William Olmstead

Joseph Fetsch

MNGT 5560

22 February 2023

Miracle

I rewatched one of my favorite movies over the weekend, "Miracle" (2004), a

movie about the 1980 USA hockey team who won the gold medal at the Olympics in

Lake Placid, New York. The tournament itself was significant because the United States

team defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union team during the middle of the "Cold

War." What is pretty cool is that the United States vs. the Soviet Union game took place

exactly 43 years ago today, on February 22nd, 1980.

The plot surrounds the team's coach, Herb Brooks, an ex-player who was trusted

to assemble and coach the team, which consisted of a group of young collegiate

players. During the lead-up to the Olympics, the team went through many ups and

downs, both on the ice and off the ice. Coach Brooks's leadership helps keep the team

focused and ready to take the Gold. Eventually, they do defeat the Soviet Union in the

semi-final and Finland in the final to bring the Gold medal home for the US. Herb Brooks

demonstrated effective leadership throughout the film. Perseverance and toughness are

a few of the leadership qualities/traits that he uses throughout the movie. In the movie,

Brooks was described as a person who would do "Whatever it takes" to win and not

take any chances. These leadership qualities originate from when he was a hockey

player in the sixties. During an interview for the Team USA job, Brooks had the vision to

beat the best hockey team in the world, which at that time was the Soviet Union. He is
asked why he would set such a lofty goal, and he replies, stating, "That's why I want to

pursue it." This demonstrates good leadership, vision, and goals. Next, Brooks then

begins to pick his squad for the upcoming Olympic games. In this scene, Brooks doesn't

select many of the most talented players because they wouldn't align with his scheme

and vision for his squad. Brooks realized that to compete at the highest level, they

would have to play through a scheme and not through individuals. As mentioned earlier,

leading up to the games, Brooks has to navigate the squad through some rough events,

intrasquad fights, tough losses, and cliques. He uses collective leadership to get the

team through these events.

Another leader in this movie was the left-winger and captain of the squad, Mike

Eruzione. Brooks made him captain because of his leadership qualities on and off the

ice. For example, He worked with his teammates despite their issues and cliques. His

leadership and teamwork helped him receive the respect of his teammates, and he

could be described as a coach on the ice. Like Brooks, Eruzione realized that the key to

being a successful leader was to keep the team working together despite all of the

noise/outside factors and the intrasquad issues. He knew that creating a team

atmosphere where the squad shares in the success is much better than when the

individual takes all of the accolades. Not only was Eruzione the captain throughout the

Olympics, He just so happened to score the game-winning goal for the United States to

beat the Soviets four to three! In my opinion, his goal against the soviets was one of the

greatest sports moments in United States sports history. He was a clutch performer, as

well as a great leader!

 One final leader in the film was the goalie, Jim Craig. At the beginning of the film,

it is told that Craig was not the most talented goal-tender on the squad, but Brooks

selected him because he would fit his scheme better than the other goalie. Throughout

the film, Craig is seen lifting up players' spirits and is shown as a "leader" and "team

player" to his teammates and coaches. Unlike Eruzione, Craig was much more

extroverted, whereas Eruzione was more reserved. Eruzione displayed purpose,

commitment, and preparation to inspire fellow teammates. Jim Craig, Mike Eruzione,

and Herb Brooks were fantastic leaders and displayed how commitment, practice,

purpose, and effort melded twenty individuals into a winning Olympic team.

These leaders' impact on the team was astronomical, but there was a more

profound impact on many more people from their accomplishments. In the movie,

Brook's wife told him it was "A lot more than a hockey game," talking about the

US-Soviet game. Not only did their leadership inspire their teammates and coaches, but

they also inspired a nation during a tough time in America. The movie's opening scene

shows some of the hardships the United States faced during the 1970s, and people

were starting to lose faith in their country. The victory against the Soviet Union and

ultimately winning the Gold gave Americans renewed optimism and confidence again.

One of Brooks's quotes to his team was, "The Name on the Front is More Important

than the Name on the Back," meaning the team wasn't just playing/representing for

themselves but for the whole nation by wearing the "U-S-A" letters on the front of their

jerseys.

I believe that this movie is one of the most inspirational and moving movies ever.

As far as how the movie impacted me, this film gives me the motivation to believe that
the overall team is greater than the individual and that when a group comes together

with great leadership, anything is possible. Leaders like Coach Herb Brooks, Mike

Eruzione, and Jim Craig make me want to be a better leader and person.