaced with people binge watching and buying superfluous products.
Or I could use Duck Dynasty and replace with country nostalgia, etc.
I would also say, if you read that little article with a country like North Korea in mind, it becomes a little scary.
"In Winthrop, Ma., more than 50 people gathered outside the home of the hockey team's captain, Mike Eruzione. During the celebration they spontaneously began singing the national anthem. What a sight that must of been." Sounds like a North Korea/Dear Leader kind of thing if you think about it.
Ultimately, to me, they are both cases of people being overly sentimental about things the TV told them they should care about.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/newsgoodnews/man-donates-dollar1000-checks-to-paradise-high-students-staff-displaced-by-wildfire/ar-BBQcqJj?li=BBnbcA1
-EV 8/14/93
All you need.
Dear Canada,
You need to know that my husband and I weren’t looking for love, but there you were. I was born in Virginia, and my husband is from western New York. We love our own precious country but, being what we consider true patriots, we are not blind to its faults – particularly at the present time.
Our love for you crept up on us slowly and, before we even knew what was happening, we were head over heels.I started coming to visit you in 1978 with my future husband for a change of pace. These days, we visit at least twice a year, some years more than that. We mostly head to Toronto, but also visit a number of your other cities as well, including Vancouver, Windsor, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, not to mention almost every town on the highway between Buffalo and Toronto.
The first thing that captivated us was, yes, the stereotype: Everyone is so very polite, so very nice. Such a small, subtle thing; such a critically important indicator of a country’s values and culture, such a civilized thing. And we absolutely delight in the fact that, being the humble, funny country that you are, you have a long-running national practice of making jokes about saying “sorry” too much.
When visiting during the celebrations for your 150th anniversary, we saw a sign on a store: “Celebrating 150 Years of Being Nice.” Was it a corporate public-relations slogan? Of course. But of all the infinite possibilities a country has to describe itself, what country celebrates that? You do, Canada.We love that Toronto is considered one of the most multicultural cities on the planet. The fact that downtown Toronto has banners reading “We’ve Been Expecting You.” Every time we see those banners, my husband and I get a little emotional, because for us, Canada, this sums you up in four words.
Our emotions are shocking, because we are extremely pragmatic people. I am a long-time trial lawyer with a skin so thick that turtles are jealous, and neither of us are usually given to such displays. But you’ve done that to us, Canada.
We love Toronto’s Santa Claus parade. Well, what we really love is walking among everyone gathered to watch prior to the parade. Children, yes, but so, so many adults risking looking silly by wearing crazy Christmas headgear, all in the service of joy. A street vendor with Christmas lights on his turban. Runners in Santa gear. Although the parade itself is fun, we skip it most years, as we’ve already found the day’s treasure.
We love that you can find Hockey Night in Canada – Punjabi Version. We love the gentleman outside SkyDome (sorry, not Rogers Centre) at most Toronto Blue Jays games wearing full Scottish gear. Because nothing says baseball like a man in a kilt playing the bagpipes.
We love that you tweaked a line in the national anthem from “thy sons” to “of us.” Having the courage and morality to change your mightily beloved national anthem to become more gender inclusive. Well done, so very, very well done, Canada. Because that’s what a civilized country does.
We love that in Canada, you write sympathetic TV comedies about mosques, on the prairie, no less. And – as if we needed another reason – we love your ice dancers, Tessa and Scott. You are just taunting us with these two!
We could mention the quaint, Old World charm of Quebec City, or the stunning beauty of Vancouver. But, like any true love, Canada, we love you for who you are, not what you look like. And even though we adore you, we are not blind to your faults, either. We know that you have your own problems, most importantly your continuing treatment of the Indigenous. But if there is one country on this earth that we believe will eventually right its wrongs, it’s you.
But it was while attending a Jays game on one of our visits in July that made me start writing this letter. Between innings, a red and white sign on the scoreboard flashed “Welcome To Canada!” and then showed a family with an Arab last name.
The Guess Who’s Share the Land was playing: “Maybe I’ll be there to shake your hand/Maybe I’ll be there to share the land/They’ll be giving away when we all live together.”
The crowd applauded wildly during all of this, 100 per cent of the crowd applauded wildly – not one person booed.
I watched this with total stunned delight, but also thought sadly about how different this would be in my own country, if it even happened at all. Only my mule-like stubbornness kept me from bawling right there among 50,000 people. Thank goodness my husband managed to keep himself together.
Canada, this says everything to us about you, everything.
In fairness to our own country, our borders and our immigration history are different. Comparing the two, truly, is like comparing apples and oranges. On the other hand, given our own past history of how we treat “other” people in the United States who are not immigrants, I am not so sure that a comparison is totally unfair, either.
So, now you know, O Canada, why I had to write this letter. For a long time, our hearts have been glowing, too.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-im-an-american-but-im-head-over-heels-in-love-with-canada/