Transcript

Mike Eruzione: USA Wins Gold, the Miracle on Ice, and the Mindset of a Champion

From Sean Callagy · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 1 h 49 min · 21,965 words · 300 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Mike Eruzione: USA Wins Gold, the Miracle on Ice, and the Mindset of a Champion", an episode of Sean Callagy published February 24, 2026 (1 h 49 min, about 21,965 words). It mentions 24 people, works and ideas, including Herb Brooks, US Olympic team, Mike Rousion, Hockey, Olympics.

What this episode is about

Mike Eruzione reflects on how a pivotal summer league moment shaped his path to Boston University and the U.S. Olympic team, emphasizes resilience, self-respect, and the pride of wearing a USA jersey, and highlights the lasting values and mindset that define a champion.

Key takeaways

  • From an ordinary start to extraordinary impact: belief, teamwork, and grit compound into national legacy.
  • Respect isn’t a slogan—it's the engine that powers sustained success and humble leadership.
  • Miracles aren’t fairy tales; they’re daily choices to believe, train, and show up for others.
  • Greatness grows in the fire: mentorship, rivalry, and pressure forge durable character and culture.
  • Legacy isn’t a solo act; it’s a chorus of humble, blue-collar effort carried by a band.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 10:00: Hockey, US Olympic team, Hard Work, Sean Calgi
  2. – 20:00: Boston University, Hockey, Jack Parker, sports
  3. – 30:00: Hockey, Boston University, Olympics, sports
  4. – 40:00: Olympics, Boston University, Hockey, sports
  5. – 50:00: Boston University, Olympics, Herb Brooks, US Olympic team
  6. – 1:00:00: Olympics, Herb Brooks, Hockey, Respect
  7. – 1:10:00: Lake Placid, Olympics, Hockey, Herb Brooks
  8. – 1:20:00: Hockey, Olympics, Herb Brooks, Mark Johnson
  9. – 1:30:00: Hockey, Mark Johnson, Olympics
  10. – 1:40:00: sports, Herb Brooks, Lake Placid
  11. – 1:48:43: Hockey, Lake Placid, Herb Brooks, Mike Rousion

Notable quotes from "Mike Eruzione: USA Wins Gold, the Miracle on Ice, and the Mindset of a Champion"

  • Most important one is respect. And we skated that night because of three things. He said to us, If you don't respect yourself, you won't be successful. All of a sudden, Herb…
    about Herb Brooks · at
  • Unblinded, our certification partners, Unblinded Elite, the entire Unblinded ecosystem, my co-founders and leaders, Sean Calgi, myself, and all of our loved ones. We'd like to…
    about Sean Calgi · at
  • Thank you, Mr. Ruseion, and your entire 1980 US Olympic hockey team for carrying the spirit of America on your shoulders in the darkest hour.
    about US Olympic team · at
  • Vehicle. I played football. I played baseball. Probably played more baseball than anything. And hockey was something you did in the winter time. It got cold, you went and…
    about Hockey · at
  • And that's how I started playing hockey at 9 years old, never knowing it was going to lead to the Olympics, obviously, but it was something I wanted to do. And like all great…
    about Olympics · at
  • I'm the assistant coach at Boston University. We have a kid from Canada that decided not to come. Would you like to come to Boston University? And I'm Yeah. BEu is coming off.
    about Jack Parker · at
  • Country. And I think in 1980, people saw that in us and rallied people. That was We didn't go to Lake Placid to rally a whole country. We didn't even know. And think about it…
    about Lake Placid · at
  • Although, as you well know, I work at Boston University. I've been there 30 years.
    about Boston University · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Herb Brooks — Person · Referenced expert/coach · 10 mentions · first at
    As head coach of the 1980 team, he is credited with instilling respect, mental toughness, and a 'play your game' mindset; his methods (e.g., 'Herbies' skating) are central to the episode’s lessons.
  • Mike Rousion — Person · Main guest · 3 mentions · first at
    He recounts his path from being overlooked in recruiting to Boston University, the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, and the leadership/values (respect, hard work, teamwork) that shaped the 'Miracle on Ice' run.
    Boston University. And if I had never gone to Boston University, I never would have ended up playing on the US Olympic team. Not every day is a great day.
  • Sean Calgi — Person · Host / event leader (speaker) · 3 mentions · first at
    He introduces Mike Rousion, frames the discussion around opportunity and 'self-mastery', and represents the Unblinded organization’s leadership during the live session.
  • Jack Parker — Person · Referenced coach/recruiter · 3 mentions · first at
    He is the pivotal connector who noticed Mike Rousion in a summer league game and offered him a scholarship to Boston University, changing his trajectory toward the Olympics.
  • Mark Johnson — Person · Referenced teammate/star player · 5 mentions · first at
    Identified as the team’s best player and essential to winning; also appears in the 'Herbies' skating story as the moment that ended the drill.
    Ultimate team sport. And you know how important, like I've said many times, Mark Johnson, who's from Wisconsin, was our best player. We don't win without Mark Johnson. But how…
  • Linda Carter — Person · Referenced public figure · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as calling Herb Brooks to send Air Force One to bring the team to the White House, underscoring national significance of the win.
    Successful. All of a sudden, Herb calls me into the back area and he says, Mike, I just got a call from President Carter and they are sending Air Force One tomorrow morning at…
  • Nicole Tink — Person · Event facilitator/reader · 2 mentions · first at
    She reads prepared acknowledgments to Mike Rousion and helps cue media clips during the session, functioning as a supporting on-stage participant.
    Privilege to have you here today. but before we get started, we wanted to share a couple thank yous and you met Nicole Tink, my back there. So she's going to read a couple…
  • Dr. Jack Abbott — Person · Referenced coach (BU) · 1 mention · first at
    Identified as Boston University’s head coach who was fired for recruiting violations, leading to Jack Parker becoming head coach and changing Mike Rousion’s role and scoring output.
    But I made the varsity my freshman year and I was playing a few games here and there and Leon Abbott got fired for recruiting violations.
  • Terry Mahar — Person · Referenced player (BU context) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the bench-clearing brawl story as Boston University’s leading goal scorer who was lost from the national championship game, illustrating rivalry intensity.
    We lost Terry Mahar, who was our leading goal scorer at the time, right? And they lost one of their guys who wasn't quite their leading and the guy Terry Mahar.
  • Oie Golethorp — Person · Referenced pop-culture/league anecdote · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in connection with the Toledo minor-league experience and the film 'Slap Shot', adding color to the guest’s pro-hockey near-miss period.
    He was on our team in Toledo for a week and then he got traded. But anyway, so I go to camp. I go to I get sent to Toledo, the New York Rangers, number two farm team, but I didn't have.

Companies & orgs

  • US Olympic team — Organization · Core organization · 4 mentions · first at
    The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team is the central collective actor: tryouts, training, upset of the Soviets, gold medal, and later recognition (Congressional Gold Medal).
  • Boston University — Organization · Key organization in guest’s biography · 22 mentions · first at
    It is where Mike Rousion played (and later worked), where Jack Parker recruited him, and a major stepping stone to the U.S. Olympic team.
  • Marramac College — Organization · Referenced alternative college · 2 mentions · first at
    Presented as the Division III scholarship option Mike Rousion nearly took; used to illustrate how a small opportunity could have changed his Olympic path.
    Boston University, I never would have ended up playing on a US Olympic team because I would have come out of Marramac versus a national championship contending BEu team. So, wow.
  • Toledo Gold Diggers — Organization · Referenced minor-league team · 2 mentions · first at
    The team Mike Rousion played for while staying an amateur, which preserved his Olympic eligibility; also used to connect to the 'Slap Shot' league anecdote.
    Players, but we want to keep you in our system. So, they sent me to Toledo, Ohio, and I played for a team called the Toledo Gold Diggers. Anybody seen the movie Slapshot? That's that's where I was.
  • University of New Hampshire — Organization · Referenced alternative path · 2 mentions · first at
    It was Mike Rousion’s intended college destination before being deemed not Division I caliber by the hockey coach, setting up the 'overlooked' theme.
    The hope of going to UNH and playing football, hockey, and baseball. That's what I wanted to do. Well, the hockey coach didn't think I was a division one hockey player. So, I had no school to go to.

Concepts & topics

  • Hockey — Concept · Core topic · 39 mentions · first at
    The sport is the vehicle for the guest’s life story and the episode’s leadership principles, including how hockey culture emphasizes roles, sacrifice, and team-first execution.
  • Respect — Concept · Core value/theme · 7 mentions · first at
    Presented as the most important value; Herb Brooks’ three-part respect framework (self, teammates, competition) is highlighted as a turning point in team maturity and performance.
    Sometimes things don't work out the way you want them to work out. There are a lot of important values in life. And the most important one is respect. And we skated that night…
  • Hard Work — Concept · Core value/theme · 4 mentions · first at
    Repeated as the non-negotiable driver of success, contrasted with 'luck' and raw talent; tied to family upbringing and the team’s 'lunch pail, hard hat' identity.
    I think it's it's it's a little of both. But, without hard work, you don't accomplish anything. So I, nobody steps on the field.
  • Teamwork — Concept · Core theme · 3 mentions · first at
    The guest emphasizes role clarity, sacrifice, and shared objectives as the reason the team bonded quickly despite rivalries and succeeded against superior opponents.
    Because anybody who's played hockey, you realize at a young age how important your teammates are. Hockey is the ultimate team sport. And you know how important, like I've said…
  • sports — Concept · Supporting topic · 15 mentions · first at
    Used to generalize lessons beyond hockey—work ethic, sacrifice, and mindset—plus comparisons to modern college sports (NIL, training resources).
    There was a lot of love. There was a lot of support. And that's kind of how I grew up. Sports was your vehicle. I played football. I played baseball. Probably played more…
  • NHL — Concept · Supporting concept · 2 mentions · first at
    Used to contrast levels of professionalism and preparation (Soviets playing NHL teams) and to describe modern aspirations of college players and draft dynamics.
    Whole scenario and good for them. I think it's great for the players because these guys have aspirations to play in the National Hockey League. I wanted to go to Boston…

Places & events

  • Olympics — Event · Core event referenced · 23 mentions · first at
    The 1980 Winter Olympics (Lake Placid) frame the narrative arc: tryouts, preparation, the Soviet upset, and the broader national impact discussed by the guest.
  • Lake Placid — Place · Primary setting (referenced) · 11 mentions · first at
    The location of the 1980 Winter Olympics and the 'Miracle on Ice' games; repeatedly referenced as the place where the team realized the magnitude of events.
  • Congressional Gold Medal — Event · Referenced honor/recognition · 3 mentions · first at
    Cited as a major national honor awarded to the 1980 team, reinforcing the theme that the victory transcended sports and became a U.S. story.
    Can talk, we talked about it earlier. I don't know if you follow anything, but we just found out that our team is going to receive the Congressional Gold Medal.

Full transcript with timestamps

If I had never played in that summer league game, I never would have gone to Boston University. And if I had never gone to Boston University, I never would have ended up playing on the US Olympic team. Not every day is a great day. Sometimes things don't work out the way you want them to work out. There are a lot of important values in life. And the most important one is respect. And we skated that night because of three things. He said to us, "If you don't respect yourself, you won't be successful." All of a sudden, Herb calls me into the back area and he says, "Mike, I just got a call from President Carter and they are sending Air Force One tomorrow morning at 6:30 in the morning to take you guys to the White House." Other than being a police officer, a firefighter, or somebody in the military, there's no greater feeling than putting on a USA jersey.

Sure. Oh, thank you. Thank you very much. All right, thank you. Wow, you people were born when I played.

Some some of you I I told uh Mr. Mike Rouion that um if we had the opportunity to have Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, or Beyonce, you guys would prefer him. Was I telling the truth? if you say yes.

I I'd rather see me than those three as well. Um so Mike, it is uh such an honor and privilege to have you here today. Um but before we get started, um we wanted to share a couple thank yous and you met Nicole Tink, my back there. So she's going to uh read a couple thank yous that we prepared for you for being here and for who and what you are in the world. Would that be okay with you?

That's fine. Thank you very much. Uh, Tank, are you ready? Absolutely. Mr. Rousion, on behalf of Unblinded, our certification partners, Unblinded Elite, the entire Unblinded ecosystem, my co-founders and leaders, Sean Calgi, myself, and all of our loved ones. We'd like to thank you for a few things. Thank you for being here. Thank you, Mr. Aruzion for making the trip to Long Beach Island to be with us at this unblinded immersion. Your very presence here is a privilege and a gift. Thank you and your team for your voice. Thank you and your teammates for choosing not only to win that game, but to carry a message of belief and possibility into the world for decades since.

Thank you for the ordinary becoming extraordinary. Thank you for reminding us that ordinary people through vision, courage, and relentless effort can do the most extraordinary things. Thank you for standing in the fire. Thank you. And thank you to Coach Herb Brooks for braving the rivalries, the conflict, the pressure, and showing us all that greatness is born in the fire. Thank you and your team for carrying a nation. Thank you, Mr. Ruseion, and your entire 1980 US Olympic hockey team for carrying the spirit of America on your shoulders in the darkest hour.

Thank you for scoring the goal of belief. Thank you for putting that puck into the net against the Soviets, not just to win a game, but to ignite belief in a nation that had almost forgotten how to believe. Thank you and your brothers on the ice for proving possibility. Thank you for proving together that giants can fall and that impossibility is an illusion and that miracles are not fairy tales, but lived reality. Thank you for reshaping history. Thank you and your teammates for a victory that became more than a medal. A moment that shifted the psychology of America and helped open the door to a new future for America and the world.

Thank you for embodying team. Thank you for showing the world that legacy isn't written by one hero alone, but by a band of brothers who believed in each other when no one else did. Thank you for your humility. Thank you for staying grounded, bluecollar, integrous, and humble when the world put you on its grandest stage. That humility is more powerful than any goal ever could be. Thank you for your legacy. Thank you for a legacy that lives not only in the record books, but in the hearts of every child who laces up skates. Every parent who whispers, "You can do it." and every human who chooses belief over despair.

Thank you for miracles. And finally, thank you for reminding us all that miracles are not once in a lifetime. They are possible every day, in every life, in every moment. We choose belief.

Oh, thank you. Yeah. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Sean. Thank you. We could I think I I think we could use a 1980 now. Yeah, we really could for sure. And and it it feels very difficult for me to call you Mike. Yeah.

When we spoke on the phone, you you asked me to do that, you know, a couple I didn't get my last name till I was in the fourth grade. So, yeah, Mike's a lot easier.

Yeah. So, uh you know, I come from a world um very much like you did, Northeast. You know, I played um probably about 10 years younger than you, but I had a lot of um people that you were shaped by in high school was very much like my high school experiences. You know, I would love to call him Mr. Rosion. I won't in honor of his request to call Mike, but it feels like you should always be Mr. Rosion. So, thank you for that privilege to call you Mike. Um so, Mike, um what who were you in high school? like what was growing up like and you live you know small town big lots of family around like

lots of family um you know I I I thought my life was like any other kid's life you know I grew up in a I grew up in a three family house uh we lived on the second floor I have four sisters and a brother um this kind of gets a little crazy upstairs was my mother's brother who married my father's sister told you it was going to get crazy and there were five kids in that family and my father's other sister lived on the first floor and there were four in that family. So I grew up in a house of about 15 kids

and understood the importance of of hard work. Learned at a young age how important it was to be a good person, be a good good brother, be a good friend, be a good neighbor of values that my my mother and father taught me as a kid growing up in in this three. I thought everybody lived in a three family. I didn't know I didn't know people had their own homes. Um, and as you know, fast forward, my wife grew up four houses from me, and she's one of 13 kids.

Wow. And I live next door to the house I grew up in, and my son lives directly behind me, my daughter lives down the street, and my other son, he moved to Connecticut a few years ago, cuz she wanted to be near her family. And I said to her, who who moves to be with their family. Um, so, as we talked about earlier, I have seven seven grandkids now, which is kind of fun. um watching them play hockey, football, lacrosse, they're all at that. The oldest is 12, the youngest is 18 months. But again, back to, you know, my childhood growing up is you you you worked. I caddied as a kid. My dad worked three jobs. My mother stayed home and took care of six kids. Um there wasn't a lot of money in the house, but there was a lot of love. There was a lot of support. And uh that's kind of how how I grew up. Sports was was your vehicle. I played football. I played baseball. Probably played more baseball

than anything. And hockey was something you did in the winter time. It got cold, you you went and played hockey because your friends played. I remember uh wanting to play hockey because my friends played, but I didn't have any ice skates. My parents didn't have enough money to go buy me ice skates if it wasn't something I wanted to show them I wanted to do. And they used to freeze the tennis courts down the street from where I lived. And in those days, you could go down the tennis courts by yourself. So you didn't have to have a police escort. And not everybody got a trophy. You just showed up. And and I remember wanting to play hockey cuz my friends played, but I didn't have any ice skates, but my sister had these white figure skates. And I sit in fit into her white figure skates. And I'd get the white figure skates and down the hill I'd go on the tennis courts and learn to skate or try to skate. And

hockeyy's a macho kind of game. And not only was I in white figure skates, but she had these blue pompoms on her skates. And that's how I started to play ice hockey. And in those days, you could save, some people might remember, maybe not, you could save SNH green stamps.

And I came home one day and there was a pair of hide ice skates on the table. And my mom saved up enough stamps to get me a pair of ice skates.

Wow. And that's how I started playing hockey at 9 years old, never knowing it was going to lead to the Olympics, obviously, but it was something I wanted to do. And like all great parents, you support your kids in what they want to do. So that's kind of how hockey started for me. But cool.

Like I said, I I probably played more baseball and and I actually, you know, I was an all state football, hockey, and baseball player, so sports were were was my life as a kid.

And Mike, do you think that was, you know, how much of that was baseball, football, hockey was genetic? How much do you think you worked harder? You know, you had better coaching. Like, what do you attribute?

I I think it's it's it's a little of both. But but, you know, without hard work, you don't accomplish anything. So I, you know, nobody steps on the field. Nobody makes major league baseball or football or NHL players by just skill. There's a lot of work. There's a lot of time. There's a lot of effort. There's a lot of sacrifices that go into people becoming successful. And I again, I think of sacrifices. Like I said, my dad worked three jobs. Uh, you know, he had a supportive family. So the sacrifices he made for giving me a chance to play a game, never knowing it was going to lead, like I said, to an Olympic games.

But as a parent, you support your children and what they want to do. And I was fortunate to to have a dad that understood that my love was was sports. And he found a way to make sure I was able to do that. And you know, I look back on my coaches, my high school football coach was a big influence in my life. Uh obviously my college hockey coach, uh Jack Parker, uh at Boston University where I played and and and work right now. And I'm going to tell you, this is, you know, a crazy story, but I I always talk about opportunity.

To me, life is about opportunities. It's what you do with that opportunity that counts. And I was given an opportunity to to play a game, never knowing, thinking, or believing, or dreaming it would get to or got to, but it did. But I remember graduating from high school, I wanted to go to University of New Hampshire, and my grades weren't really good in school. One thing I kind of messed up was long as I was eligible, I was happy. Um, so I wanted to go to University of New Hampshire. I went to prep school for a year up in Maine with the hope of going to UNH and playing football, hockey, and baseball. That's what I wanted to do. Well, the hockey coach didn't think I was a division one hockey player. So, I had no school to go to.

Wow. I was, you know, 17 years old with no no college and nobody interested. So, one school that was interested was a school called Marramac College. And Marramac College was division three. They weren't division one. They were division three school. And they offered me a full scholarship. And for all you parents out there, it was $3,500 my freshman year. I think Boston University is I think 80 something thousand now. That that's thank God I'm not around now. Uh so I wanted to go uh to college at UNH, but I ended up go I'm going to go to Marramac. Well, in the summer I played baseball in the summer.

I didn't play hockey in the summer. So a friend of mine called me and he said, "Look, we have a summer league game and uh we need some guys to play." A bunch of guys went away for the weekend. Do you want to play? I said, "Well, you need a play or I'll play." So, I played in the game and it turned out the referee of the game was this guy named Jack Parker who I didn't know who he was. He was just the referee. And when the game was over, Jack Parker pulled me aside. He says, "Hey, I'm Jack Parker. I'm the assistant coach at Boston University." We have a kid from Canada that decided not to come. Would you like to come to Boston University? And I'm like, "Yeah." I mean, BEu is coming off back-to-back national championships at the time. And I said to him, "It has to be a full scholarship cuz my dad can't afford, you know, $3,500." He goes, "No, it's it's a full scholarship." So, I went to Boston University and Jack

Parker was the assistant coach. Guy named Leon Abbott was the head coach and Leon Abbott didn't know me from Adam, but I made the varsity my freshman year and I was playing a few games here and there and Leon Abbott got fired for recruiting violations.

Wow. Jack Parker became the head coach. So, I went from centering the fourth line to playing left wing on the second line and led my team in scoring my freshman year.

Wow. Let's hear for that. All right. Well I I I tell you this story because if if I had never played in that summer league game, I never would have gone to Boston University. And if I had never gone to Boston University, I never would have ended up playing on a US Olympic team because I would have come out of Marramac versus a national championship contending BEu team. So, wow.

Again, life is about opportunities. And then I was given that opportunity to play on an 80 Olympic team and uh here I am today.

So it's kind of funny how life works. It sure is. So going back for a sec though, I had I didn't know that part of the story that you're coming out of high school. You don't have division one offers. Uh fun footnote by the way. My daughter Courtney went to University of New Hampshire for starting her college career. just as a quick fun footnote. And you have a division three opportunity. And were you coming out of high school thinking and hoping about playing college baseball or football or hockey? Like what was that was going on there that was in your mind or you weren't thinking that? So what was happening as you were leading up to going to college?

Were you hoping to play a different sport in college or hockey in college? I I wanted to play all three. I wanted to play football, hockey, and baseball. And even at Boston University, I ended up playing hockey and baseball. They they wouldn't let me play football because it was kind of the beginning of the of the hockey season.

But uh yeah, my my my mind was to to play all three sports in college, but ended up just doing two uh at Boston University. Although the next my junior senior year, I didn't play because I made the US national team and it went over to Europe for the World Championships. But like how so and and just I think this is important for the audience. How often we could just be overlooked. So obviously Mike Rouion was incredibly talented. He goes out and ends up starting and be one of the leading scorers in his first year at Boston University, but yet nobody's and this is a defending national championship team, but nobody else is even offering you division one to come play. Like why do you think that was? Was it just you didn't have opportunities to be exposed to college coaches? Like what why weren't you getting those opportunities, do you think?

Because they weren't smart enough to realize how good I was. I mean, that's I'm again, you know, Sean, you and I know each other a little, but I I'm not a real deep thinker.

I'm not that indepth on things. I I just do things. Yeah. And I never thought about why they didn't like me. I like I thought I was pretty damn good.

Yeah. So you I mean I if you think he was pretty damn good, say yes. Yeah. No, but you guys missed and I I look at the college coaches that I played against these teams and say you missed the boat.

Yeah. And and you know Boston University four years I I graduated as the all-time leading scorer which has since been passed because players today are a lot better than they than when I played. But um you know I I've always been the one thing I've always been is very confident in myself as as a as an athlete and as a person. Um you know I I I was talking to a group of people the other day and I'm I'm kind of old school. Um I I believe in a lot of oldfashioned values things that my dad taught me about pride and commitment and respect. I talked to you earlier about respect. And

uh I tell kids today, you know, it's easy to be a nice person. You you got to go out of your way to be an

No, you really don't. Pardon my language but No, Mike. These people have heard a few fbombs in the space, so we're okay.

But it's but it's easy to be nice. It's easy to be a good a good a good teammate, a good neighbor, a good friend. And those are things that I always believed in and always taught even at a young age. And I think those are values that that carried with me that carry with me to this day, but I think carried me through my athletic career, too, was I don't care what other people think. I know what I think and what I care about and what's important to me. And I'm not going to listen to somebody say, "No, you can't do that."

If if they do, then it makes drives me even more that that I want to say, "Really? Let me show you what I can do." And and and not, you know, not everybody's a great day. I've had challenges over, you know, 70 years of my life. I haven't lived the greatest, you know, I've made stupid mistakes and that's part of life. That's part of being a, you know, the world that we live in. But I think, you know, when I when the when the smoke clears, I can look back on my athletic career and and what I've been doing for the last, you know, 45 years since 1980 is take great pride in in knowing that I I've done a good job at the opportunities I've been given and that I I think people look at me and respect me and clearly respect my teammates. Um, you know what we did was 45 years ago, and I can talk, we talked about it earlier. I don't know if you follow anything, but we just found out that our team is going

to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. Uh, which is the ultimate Yeah. which is, I think, the ultimate honor. You know, it's not a sports award. It's not an ESPN award. This is this is from your country. This this is if you look at the recipients of it, it's you know something my teammates and I take incredible incredible pride in because our game was more than a hockey game. We didn't know it at the time, but realize that it was a moment that that's that's why I said earlier that that touched the lives of a lot of people in 1979, 1980. We we were looking for something to feel good about the hostages, the gas lines, inflation. Uh and all of a sudden we come along and uh and I've said this and I'll say this till the day I die. other than being a police officer, a firefighter, or somebody in the military. There's no greater feeling than putting on a USA jersey. And I'm not playing for Chicago

or Boston. You're playing for your country. And I think in 1980, people saw that in us and rallied people. That was We didn't go to Lake Placid to rally a whole country. We didn't even know. And think about it, there was no Facebook or Twitter. There was three TV stations that, you know, the social media didn't exist. And yet when we won, when we got out into the country and realized that this thing was wow pretty big. And I think again we we take even 45 years later take great pride in knowing that people uh came together because of what our team was able to do, not me, what our team was able to do and and showed the world that, you know, if you believe in something and you're willing to work hard, you can't accomplish it. And our team was at Herb Brooks. Our coach used to call us a lunch pale hard hat group of guys because that's what we were. If you follow the backgrounds of my teammates, we all came from

working-class families and we're all taught about the the important values in life and not just values in the sport of ice hockey.

So, um, Mike, as you a couple quick things. So, some of the things I love to think about are things and I'm I'm it it's exciting for me that you hadn't thought about that before because one of the things that we about why coaches weren't seeing you because one of the things we talk about here is how do we create the opportunities to be seen, you know? So, when you ended up being asked by a friend, hey, would you like to come play in this game? That was an incredible blessing and you seize that opportunity hearing you loudly and clearly and but sometimes you don't get that phone call and have the same opportunity. You didn't know it was an opportunity but you were seizing all the opportunity but if I if I could do you think that you know at that time cuz today I know that you know this is part of your world there's all these uh showcases and club teams and every sport imaginable. It was a different world

then, right? In in the 1970s, was there anything out there? Was it just like your college co your I'm sorry, your high school coach was going to be talking to college coaches or were there any showcases? How um broken was the talent assessment system of high school hockey at that time that you weren't seeing? I mean, do you think it was just all these college coaches making bad choices about not seeing you or they just never even knew you existed because there's no social media, no showcases, you know?

No, there were no showcases. You played in your hometown, you know. I played in and where where I live now, I played in Winthre. I played peeweee hockey. I played youth hockey. I played high school hockey. I played banttom hockey. There were no all-star teams. There were no travel teams. Uh today it's it's crazy today the cost you know I get these kids are on these select teams these travel teams and mom and dad are paying thousands of dollars chasing something that might not be there but the problem now is if you're not on one of these teams they think you get no chance of being seen

right um in in my day you know you were seen because coaches went to your high school games there were no showcases so you want to see the best players play go to liner arena and watch Winthrop High School play Danverse High School. So, I mean, that's basically what it was. We live in a whole different, you know, again, I work at Boston University. You know, we we got three kids from Sweden, we got two from Finland, we got one from Russia. We're recruiting all over the world.

Wow. And our coaches are out there at these showcases, but all these kids are paying a lot of money to play. And, you know, to me, there's only a few that are going to make it. And I personally think there's kids spend too much money spending searching trying traveling. But that's, you know, that's the the culture of, you know, you want to play division one baseball, you got to be on the AAOU team. That's that's what it is today. I'm glad it wasn't like that when I played because you just played.

Yeah. And there weren't pressures. And did you have So when you're at Winthrop then, um, did you have coaches? Did you have one, two, five, 10 college coaches come see you? Like how many overlooked you? Was it just a small number or was it a lot of coaches that were coming to your high school?

No, I would say there were probably a small number because there weren't many colleges playing hockey at that time.

You know, the game has grown. Uh it's, you know, where, you know, when I was a kid, you were from Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, maybe Maine, upstate New York, places like that who hockey players. Now, California, Arizona, Texas, Florida. Look at how many players played. Not just men, our women, our women's program. You You can't believe how good the women are now than they were 10 years ago.

So, the game has grown. The sport of hockey has grown and more and more kids are playing. So, you know, you're probably going to get seen a lot more now than you would have when when I played cuz there were just a handful of schools that had division one programs.

Absolutely. So when you were then in high school, you you're loving baseball, football, hockey. Did you ever think about the Olympics and hockey in high school before college or that wasn't even a thought in your head?

No, I I I just I just played, you know, I never I wasn't that smart to think ahead other than just uh I'm going to be a senior next year and let's hopefully my senior year will go well athletically, academically, or whatever. It always went always went well athletically. Um, but I, you know, I, again, it was a different era and a different time. I don't know how I would be in today's era, you know, cuz I I know one thing, my parents wouldn't have had the money for me to play the travel that the kids play today.

Right. Right. Right. So then when once you get to college and all of a sudden you become this standout, like your mastery is rising. At that point, were you doing things differently than the other kids? Like, were you doing extra things or were you practicing more intensely than the people on your team or you were just flat out better already?

No, I I I think the practices continue. I mean, you you want to play at Boston University, you better be ready to play every year cuz there's new recruits coming in next year and new players challenging you. Um, but it was again, it was it was a different thing. I I watch our players today. I mean the the when practice is over these guys are in the weight room. We have a nutritionist. We have a sports psychologist. That my sports psychologist was my father. My my nutritionist was my mother. Um you know we have a sensory room now. The kids have they go in this room and they just sit there and just kind of I don't know what they do in a sensory.

We didn't have any of that was just, you know, you just played. And when the season ended, you know, the summertime, you know, I'd maybe play a little once in a while at the end of the summer to get ready for hockey, but I played baseball in the summer.

Wow. Um, these kids after practice, they go into the weight room. I can tell you the truth. We went to the dugout was the bar on campus. Practice is over. Hey guys, let's go down. We have a few bears and we'll go go to school classes tomorrow and then we'll get up and go to hockey practice and after practice, we'll go to the dugout for a little while. It it's now it's it's a different different whole scenario and and good for them. I think it's great for the for the players because these guys have aspirations to play in the National Hockey League. I wanted to go to Boston University to play at Boston University and if it happened that maybe maybe I could play pro hockey after then that was something but I didn't go you know we have freshmen that come in now first round draft picks second round draft picks.

Wow. Then you got the name image image and likeness kids getting paid money. You know, we we lost the number one recruit in the country this year was coming to Boston University. He's going to be the first pick in the draft next year. He was coming was coming to Boston University. He's going to Penn State cuz Penn State's given him $800,000.

Wow. That's name, image, and likeness that we deal if you follow any sports. Quarterback at Michigan this year is not going to make about $9 million. you know, Shidor Sanders, the the the football player, he took a pay cut to play for the Cleveland Browns, the money he was making in Colorado. So, you're dealing with a whole different mindset now. Uh there's to making money. Yeah. For me, my scholarship was plenty.

Yeah. But now it's it's a different environment in this the college sports for men and women. You know, there there's a girl, I think, out in UCLA, the gymnast that's making like stupid money.

But that's just the that's the arena we're in now that was never there when I played. When I played, you just played.

Yeah. So, when you're just playing and you're be and you're obviously just standing out, scoring goals, leading the team on the way to breaking the scoring record, at any point did you I mean, you're just playing, you're focusing. Do you remember when the first time you ever thought or heard of the Olympics in hockey? Like when when did that come into your mind?

Okay. Again, crazy story. I got asked to play in the 1976 team, Olympic team. Wow.

And I did not want to leave Boston University. In those days, you you'd leave your school right before the Olympics and you'd go play. In our case, we trained for 6 months. It was a whole different mindset in 1980 than it was in 76. So I had a chance to play in 76 and I that was the year I thought we were going to win the national championship. I was a junior at Boston University and decided I was going to stay at BEu. The games were insbrook and I think the US team came in fourth or fifth but so I I missed that and passed that opportunity up. So again I talk about how my life turned and things in your life that happen. So, I graduated from Boston University in 1977 and the New York Rangers, they owned my rights. They drafted me. I was a second round draft pick of the New York Rangers. So, when the season ended, BU ended that summer.

I was getting ready to go to camp with the New York Rangers. So, I went to camp with the New York Rangers and I had a really good camp and a guy named John Ferguson was the general manager of the New York Rangers. And Fergie called me into his office. He says, "Mike, you had a great camp. We really like you. We think you're going to be a really good player, but we don't we're not signing any new players. We have our first pick, which a kid named Ron Dug Gay who had a great career with the Rangers and we have a bunch of older players and we're not shelling out any money for any more players, but we want to keep you in our system. So, they sent me to Toledo, Ohio, and I played for a team called the Toledo Gold Diggers. Anybody seen the movie Slapshot? That's that that's where I was.

You played for the team from Slapshot? That was the league. Oh, okay. Wow. Oie Golethorp. Remember him? Yes.

He was on our team in Toledo for a week and then he got traded. But anyway, so I go to camp. I go to I get sent to Toledo, the New York Rangers, you know, number two farm team, but I didn't have an NHL contract. It was a minor league contract. So I got paid every two weeks by the Gold Diggers. I made $4,000 my first year in Toledo. I led our team in scoring. I was rookie of the year. I'm going to sign with the New York Rangers. John Ferguson. get fired. A guy named Fred Cheryl, who used to be with the New York with the Philadelphia Flyers, he becomes the general manager of the New York Rangers. And he calls my agent and says, "Look at Mike's free to do what he wants to do. Um, we're not signing Mike.

We know he had a great year, but we're going in a different direction." Wow. So, here I am in limbo. What am I going to do? So, I go back to Toledo to stay an amateur, hoping to get invited to try out for the 80 Olympic team. So, I go back to Toledo. They gave me $8,000 and a van because I didn't have a vehicle when I played there. So, I had a van and I got $4,000 raise, but I still got paid every two weeks. I could get traded tomorrow. No NHL contract, which kept me as an amateur, which gave me the opportunity if I did get to try out for the 80 Olympic team. So, I go back to Toledo.

That summer I got a call from her Brooks inviting me to try out for the 80 Olympic team. So I go to the eight triyouts. I make the team and here I am today.

If John Ferguson never got fired, I would have signed with the New York Rangers and I would have been considered a pro.

Wow. And not given an opportunity to play on the 80 Olympic team. So there are two moments in my life about opportunity. one in high school and second when the Rangers decided to let me go and do what I wanted to do and the best decision that ever happened.

Wow. and then the Olympic Games and then, you know, we win and then a couple of NHL teams wanted to sign me into pro contracts and I decided it was time to move on and do something else in my life and I was going to coach and teach and then found out that this moment, this event was bigger than we could have imagined.

Wow. And I I remember I was talking to my fizzed school administrator in my high school asking if there might be a fizzed job open next year because I want to teach. And then I was thinking about maybe coaching at Boston University because they was they were might be looking for an assistant coach. And then IBM this was this was in February. And then IBM called my agent advisor and they they wanted me to do 10 appearances. Five at the Fountain Blue in Florida and five at the Drake in San Francisco. I'd never been to California and I'd never been to Florida and they were gonna give me $3,000 just to walk out on the stage and wave.

I didn't even have to do anything. I made more in those 10 appearances than my dad made in one year. So, I thought this is a pretty good deal. Maybe I'll do some of these again. And then I got into broadcasting. Then I got into obviously speaking and doing things that I' I do now 45 years later. Although, as you well know, I I work at Boston University. I've been there 30 years.

Uh although if you counted all the days I've been there, probably been there five. I got a good gig at BEu. But it it's just funny how, you know, your life works and never knowing what you're going to do, what what is available. But, you know, like I said, after the Olympics, I was going to coach and teach. That's that's what I was going to do. And then next thing you know, wow, this thing was pretty big.

Wow. and your life kind of turned or changed. I mean, my life changed to a degree. I I haven't changed. It drives my wife absolutely nuts. Um, and we've been together for 50 years. So, it's not like, you know, I I I always again, I tell my kids all the time the same thing about um I was very happy with who I was before the Olympics. You know, why should why should your life change because of an athletic event? It clearly changed a lot of things in my life, but it hasn't it shouldn't change who you are. You know, my friends are my friends. My family is my family. And I still live where I belong and stay where I am cuz if we didn't win, I'd be living in that town. I'd be probably have more than three kids cuz I'd have been home more.

So Mike, so for everybody, we had these conversations over the last couple days about these dark moments and the hero's journey. So Mike's this phenomenal player, has nothing going on with colleges besides a division three opportunity. Talked about my opportunities where nobody's looking at me and all of a sudden there's 100 schools looking at me and how God makes all things work together for good or the universe or whatever you believe. And same thing I I mean it's really amazing that Mike comes out second round draft pick. Mike, correct me if I'm wrong. Most second round draft picks end up on the team.

Isn't that Isn't that relatively normal or Yeah. Yeah. So Mike doesn't this is normal course like you're a second round draft pick from a professional team in sports. You're going to be on the team and all of a sudden he's not

and that could have been something. I mean I'm you know we're getting a sense of Mike and Mike seems like a pretty um incredibly grounded person and he just goes forward. So something that happens that for most people would have been emotionally devastating. What I'm hearing from you, Mike, is he kind of like shrugged and said, "All right, on we go." Because the values that he was raised with, and that's an incredible strength for this man that he's not taking things and trying to analyze why did God do this to me and why is the universe against me? He's just like, "Hey, this is the hand I'm dealt. Let's go." And we do see that things work together for good. as Mike said, they maybe he gets on the Rangers, maybe he gets hurt, maybe he plays a little bit and there's a couple of things that happen and all of a sudden he's not eligible for the Olympics. He's not in the NHL and Mike's life looks completely

differently. So, these two events that would have been incredibly upsetting and frustrating for most people, maybe not for Mike because he has such an incredibly strong level of selfmastery, right? We selfmastery is like our language for psychology

that he's just like, "Hey, let's go." And he knows that he's going to make whatever happens in his life turn into the right thing. Am I hearing that correctly, Mike? That's how you operate.

Yeah. My dad always said to me, even as there's more to life than athletics and at some point the game ends, you know, Michael Jordan had to stop playing someday. You know, these great athletes, eventually it ends. But your life doesn't end. you know, just because I didn't play, you know, if let's just say this, if I didn't go to Boston University, I'd still be happy with my life, whatever that was, because that's the direction I was going to go in. I'm I'm I'm I'm always very positive and very upbeat. Um, you know, there's there's so much out there for me to do if I didn't play hockey, if I didn't play football or B, I'd have done something else and I'd have been happy with what I what I did and what I would was doing. But it my life took a different turn and my life went this way. But it shouldn't change as I said earlier who I am.

Absolutely. And why why should I be different? You know, just because because I won a gold medal doesn't make me better than people in this room. There are certain things that you can do that I sure as hell can't do. So everybody brings something to the table. I happen to bring something to the table in terms of my athletic ability and then it turned out to be what it's become today. But I think for me, like I said, if we didn't win, I'd be living in my hometown. I'd be married to the same girl. I'd be coaching and teaching, and that's just the way it was going to be. That's the way it was going to be.

So, um, this is and and for everybody here, I want to really lock in on this. The the lack of attachment that Mike has the outcome. He shows up, he gives everything he's got, and then what happens happens. And I'm I'm inspired. I'm not only inspired, I'm it's a it's a really we we talk about the difference between inspiration and tools, you know, like right a hockey stick's a tool. How you use the hockey stick is, you know, part of your tool. And then you have psychology. And for me, what I'm clear about is I get I get more attached than Mike does. And I invite you to consider the same for yourself. So, thank you, Mike, already for helping me like be a mirror for me. I'm like, "Yeah, I I took things a lot harder than you did, you know, and that, you know, I'm I have a I had a strong psychology, not as strong as yours." As a high school athlete, as a college athlete, I almost played my way out of college baseball my sophomore

year pouting. I was, you know, runner for Ivy League run rookie of the year my freshman year at Columbia. And the coach tried to change a few things and I was quiet. I wasn't ever mouthy. I was very respectful, but I would pout more. I would take things more personally. I would be more upset about things. And what I'm hearing from you is it sounds like you didn't and if I could ask when when the Rangers didn't sign you, did you spend, if you're a member, did you spend, you know, the night getting upset? You go have a few beers, you call somebody, you're like, "Hey, f it."

Like, "Here I go." Or is it like a week you're upset at all? And if so, for how long? When?

No, I I was pissed off. Yeah. What do you mean you don't want a sign, mate? Look what I just did. But then again, hey, that's that's that's your decision. I'll go in a different direction.

Yeah. Um, let's hear how how strong is that right? Yeah. Look at look, you know,

not not every day is a great day. Like I said, sometimes things don't go the way you want them to go. What are you going to do? Pout? Quit? No. I'll just

Well, I mean, most people do. You don't. No. Why? If you pout and quit sometimes, say yes.

Yes. So, thank you. I mean, yeah. No, I that that's not in my that was never in my vocabulary. And I think part of it is the way I grew up. You know, like I said, I saw my dad get up every morning, go to work, come home and go to work, come home, go to work. I saw my mother take care of six kids with no money. So quit is isn't isn't something that I've ever even thought about doing. I know I'm going to be successful at what I do, whatever it was I was going to do.

So my mindset was as And again, that's that's my wife and I get into these discussions all the time. Why are you such a in such a good mood all the time? I says, "Cuz I don't want to be miserable. I don't want to I don't want to live a life of wondering. I'm just going to do what I want to do and I'm going to go ahead and do it despite the challenges." And like I said, not every day is a great day. Sometimes things don't work out the way you want them to work out. I missed a two-footer yesterday for $20. I was so pissed off like this.

The next time I have that two-footer, I better make it. So again, I I'm I'm not that deep a guy. I'm not that smarter guy. I just live my life the way I want to live it with with total respect for my my family and my my kids and my wife and uh usually things are going to work out well and if they don't there's another day and I'll figure that out.

Yeah. And and Mike, thank you. And and just so we're like level set, I failed freshman high school geometry for the year as a freshman high school. Um I had a lower uh GPA in high school than I did in law school. So I I wasn't I went to Columbia because of baseball, you know, so it wasn't that I was thinking about things quite the same way then as I am now. And one of the things that I think for these guys like this these are people who are train like this is not a sales program. These are people trained to think about how do you how do you succeed and how do you master things?

And so what we're hearing, what they're hearing from you is we have the saying that Einstein said, make it as simple as possible, but not simpler. And honest to God, what I'm taking away from you is that it is so simple for you cuz you just give everything you have, you take the outcome, result, and you just go forward. And that is that because my my job my the way I look at people is I try to find out like what's the simple formula that causes microion to be microizone and that's present for me like that's here like that's just clear to me and while you're saying it as yeah just like it's easy it's if you think it's not easy for you yet say yes. Yeah, it's not easy for me either. But because you do it, what they're trained to do, what I'm trained to do is like we're going to have the the selfmastery according to Mike Rouion, which is very simply don't get attached. Give everything you got like the microone

from his dad formula. And your identity doesn't change. We talk a lot about that. But just go do your thing. What happens? You know, it's going to work for good in any way because you're just going be able to do the next thing. You're going to use it as fuel and go forward. So, does that sound like a fair, very simple encapsulation view?

I' I've never met a person that's successful because they're lucky. People are successful because they understand the values of work. And again, I'll go back to my dad always said, "If you understand the value of work, at some point in your life, you'll be successful." And it might not be today or tomorrow or next month, but when you're the best at what you do, I guarantee it's the time and effort and work that you put in. And those are the values that are important. whatever field you're in, whatever challenges you have, if you're not willing to work hard at it, you're not going to be successful. So, I worked hard at everything that I've done, whether it as an athlete or if I happen to go in a different direction. You know, if if sports ended and I went, which it did, I went into a new direction. I'm work damn hard at what I do

in order to be successful at what I do. Yeah. And I think that's to me, it's pretty simple. It's like I said earlier, it's easy to be nice. It's really hard to be an

So Mike, so and I live with that. And it And if you feel that from Mike, say yes.

Yeah. If you feel his authenticity, say yes. Yeah. And his mastery. Yes. Yeah. So Mike, you go and these buns, the draft with the Rangers, playing hockey in Toledo, and now Herb Brooks calls you up and what happens from there? Do you then was there in the the movie, right? These guys have seen the movie lots. We show clips all the time.

So in the movie there's this shortened version of the try out. Like could you please take us through what happens?

Well, in the tri in the movie the team was picked in one day. Trust me, it was two weeks. And in the movie they had a bunch of people picking the team. There was only one person picking this team and it was going to be Her Brooks. So I went to the try out. I got invited. Uh, I was on the Great Lakes team. They divided all these players into four teams and we competed against each other over two weeks and Herbrook sat in the stands, evaluated the players and we were in a room maybe kind of like this, maybe a little a little bigger and 68 players tried out for the 80 Olympic team.

Wow. I shouldn't say that. Hundreds tried out. 68 got selected, right? 68 of us went to Colorado Springs, competed against each other in a kind of a mini tournament, and triyouts were over. 26 players made up the 80 Olympic team, but only 20 were going to Lake Placid.

Six guys are going to get cut. And can can I just slow you down for a second? Is that okay? So, in Colorado Springs when this happens, um, what's that two weeks like where and I'm just going to give you a couple of like multiple choice where were there fist fights? Were people getting along? Were people like, you know, kind of in the same boat of, you know, being friends, buddies? Were there rivalries from college? Like, how was all that? What was Colorado Springs like?

Well, it was it was a tournament. It was competitive. Um, and there was a team from Massachusetts, which I was not on. I was on the atlarge team. So my team was guys from Michigan, Minnesota, New York, then there was the Minnesota team, and then there was another ATL large team

and that and that had players her coach Brooks's college team, right? A lot of the a lot of the kids played under her at the University of Minnesota,

right? Cuz for everybody, so Coach Herbrooks coached the University of Minnesota. They were a top program in the country. Mike played at Boston University, a top program in the country. And correct me if I'm wrong, there's a big rivalry. Yes. Well, we had the year before the Olympic triyouts in the national championship, Minnesota and Boston University got into a bench clearing brawl.

I would call that a big rivalry. Yeah. Uh 4 minutes into the game, both teams national championship.

Yes. Both teams should have been thrown out of the tournament cuz you can't fight in college.

So, we ended up losing a player, they lost a player, they ended up beating us in the game. Then they went

Who was the player you guys lost? We lost Terry Mahar, who was our leading goal scorer at the time,

right? And they lost one of their guys who wasn't quite their leading and the guy Terry Mahar.

Yes. Did Did he make the 80 Olympic team? No. Terry was from Canada. Got it. Played he was the captain of our team in 19 in 1976.

And Jack O'Calahan. He played for Jack was a freshman at Boston University at that time.

Got it. On that team, right? There were four guys in when the smoke cleared at the end. There were four guys from Boston University, nine from the University of Minnesota, two from Wisconsin, two from Bowling Green, one from North Dakota, and two from Minnesota Duth.

Wow. But there were of the 20 guys, 12 of the 20 players were from Minnesota. Wow.

And and 13 of the players then, if I'm counting correctly, nine from Minnesota, four from BEu. So 13 of the players were from this big rivalry with nine from Minnesota with four from Boston University. Well, and Wisconsin and Minnesota had an huge rivalry.

Oh. Because of national championship battles for years. So, there was a lot of animosity between the two programs. But so, we're in the room and and 68 players try it out. And uh Herb came up to the to the stage and he he said, "If I call your name, please stay and if I don't, thanks for coming."

Okay. Forgive me for interrupting. I just want to really let these guys get it because they've seen so many of these clips.

Right. Right. So, do you think in that moment, A, I know I made the team? B, I think I made the team. C, I hope I made the team, you know, probably B, because I I was on the Great Lakes team and I was elected captain of the Great Lakes team

and then we, the Great Lakes team, won the tournament. Oh, wow. And I led our team in scoring. So, I thought, I'm going to be on this team. But the concern I had was Minnesota coach, Western players, Eastern coach, Eastern players. That's how it always was years before.

It was an Eastern coach and he was going to pick most of the guys going to be from the East cuz he knew them. So my concern was is Herb going to take an Eastern guy.

Wow. So we're all in the room and I remember the first name he called was Ken Marorrow. Kenny was a great defenseman from Michigan.

He would prove the Islanders later. He played he won four Stanley Cups right after the Olympics. That's a pretty good run. And I'm sitting there thinking, I hope this is an alphabetical, you know, my name's not going to get called. And then my name was called. So there were 26 players in the room and then her

You were the second name called or No, I was called later on down the road. I forget who was called.

Were you starting to get concerned? Yeah, you we all antsy wondering, you know, kind of listening. Is it going to be me? Is it going to be me? Um, and it's interesting because now we have the Winter Olympics coming up in February. The Team USA is going to have 26 players, 25 players. They carry more now than they did then. Then they could only carry 20.

Wow. So 26 players make up the team and then we're going to embark on six months of training and six guys are going to get cut throughout the course of of the season. And you're still up until I I was elected captain in October

by Was this by the players? By the players. U, but I don't think I was voted by the players. There's no way nine guys from Minnesota voted for a guy from Boston.

Wow. Um, and as our assistant coach said, we voted, but Herb counted the ballots. I think Billy Baker was probably named captain by the team because the nine kids played with him at the university and Billy actually was the assistant captain of the 80 team. But for whatever reason, they gave me the the captaincy, which was not a big deal to me. I think my dad was more excited than than I was because I've always said I was a captain amongst captains. We had a team of captains. Everybody in that team was a captain of their high school team. Uh eight guys were captains of their college team. So it was a it was a great group of leaders and people. So the captaincy was was nice, but it wasn't that oh my god, I'm the captain. So 26 players made up the team and throughout the course of six months uh of travel and training, six were going to get cut.

And up until the last week, I still wondered if I was going to be one of the 20.

Wow. Can I take you back for a sec? Is that okay? During So during Colorado Springs that time, was Herb Brooks quiet and just watching and scouting or was he already starting to be coach her Brooks towards everybody?

No, he was coach Brooks and that's the way it was going to be. We were going to travel play I think we played 60 some odd games all around the country. went to Europe for a month, played overseas. Um, and then throughout the course of the six months, he evaluated all the players, and uh, you know, he threatened to cut me two weeks before the Olympics. Uh, he said, "Look, you're just not doing it. I just don't know what I'm going to do." And I'm like, "Wait a minute. I'm I'm I'm the captain." And I'm thinking, "Well, he's the coach."

and you know and always and and it's even funnier years later Herb would call my house and this was before cell phones and my wife would answer the phone and she'd go uh it's Coach Brooks and I'm like oh here I am I got three kids at home and I'm worried he's going to yell at me. He was always in charge even when he threatened to cut me. I thought he would and it was just the last kind of jab at me to get me going for whatever reason. I don't know. But he was a he was a incredible mind kind of guy. He loved to to get into people's heads and players heads. And um part of me said he can't cut me. I'm the captain. And the other part said, you know, he just might. He's crazy enough to do it.

Uh so when in in in the um you guys get together, like the movie depicts um a moment that Mike told me actually didn't happen. He didn't say, "Who do you play for? I play for team USA. Um, but there was a night of crazy skating. So, Oh, yeah. Can you can you take us through that night? And and and if that was was there a time the team was the movie Miracle shows great division between the players. Was there that kind of division or is that a little exaggerated or what was it really like? And then how does that fit into the skating? The division was what they thought was going to happen once the team was picked. Everybody kept can the Minnesota and the Massachusetts guys get along? Can the Wisconsin Minnesota guys get along? And and we bonded right from the beginning. And and I tell you that because anybody who's played hockey, you realize at a young age how important your teammates are. Hockey is the

ultimate team sport. And you know how important, like I've said many times, Mark Johnson, who's from Wisconsin, was our best player. We don't win without Mark Johnson. But how good would Mark be if the right wing and the left wing and the defenseman and the coaches weren't doing their job? So we understood everybody had a job. Everybody had a role. Understand what your job is. Understand what your role is. And we as a team have an opportunity to be successful. That was the mindset from the beginning. Not everybody's going to be out on the power play. Not everybody's going to be out killing penalties. Everybody's got a job and a role. If we do that, we'll be fine. To me, I've always said this, there's no better place to be, whether it's on a on a team or in business, when everybody that you're with has the same goals and objectives that you have. And our goals and objectives as a team, was to be the

best. Never knowing it was going to lead to a gold medal. But we knew in order for us to be successful, we had to believe in oursel, but we had to believe in each other. And that's a great place to be.

That's awesome. To go to practice every day knowing everybody's willing to sacrifice to be the best. And that's that was our mindset from the beginning. So the teams picked 26 guys. Then right before the Olympic Games, we he cuts the last two players.

Can I the again again night the the skating? The skating. Yeah. Right. We played Norway and the game ended in a three-3 tie and Herbert wasn't very happy with the way

Norway was not like a world power. No, we should be able to handle the Norwegians. They're not known for its hockey. And it ended in a three-3 tie. And in the movie Miracle, they have the guys on the bench looking at the girls in the stands that look at her. Look at her. That trust me, that didn't happen. Okay. I told my wife that didn't happen. I I said the guys from Minnesota were looking at the girls. I was not. But we did skate. We skated for an hour and a half. They shut the lights off in the building. We didn't go 20 at a time.

We only went waves of five guys at a time. And only 15 of us dressed that night. The other 10 guys were in the stands watching. So, we did the Herbies for about an hour and a half. The game ended. Uh, the drill ended when Mark Johnson smashed a stick against the glass. And Herb said, "If I hear another stick smash against the glass, you'll skate till you die."

I say that one more time. What did Coach Brooks say? If I hear another stick smash against the glass, you'll skate till you die.

That is called Zeus energy, ladies and gentlemen. Yes. Then they then they shut the lights off in the building. just had the electrical lights on and we finished the skate and he brought us in the locker room this way again tomorrow. You're going to skate again. Well, we beat Norway 8 to nothing the next day. But you I'm going to tell you why we I I tell the story about why we skated.

Uh it wasn't because we were looking at the girls in the stands. To me, this is the message from Herb was this. There there are a lot of important values in life and the most important one is respect. And we skated that night because of three things. He said to us, "If you don't respect yourself, you won't be successful. If you don't respect your teammates, people that you work with, people that you associate yourself with, you will not be successful. And if you don't respect your competition, you will not be successful." We never made that mistake again. And now I'll fast forward. We win the Olympic gold medal. We beat Finland.

A lot of people don't know this. If we lose to Finland, we could have have won no medal. There was a chance we could have come in fourth place.

We beat Finland. We win the gold medal. We go back in the locker room. It is bedum. Bedum in the locker room. All our parents are in the locker room. You couldn't go anywhere in Lake Placid without your badge with your name tag. To this day, how our parents got in the locker room, we have no idea. How my dad got in with a six-ack of beer. I have no idea. My dad was sitting waving at me like it was a high school game. And the locker room was the size of this here. It was so tiny. All of a sudden, Herb calls me into the back area. And he says, "Mike, I just got a call from President Carter and they are sending Air Force One tomorrow morning at 6:30 in the morning." Wow.

To take you guys to the White House. I want you to make sure that everybody's in bed early and nobody acts up tonight. And And I looked I looked at her and I said, "Who's going to watch me?" Um, I got to tell you the truth. We stayed out all night. But why I tell you that story was Herb never wavered from that value. Respect your success. Respect your accomplishments. Respect the time, the effort, the work, and the sacrifices we put in collectively and you put in individually. So even though we had won this incredible moment, although Herman and like I said earlier, our team didn't know it was that big a deal, he never wavered from that fact. Respect your success.

Wow. And that's that's that's an important value that you have to have in life, not just sports.

And I think that's and we talked about a little earlier. Yeah. I think that's what we've lost sight of in in in our country is people just don't respect people anymore. And you know, we I can mention it that what we we just got awarded uh our team's going to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, which is I think did I say that earlier?

You did. Yeah, I did. Well, I repeated myself. Um, but that is an ultimate honor for our team

and and I think that's, you know, what makes our team and separates our team from other athletic achievements is that it was a US story and not Boston or Chicago. So, I think Herb was the right guy to and keep and maintain those values that are so important in life. And he he was an old school guy, you know, he was he was, you know, lunch pale, hard hat. That was our team. That's the way he coached us. That's the way he was.

And Mike, so now we're getting towards the Olympics and there's the the game against the Soviets at Madison Square Garden. And do you think that why do you think Herb wanted to play that game? Was it just, hey, this is part of the schedule? Was there, you know, any deeper thought you think by, you know, coach Herb Brooks and the game did not go well for you guys? And how how did that all fit into what would happen at the Olympics if at all? Was just like a game and like hey you watched it all yet.

Well for me it was the last you and why we scheduled the game. I had no idea other than maybe Herb wanted us to play the Soviets just to see what the competition was going to be like cuz during our season we played 68 games against colleges, minor league teams. Uh we had a great series with the Canadian Olympic team. We played him eight times.

Uh we had a great series with the Soviet B team, not the A team. the A team was playing the New York Rangers, the New York Islanders, the, you know, NHL teams as they prepared. So, the last game was in Madison Square. So, you guys understand this? Like, so they're the 1980 team that Mike is on. They're playing against college teams, minor league teams. The Soviets are playing against the NHL teams and beating them. And the NHL Allstars, Mike and the team, these are college players. The Soviets because of communism versus capitalism are professional hockey players essentially where their life is paid for, their world is paid for. And these are u much older players, much more seasoned players like they would be NHL players. And I repeat, they were beating NHL teams and NHL Allstar teams. But Mike, back to you and going into Madison Square.

Yeah. So we we step on the ice. Um you got to remember one thing too. Some of the Soviet players were going for their third consecutive gold medal. That's playing together for 12 years, some of these guys. Wow.

The average age of our Olympic team in 1980 was 21 and a half, 22 years old. Matter of fact, I don't know if anybody here follows college hockey, but our Olympic team in 1980 would be the youngest team in college hockey today.

Wow. That's And I was 25 at the time. And Buzzy Schneider was 25. Neil Broton was 18. Mike Ramsay was 18. Davy Christian was 19. So we step out on the ice in Madison Square Garden. The building sold out. This is 2 days before the Olympic Games and we lose 10 to three.

Totally embarrassed, totally humiliated. God, we thought we were good and all of a sudden we got welcome to the world moment. So we lose 10 to three, the game's over. The last two guys get cut from the team. Now 20 of us are going to get on the bus the next day and go to Lake Placid for the Olympic Games. And when the game ended, Herb didn't say anything to us. She said, "Go get go back to the hotel, get a good night's sleep, come back to the rink in the morning. We'll pack our bags and we'll go to Lake Placid." Never mentioned talked about the game. So the next morning, I pick up the New York Post. Wrong newspaper to pick up. And the article talks about how the US team has no chance in the upcoming Olympic Games. The Soviets are the best team in the world. They will win. They will win the gold medal. And the US has no no chance. And it said we didn't have the talent. We didn't have the ability, we didn't have experience

to compete at that level. And then there was a quote from Herb Brooks and Herb said, "I knew our team was in trouble. When the Soviet players were being introduced, my players were applauding them and it was like, there's Kalamoff, there's Yakushev, there's Kutoff, these great players we heard so much about." Herb was a great speaker, great motivator. We go in the locker room to get ready to go to Lake Placid. He said, "Gentlemen, if you ever get a chance to play the Soviets again," and we don't know if we are cuz they're in the other division.

We had to win our own division or come in second in our division to even get a chance to play them. He says, "Remember how you played in the second and third period, not the first period. We were losing six to nothing after one period." And I tell you that because he turned a negative into a positive right away. He said, "Look how even you played with them when you guys were ready to play." So instead of screaming and yelling at us, saying how much we sucked or how bad we were, we walked away thinking, "Wow, we played even with the best team in the world." Wow.

And I tell that story because when things don't go well, and there are times things don't always go well, find something bo positive and build off of that because if you think negative things, guess what? Nothing but negative thoughts will stay in your head.

So we get on the bus clearly excited about what just happened. We played even and we don't know if we're even going to play him again. So our mindset going into Lake Placid was totally different than if he had screamed and yelled at us. So we get to Lake Placid and the tournament starts. But that game that we lost 10 to three was never ever talked about again. Even when we got to play him the second time in in Lake Placid, the day before at practice, Herb never said, "Remember what happened last time? That game didn't it was like it didn't even exist. All he talked about was positive. Wow.

Do the things we need to do in order to win. We were never concerned about other teams. Herb said it in the movie, I think a lot. I haven't seen the movie in years, but play your game. Play your game. That was constant on our bench. We were never concerned about what other teams were doing. We needed to control the things we needed to control and do the things that we needed to do in order to be successful. So, play your game. Play your game. throughout the Soviet game. That's what he talked about. Never once did he bring up anything negative about what had happened before.

Wow. So, your mindset's different. Your mindset's totally different. This game didn't It was like it didn't even exist. It was something in the past.

Yeah. And I wouldn't have expected to hear that. That's extraordinary, right? I mean, would you guys have expected to hear that?

Yeah. Extraordinary. So now you're at the Olympics and as it starts and I think you play Sweden game one, am I right?

Yeah. Okay. So going into the Sweden game as you're you know you're there. Was there any talk in the team about how you guys would do gold medal medal rounds or the team culture was more like just play the game in front of you? Didn't the guys talk about things? How was that psychology? Well, we got to Lake Placid and the first thing you do is you go into the room where they're going to give you the clothing that you're going to wear for the opening ceremonies. In our case, it was sheepkin jacket, jeans, cowboy boots, cowboy hat. I live in Boston.

That's the last time I'm going to wear a cowboy hat and boots and jeans. But anyway, that was the, you know, so you get all your clothing and then I remember there was a stack of Sports Illustrated and you go over and you're picking them up because they got predictions. Speed skating, bobsled, luge, and you read it. It's got ice hockey and it says the Soviets will win the gold medal. They're the best team in the world. Czechoslovakia because of the rivalry between the two countries from the political standpoint at the time.

And the and the checks had the three Stasny brothers who were great players. They might might give the Soviets a game. Then it said Sweden, Finland, Canada, and West Germany will fight for the bronze. United States will be anywhere from seventh to 10th place.

And I think it was the same guy who wrote the article in the New York Post because It said we didn't have the talent, the ability, or experience to compete at that level. And I remember seeing it the second time reminded me of my high school football coach. My high school football coach told me that that ability in a dime gets your cup of coffee. And you think about it in your life. How many times we've all been around people with great ability and great talent and can't get the job done.

Yeah. Right. It's like now I can take you all outside. I can measure how far you can run, how high you can jump. I can measure how much weight you can lift, but I can't measure heart and I can't measure pride and I can't measure commitment. And those are intangibles.

I've said this, little things separate good teams from great teams and little things separate good business from great business. Intangibles. Hard work qualities that our team had.

So we open up the Olympic Games against Sweden and there's nobody in the building at that time because the opening ceremonies were the next day. So, the games hadn't officially officially started and there were maybe two three thousand people in the stands. Billy Baker scores arguably the biggest goal of the Olympics with 28 seconds left to go. We tie Sweden 2 to2 and it was a huge point because nobody thought we could beat Sweden.

Yeah. And at the end of the game, sorry. So, they're they're losing by a goal into the final minute. Correct.

28 seconds. 28 seconds left. They're losing. If they lose this game, then basically there's no way you're going to make the medal round.

Yeah. It would have been really hard because that was a big point for us to get.

Yeah. So, we we tie Sweden. We get a point. Next day is the opening ceremonies, which was incredible. Next day's Czechoslovakia, the only team that anybody

thought could beat the Soviets, and we blow them out. We beat them seven to three.

Now, everybody's talking about the US hockey team. You can't go anywhere. You can't talk to anybody. The good thing was there was no media. There was no Facebook and stuff. like I told you earlier. So, we didn't know what was being written. And we're in a little village in Lake Placid, which is about the size of this church. And you know, we beat them, then we beat Norway, then we beat Romania, then we beat West Germany, and now we're in the medal round. That was our goal.

Get to the medal round. And as it turned out, we were second in our division cuz Sweden had a better goals for and goals against. So, it's a crossover. Number two plays number one. obviously number one and the other side was the Soviets and they they were averaging seven goals a game. They beat Japan 16 to nothing two nights earlier.

Wow. And well, we're going to play them. That's that's the deal. You're in the tournament. You got the next game is the Soviets and now we'll play them.

Yeah. And so uh the movie shows the pregame speech. I think when we had spoken um a few months ago, you had mentioned I think that more of what Herbrook says in the movie in the Soviet pregame speech, he said in practice the day before. Is that right?

Right. The the speech in when I saw the movie for the first time and I heard his speech, I went, "Holy that's long. I don't remember him saying that."

But I remember him saying, "You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours. Tonight is your night." But in the movie, they lengthened it because of what he talked about in practice the day before. They're ripe. They're ready to be beaten. If anybody can beat him, you guys can beat him. And we know went on and on and on about that. So, I think they incorporated what he said the day before into the speech before the game.

So, and and and they show the wall in the game. Yeah. Did How did that build over the Was that a real thing that the wall and the letters?

Yeah, we got telegrams. I mean, every day you'd get bags of telegrams from people all across the country. That's the only kind of way that we knew people were watching. But I remember we got a telegram from a lady in Texas and I live in Boston and all the telegram said was, "Beat those commie bastards." Swear to God, that's all it said. And I was like, "Wow, that's cool." So that went up on the wall and a lot of telegrams would come to individual players, family, friends, and some just to the team in general. And it was a great way to spend, you know, you come to practice and there'd be telegrams you'd open up and read it and put it up on the wall. So we're walking out of the locker room onto the ice and that wall of telegrams were there. So we knew people were, you know, watching from afar, but no way nowhere did we have an idea the world was watching the way they were. Yeah.

So that was kind of motivating for us as as as a team and then we went out and obviously beat the Soviets 4 to3 and two days later we had to play Finland.

Yeah. Would it be okay if we watched a couple clips from the movie? Yeah. Hey Tink. So maybe let's show the the pregame talk which is a combined talk from the day before in practice and then you know leading up to going on the ice and we're ready to play that quickly or does it take a minute? Just go on the mic. T just how long? What does that bring up? bring back if anything for you

just the emotion in the locker room. See how quiet it was. Yeah, it was deadly quiet. Our locker room was never quiet. Guys would be eating hot dogs before the game. You know, Neil Bro, like I said, Neil Broton, 18 years old, he'd have a slice of pizza before we go on the ice. And I'm sitting there go, "How can he eat anything like that?" But this game here, um, just I remember how walking in the locker room, how deadly quiet it was. And I'm thinking, wow, we are we are just we are focused and we are ready. Although I thought we were ready for every game we played, but never in the locker room was it quiet like like that.

And then I think the you know the speech as I said to you a lot of that stuff he talked about the day before that I'm sick and tired of the Soviets and everybody talking about them

and I thought they did a great job of combining everything and I think the music adds a little to it too.

Yeah. Yeah. And and Russell was was I told you he was amazing as Herb Brooks, although friendlier in the movie.

Well, let's hold it. That guy, this is something Mike said to me just a little while ago. Kurt Russell playing Herb Brooks, he said, was much softer and friendlier than what you saw in the movie.

Like Herb's wife's in the movie. And I don't think I saw her once all year. I didn't even know what she looked like. But but they you know there's a couple of scenes in the movie that he smiles and I'm like that's not the guy that coach.

So did you ever see Herb Brook smile? Yeah. Years later cuz I was a broadcaster for the New York Rangers um when Herb was the head coach.

So I got to see a little another side of Herb. Herb Herb made a choice to coach our team that way. He he he was going to be the it was good cop bad cop. Craig Patrick, our assistant coach, was huge. How important he was because Herb stayed away. He was an sob. That's the way he was going to be. Partly because again, all the Minnesota guys on the team. If Herb s, you know, favored the Minnesota guys, it would have created an an unpleasant locker room. But the fact that he was a to all of us and was a was a hard demanding coach bonded us even more together because it was always us against against him. You know, we'll prove you wrong. Really? You're going to you're going to yell at Buzzy then you're yelling at me.

And we understood that. And he says he said many times there's a a method to my madness. But he did say after the Olympic Games he would have loved to have been closer to that team but choose not to be.

Wow. And so he was sacrificing what he wanted emotionally for himself for some greater outcome. Yes. Okay. Um any and we'll get to Are we ready for the come out to the game tank? Okay. So we'll go there in one sec. And so just in a little bit of fun, were there any moments where he just did something totally crazy and insane or what were some of the more ridiculous moments? They may felt ridiculous then, but as you look back, any unique, crazy, interesting moments between the team and him or things he said that come up for you Mike?

No, he was he was just a prick to play for. Um he John Harrington um used to write down we called them Brooksisms.

Herb would come out with these statements and Harrington would write them all down and we kept them a book of them. You know, one thing, one time he said, "Weave, weave, weave, but don't weave for the sake of weaving." And weaving was intercrit, you know, cross crisscross. That's the style of hockey that we were going to play. So weaving was the international thing. And I remember sitting there going, "What? Weave, we weave, we weave, but don't weave for the sake of weaving." And and he told Ken Morrow one day in practice that he was skating like he had a 10 pound fart on his head. And Kenny skating around going, "What's it look like? What's it look like?"

So, there were some stupid things that he said that kind of made you laugh a little.

Yeah. Um, but for the most part, he he stayed pretty true to form. Um, as far as being this is the way it's going to be and and like I said, we we got it. We understood it, but we as a team kind of had fun with it sometimes without him knowing it.

And there's a a scene in the movie with an interaction after the Soviet game between Jim Herbrooks and Jim Craig. Did that happen? How did he relate to Jim Craig? You know, Coach Brooks.

Um I I don't know that. I that that must have been something was separate. You know, goalenders, you usually just leave him alone. We had a goalending coach who could probably maybe deal with Jimmy.

Okay. Uh but but for the most part, um you know, what whatever they said, I I wouldn't have I wouldn't have remembered or thought about.

And and it is correct, by the way, the team has never been back to get. Did the whole team make it on to Air Force One that next day or they didn't?

Uh just Jim Craig did not. He went he went to Atlanta because he signed with the Atlanta uh hockey team.

So, it is true that not even at the White House the next day has the team ever been back together again since they were all on the podium together. Is that correct, Mike?

Is that crazy? I I remember sitting on the plane going back to Boston after we go to the White House and then found out that this thing was huge. And I remember getting on the plane at Eastern Airlines, that's how long ago that was. And I'm sitting next to Dave Silicon. Silki's kind of got tears in his eyes. And I said, "Sily, what's the matter?" And he just looked at me and he went, "It's over. We're never going to play together again." And it was like, "Fuck, you're right." And we all went our separate ways. You know, Neil Bratton signed, Mark Johnson signed, all these guys, you know, signed pro contracts.

I remember going home and we went to gold medal on Sunday and Monday night my mother's making me dinner and I'm like what the hell just happened to me where you know and I had to get up early the next morning to go to New York to do Good Morning America and I slept in my own bed you know my mother made breakfast the next morning and had a car limousine taking me out to the airport to take me to New York and I got on the Eastern Airlines shuttle and everybody on the plane started applauding and And I turned around. I didn't know who got on the plane. I swear to God. I went, "What the what? You people watched." And the pilot and he just wrote a book. Uh the pilot um in the book he mentions. He told me to get out of my seat and come and sit behind him on the plane because people wanted to come up and and talk to me and get autographs and pictures. And he said, "Don't tell anybody you were here because you're not allowed to be

here. You're not, you know, a member of Eastern Airlines." And I remember getting off the plane and the New York lined with people. They were all clapping and patting me on the back. I'm what the hell, you know, what what happened here? You people watched.

Wow. It was it was it was crazy, you know, to go from having no idea to, oh my god, my god, I was 10 years old. I was not a hockey player. I did like the Islanders at that time, but I was much more of a baseball, football, basketball fan and player. And nobody in my family was a hockey person at all. And I remember fighting with my mom to help Rush get me home so we could listen to the game on the radio cuz I don't if I recall correctly, it wasn't in I was in New Jersey. It wasn't being broadcast on television.

That was tape delay, the Soviet game. So, I had to listen to it on the radio and I was I was a huge USA person. So, I loved the Olympics. I watched everything. So, I didn't necessarily just love hockey, but I loved all of it. And I sat by myself in the basement of my parents house, small house on a main road. We weren't three family, two family, and listened to this go on. And as a 10-year-old somehow, I mean, couldn't stand the Soviet Union. Commie bastards. Like, but I I was in a commie bastard household for sure. And uh it meant everything.

And I sat there as a 10-year-old by myself crying when you guys won. And what all those people did and they were sharing it. It just couldn't be more real. And I thank you for that with all my heart because what you guys did was life-changing for me.

And every time along the way that I faced challenge, including finding out I was going to go blind to high school sports challenges and everything that would come in my life, things to this day. Your signature or a fraudulent version of it, but I hope it's yours. Um, is on a jersey in my library in my house along with the hockey skates. It has the 80 blue jersey. Well, you guys signed it and the skates and that is the core of everything for me is what you guys did. And it is it is so unbelievable and it is totally believable and what how I relate to what you guys did personally and what we talk about here is it it was totally possible. It was almost impossible but obviously was totally possible. And because of the process, the system that was put in place, we call that the math, the math, the numbers, the dynamics, then the heart.

Coach Herbrooks put that together. You as captain was such an incredible leader amongst leaders, as you always say, all these leaders. And you really did do something that was virtually impossible that changed the course of human history. And it's so unbelievable. And remember, you know, Mr. Mike Riion isn't um on television. He's not in movies. He's not on social media, but he's at the sea shell today. And what happened? Oh,

somebody recognized me. And then what happened? Then they wanted to take pictures. Then they wanted autographs. Then they started chanting USA, USA. And I'm like, uh, I get my I just wanted a drink. And it was, who's going to recognize me here? And, you know, so I finished my drink and took some pictures and signed some f autographs and left my drink at the bar. I'm still pissed off.

We'll get we'll get you a few drinks. Get a few later. Fairly accurate, not fairly accurate. And how were you so focused that you don't even remember hearing USA? Were you at all aware of the moment and the magnitude or you just like I'm focused and we're going to go play this game. Like how was it for you?

You know, it's it's when you're on the ice, you don't hear anything. You hear a teammate, you know, asking for a pass or Herb yelling, change up the lines or whatever. Uh so you don't hear any chance it. you're on the bench, you could hear the crowd a little, but you're still, you know, it's you're just so geared to what you're doing, what you're watching, uh, that you don't everything's kind of blocked out. And it's funny cuz I'm not that smart a person, but it's amazing the the focus that you can have in a situation like that where you're just your mindset is just on the ice and you know what's happening in front of you.

Awesome. Do you miss playing at all? Oh, no. No. Well, um, I skate. I help out with my high school team. I've been, you know, 45 years a volunteer coach.

I skate with my grandkids. They play. So, uh, we were talking earlier. I got a little rink I put in my backyard. So, the kids, the grandkids come over and we'll skate and things like that. But, uh,

you check them. I don't want cuz I may fall and miss them. Uh, I I I'm a golfer so I'd much rather do that than than skate around the ice. Uh, I don't need the aggravation. Plus, like they just can't do things, you know? I try to lift the puck and my shoulder hurts. I'm like, those

So, so quick fun fact. Um, and we're going to think then go to the next spot. The game was tied three to three and I don't know, some guy scores a goal uh that puts the USA up four to three. So, maybe we'll go there next. But um not that long ago, Mike was um golfer and he ends up um at this place and there's a shared experience and some people around the table and I think it was uh Tiger Woods, Jack Nicholas who is considered to be the greatest golfer in history by many. Jack Nicholas's son and oh the president of the United States, President Trump and President Trump's like come on over. And so Mike is sitting there and I think um you reminded the president of a very important fact that he might not have been aware of with Tiger Woods and Jack Nicholas and some difference between you guys.

Well, I you know what and I'm not going to get into politics because I've known President Trump a long time. He used to play celebrity golf with us and while he was the president, I played a couple of rounds with him because I'm a member at his club. So I was going to play that day but Jack Nicholas's son ended up playing. I was going to be the fourth in the group. So, they had done golfing and I was sitting at a table and president called me over and sit down and we're just talking back and forth about this and that and I looked at the president and I said, "Hey, boss." I said, "There's a lot of majors between these two guys, but I'm the only gold medalist at the table that's here for that." And he uh and he looked he just he went he went, "That's funny."

Uh, Tink, we're ready. We ready, guys? Give me a heads up where you are. Um, so game's going. Okay, one sec. Game's going. You're playing. And is it what I'm hearing is it's for you, you're so focused the team, it's like just another hockey game. But I think Keith, I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, but what I'm also hearing is because you treat it like just another hockey game. You no longer were elevating the Soviets. you're playing hockey and the game is now 3 to three in the third period, correct? Not correct, or was there any time in the game when it kind of changed where you guys became clear was just a hockey game. We could beat these guys. Like, did you come into the game just as a game or did your confidence as a team, do you think, build over the game?

Well, you know, first of all, you know, you go into the game thinking you can win. If you think you're going to lose, you probably will.

So, I mean, we knew it was going to be difficult. We knew we had to play well. We had to be smart. We had to be disciplined. uh we couldn't take penalties. We couldn't get into a shootout um because if you know we weren't scoring five goals, you know, four four we got four because you know if they scored if they scored five, we weren't getting five,

right? But that again that's the way the game kind of went. But you know as a player you just focus on what you're doing um doing your job, do the things that you're you're asked to do. Go out there every shift, play hard, play smart, be disciplined, and you know, the game just kind of goes the way it does. And you know, obviously Mark Johnson scores a goal with no time left on the clock to to tie the game

at the end of the first period. The end of the first period was a huge goal cuz we didn't play really well in the first. We weren't terrible, but we didn't play well in the first. Jimmy played great. So it's 2-2, you know, then then it's, you know, it's 3-2 them and it's 3-3 us. And like I said, if if it got if it got to be 42 them, the game's over cuz now we got to chase them. Now we got to change the way we want to play. the fact that the game stayed the way it was going

because you guys were you were never down two goals in the game. No. Right. Yeah.

No, we were never down uh you know, I I'll give you a statistic that I didn't know about till a couple years ago. In the third period of the Olympics, the third period, we outscored our opponent 16-3.

Wow. That is unheard of. We gave up three goals in the third period all tournament long.

Wow. We didn't give up any to Finland. We didn't give up any to Sweden. And we didn't give up any to um the Soviets.

Conditioning. Mindset. Conditioning. I think conditioning was a big part of our success. Uh we played four lines. We didn't just play one and two. We we rolled four lines. Everybody played. Everybody contributed. Um and and when I scored, there were 10 minutes left to go.

Can we can we see that for a sec? Is that okay? Do you ever watch the movie and think it might not go in? But I mean, and and Mike, I know that you're a humble man. You're like, "Listen, I'm not that deep." Um, do you feel anything when you watch that or or No,

feel happy that it goes in. Um, you know, yeah, obviously it it brings a smile to your face. No, you know, for me, uh, knowing I was able to help out our team at a time when we needed something to happen. Uh, like I said earlier though, if Mark Johnson doesn't score his two goals, who knows my goal doesn't mean anything. But the fact that I scored in a team that I did and there was still 10 minutes left to go in the game. It was a long 10 minutes. Uh but in the movie, uh like I said, I haven't seen it in years. But in the movie, they have like at the end after I scored like the the Soviets, they just save Craig, save Craig, save Craig. And when you watch the actual footage, I scored with 10 minutes left to go in the game. And the Soviets only had five shots on goal in the last 10 minutes.

We totally we totally shut them down in the third period. and and especially the last 10 minutes. But again, you know, I look at it. Yeah, it's nice. It went in. I got the winning goal and uh we win four to three. Yeah.

And so what that means is and and take let's get ready to watch the last very end of the game. Okay. So for everybody that means that they just kept playing the game and as the Soviets became more desperate and urgent sounds to me like what Mike Rosion is saying is that they were taking that momentum as a team and they were shutting down the Soviets. They weren't just playing great defense. They were still playing offense. They were outplaying them at every level because the Soviets only had five more shots on goal the rest of the game. Am I hearing that correctly?

Yeah. Yeah. We They started doing things they normally don't do, you know, and we just continued to play the way we were playing.

Continue to do the things that made us successful throughout the tournament. Oh, that was that was pretty special. So I thought, you know, to stand and to hear the whole building, the whole building singing the Star Spangle Banner and see our flag being risen just a little higher than everybody else's uh was pretty special. And uh you know, I was standing there and I ended up obviously calling all my teammates up onto the podium because one person shouldn't be there. Should be everybody. And the next Olympic Games and since then it's a long platform where all the players stand and that's the way it should be.

He changed that. I was here for that. We you can see we we we all fit. I don't know if we'll all fit now, but we all although there's only unfortunately three of my teammates have passed uh since 1980, but uh we we get we'll actually we'll all be together next week in Minnesota uh doing one of those memorabilia signing things. We sign this company hires our team for I think every three years we do we sign like five or six hundred prints

and then they use them for charities or whatever. So we'll get we'll get together and uh

we'll have some fun. And they have a Netflix show here in Lake Netflix special should be coming out in January or February. Uh they finished they finished that. They interviewed all of us all of us went back to Lake Placid which was kind of fun and it's it's it's kind of you know typical Hollywood or whatever. So Netflix comes to my hometown and they kind of walked around with me and talk to talk to people and I don't know what's going to end up on the editing floor, not the editing floor, but they interviewed my wife and my wife doesn't say anything. She's very quiet and very shy. So they said, "Can we talk to her?" I said, "Yeah, you can talk to her. You're not going to get much out of her." Um, so she was sitting there and the guy looked at my wife and he said, "Uh, when Mike was elected captain of the team and he called you and told you what what did you think? What did he say?" And she looks and goes, "Call me?

You think he called me?" He didn't call me. He called his friends and his father. I'm the last person he called. And I said, "God, I hope that makes it onto the show." That's pretty funny. So, I'm curious what Netflix is going to do. But it they usually do some good stuff. So, I think that'll be fun. I think uh you know, I can't after the Netflix and then the commemorative that's got to be it. What else can they give us? It's over. you know,

it's never over. But, uh, well, yeah. Do you think it's over? Yeah. No, I I I get that, but still it's just like, you know, okay,

what else can we have? So, um, legacy. Do you think about those things? Do you think about, you know, I know simple person, do you think about what you'd want people 100 years ago when you leave this world, 100 years from now when you leave this world, what you want to be remembered for? Has that ever come across your mind, your heart?

Um, no. I I guess I think it's what I talked about earlier, you know, like like my teammates and I to be remembered as a good group of guys who worked hard to accomplish their their dream and um and that we were good people. We we and like I said, if you if you spent time with my teammates, you'd get a total understanding of how we were successful. You know, not only were we good, we we were the type we you know, we were the guys that wanted you wanted as a neighbor, as a friend. And I think I I'd like our team to be remembered as just a bunch of good guys who who worked hard and had had incredible values who who loved our country. Um we took great pride in putting a USA jersey on. Um and and I think we, you know, represented our country the way that I think people in this country were proud of and wanted to be our team wanted to be remembered for that being, you know, a good group of guys that you would want to hang with

and sit with and talk with and and you could trust and and who you respected and I I guess things that, you know, that that my dad always told me about. It's easy to be a good person and I think our team was that.

Amen. It's okay if we're getting down to it. Final couple minutes. Okay. If we ask two or three quick questions.

Sure. Okay. Um let's go. Sir partner questions. Any SER partners have a question for Mr. Mike Rosion? Just raise your hand real quick and let's get them the microphone. And actually did Lance if did I also would if Lance and then if Nathan had his hand up great if not fine. But after what Nathan did today I think that would be earning a question and we'll try to get one of the women of C as well. Um but Lance you had your hand up. Mike, I just wanted to say uh I've never

Well, by the way, Nathan is a retired lieutenant colonel, United States Air Force,

um commercial airline pilot now and doing many other incredible things the world.

My my nephew, a separate subject, just retired as a full bird colonel in the Marine Corps.

All right. He went to the naval academy and then he took the Marine end of it and uh works for the government now and he can't tell me what he does. out outstanding. I won't hold the Naval Academy part against him, but I'm sure he's a standard guy. Um, I just I never really knew your full story or, you know, this man here is responsible for my full knowledge of this and the and this how special it is to everyone in this audience. um first time I've ever met you or heard you speak and I just want to say you are a national treasure and not just because of the way you told this story but for being a lunch pale and hard hat kind of guy and the values that you espouse and talk about and just it oozes out of you. So, this isn't a question. I just wanted to acknowledge you for that. And also, how you tell Herb Brooks's story and uh I think the the witness that you provide for what he did and who he was is the

greatest gift that I believe you can give another human being, being a witness for somebody's life

the way you are for him. And uh yeah, we all believe in miracles in this room. And as you said, you know, maybe we meet another 1980 uh this day and age. And because of this man and the witness that he is for your team and your life, uh I think one of us and you know as a retired you know fighter pilot myself I've said this before but I believe that the mission that we're on now is more crucial to our nation to the furthering of that dream for what you fought for what you represent than the mission I served when I was actually flying over the skies and defending my country. Uh so I do believe in miracles and I think that the next miracle that happens will be created in this room. So uh thank you for being here tonight to tell that story and thank you for

thank you for having me. Thank you. Amen, Nathan. I I I wrote a book a few years ago. Uh, it's called The Making of a Miracle, and it's kind of my my life story, and I don't tell you to buy the book, but you can if you want to. But I I I wrote the I remember when they contacted me. They wanted to write a book about our team.

This is simple, Mike. I'm buying a book for everybody in the room. Done. I'm seriously order on. Yeah.

But I remember they wanted to write a book about our team. And I called my teammates up and they said, "No, no, not interested." And if you, like I said, if you move to my teammates, they don't like any attention at all whatsoever. They said, "No, we're not interested in a book." I said, "Okay." So, I called the guy back and he goes, "Why don't you write one?" And I don't want to write a book. Then I got to talk about myself. Then I got to go to book signings and you got to see people. And then I thought about it and I talked to my wife. I said, "You know what? I'm I'm going to do it." I wrote I wrote the book and I wrote the book for one reason. I want my grandkids to know that Papa's life wasn't one game or one goal or one moment. and want my grandkids to know about their grandfather, their great-grandfather and their family because family is very important to me.

So, I did write the book and it be actually became a became a bestseller and uh thank God co hit because I didn't have to go around do book signings and like that. I did like two signings and that was enough for me.

Thank God for CO. Thank God for CO. That's amazing. Qu Who's got the next question? team.

Can't ask me any later. Here's a question for you. This is Mama Soul Wisdom. She had her face on a Times uh square billboard, 40 feet for like a month rotating. She's an incredible human being. Please, Mama Soul you

Thank you. Um Mr. Arusioni, what do you hope the miracle on ice teaches future generations about what's possible for the human spirit when vision outweighs fear?

I I think that the message is what I talked about. If you believe in something and you're willing to work hard, you can accomplish it. So, I think the value of work, I think hopefully our team will instill that in people. Um, you know, miracle is a catchy phrase, sounds great, but it wasn't a miracle. was accomplishment by a group of people who believed uh we believed and I said this earlier in ourselves and we believed in each other and I think that's an important value to have about belief and faith and hope and don't ever quit uh despite despite the the obstacles and the challenges. Um and I guess that would probably be our message because nobody thought we could win. We believed that we had a hope and a dream but let's go play and find out. So I think that would be would be a great legacy and message. I remember when we were named sportsman of the year.

Um Sports Illustrated EM Swift wrote an article about our team and it was entitled a lesson and message of what we can be. And the article didn't talk about goals that were scored or saves that were made. It talked about our values. It talked about our work ethic.

And I think that's that's the the key to our success. And I think that, you know, then it was named the greatest sports moment of the 20th century. And a lot of it was because of those values. And that that's what I hope people take away from the movie or take away from our team is what we the hope and belief that we had.

Amen. Let's hear for that. Thank you. And my I'm going to take a final question. I was 10 years old as I I told you and maybe I was too naive or maybe I just hadn't been brainwashed about why you can't do things. But when I went home that day to watch that game, I believe with every cell in my body that we that's what you guys did. we you made it a we for everybody in America who actually could still not be conditioned to a negative headsp space that we were going to win and I thank you for that and because of that incredibly impossible dynamic of me being 10 years old it's the right age the right time that imprinted on me just in all these circumstances and dynamics in my life and the lives of others Um, yeah, that is truly possible and I I mean it with every part of me. Thank you. And I I feel so blessed

to have the miraculous timing of being 10 years old and that night happening. So, thank you.

Thank you. It's funny. My my grandkids want to watch the movie sometimes and we've never I've never sat with them and watched it. At some point, I'm going to, but about a month ago, my grandson wanted to watch the movie and I took the tape out and he looks at me, he goes, "What's that?" I says, "That's the movie." What movie? That's the movie Miracle. What's that? That's a tape. That's the tape of the movie. You know, we spoil little brat. That's

It's not a CD. It's not a disc. It's a freaking VHS tape. Here, watch it. Well, and Mr. Rio, and I have to say when I share this, far be it for me to ever even give you any advice, but would it be okay if I offered a thought really quickly?

Yeah. Please watch it with them because it would be it will be I am absolutely certain a remarkable experience for you and them forever. And you have so earned what that will imprint on them forever.

I I'll watch it and I think someday I'll watch the Soviet game with them as well.

Um the problem with the Soviet I don't want to be watching the Soviet game which is on VHS. Um, I don't want to but watching the game and all of a sudden one of my buddies shows up, you know, let let it go, Mike. It's over, you know. Watch. But I but I do have a VH tape of every game that we played and maybe that will be something when maybe when the 18-month-old is a little older, we can all watch it together.

Yeah, let's hear for that. Okay, final final question. Final question. Tony Marello. Listen, we talk about like you think you're not smart. I don't think I'm that smart. This dude's a brain surgeon. Literally an actual brain surgeon. So, yes. Well, I'm glad he's not a dermatologist.

We'll get to that in a second. So, just watching the clips and hearing the story, it there's a lot of um similarities to medicine and the way we were trained. And would you say that uh Herb Brooks was the toughest coach that you played for?

No. My high school football coach and my college hockey coach were pretty intense.

Really? But then again, you know, we were talking about earlier that's how coaches coached in the 70s.

Yeah. You deal with it, you know, living in the house with my father for for, you know, 40 years. You see how how tough it was, you know. So we

I I tell people Herb was like your dad, you know, you love your dad, but sometimes you hate your dad because he makes you do things you don't want to do.

That was Herb. So that's the way it's going to be. Okay, I can deal with it. You're only going to yell at me for two hours. Practice is over and I'm I'm out of here. But he was demanding and he was challenging, but that's that's the way it was going to be. So if that's the way it's going to be, that's the way it's going to be. I'm not quitting. I want to be on this team.

Yeah. um some of the physicians here with me, we all trained in an era where our attendings treated us like that and again and again and again, right?

And um you know, we just have uh our results were better because of that. Um we keep the keep them in a special place in our heart because they made us who we are. Just

makes you stronger. Yeah. And I wonder if some of that's missing today. you know, you're still you're with the university now. And do you notice that things have changed?

It's a lot different. Yeah. Uh coaching kids today, you don't coach them the way you used to coach. Don't yell at Johnny because, you know, you'll get in trouble.

Yeah. Um but, you know, I I I think that the era that we grew up in was that kind of an era. Now, they grew up in a different era. You got to learn how to coach today differently than you could coach 20 years ago, 30 years ago.

Yeah. And the great coaches adjust that way. the great coaches understand, you know, things. They can still be firm and disciplined and things like that, but you you got to find a way a different way of doing it than I think the old the old coaches did.

Thank you. Thank you, Tony. So, um, Mike's got a great new doctor. Can you just share that real quick?

My wife's a fanatic about going to the doctors. Got to go to the doctors. My dermatologist retired, so she gets me this new dermatologist. This was about I'm going to say 6 8 months ago. So I go into the guy's office. They sit me go to room four. So I go to room four. I sit down. I'm waiting for the doctor. Doctor comes in. Take your shirt off. So I take my shirt off and he's got the thing and he's looking. That's good. That spot's good. That's good. And I have after the Olympics, my girlfriend, who's my wife, had this replica gold medal made for me.

She worked in the jewelry business. And he looks at it and he sees Lake Placid. He goes, "Lake Placid? I went there last year. You know, that's where the US hockey team won the gold medal. Swear to God. And I think he's messing with me, right? And they have the oval where Eric Hiden won five gold medals right next to this arena. And they have a museum and they can watch ski jumpers and there's a bobsled and a luge. Have you ever been there? And I still think he's messing with me, right? I looked at him and I went, "Uh, I I was on that team." He goes, "No, no, you weren't." I I I said, "No, I I was I was on that team." She goes, "Oh my god." So, I leave and I go home and I tell my wife the story. She goes, "What do you think?" I said, "I think I need a new doctor.

This guy had no idea who I was. He never looked at my chart. He It's not like my name is Smith, right? My name is in the If you go to Lake Placid in the arena, there's a big billboard with all our names all around the ring. It says, you know, Mikey Ruseioni on the in the rink and he was there and he never looked at my chart.

So, I'm getting a new doctor. That's that that that that's a true story that actually happened.

No idea. Anything anything left that you want to accomplish that is unaccomplished yet? here. Family, the congressional gold medal. You obviously have incredibly successful speaking.

I I like I said to you, I take each day as it comes. Um I look forward to going home tomorrow and my grandson's got a football game I think tomorrow night and go watch him play and uh live every day and enjoy every day and watch my kids my grandkids grow and uh hopefully live a little longer to see them have kids someday. And uh I I told my wife, and this is funny, I know you aren't going to agree with me, but my when I first became a grandfather, I said to my wife, "The worst thing about being a grandfather is I'm sleeping with a grandmother."

And she didn't think that was funny. I thought I I thought it was hilarious. Slept on the couch.

Yeah, I slept on the couch for the next month. But no, I like I said, I just, you know, I I cherish the things that I'm doing, continue to do, opportunities that I still have. Uh, working at Boston University is awesome. We're going to have another good hockey team this year. Uh, three years in a row. We went to the Frozen Four, Final Four, and maybe this year we can win it, which would be great for the for the kids themselves. But, um, no, I I just, uh, hope the hope the plane lands on time tomorrow, and, uh, I'll make, uh, I'll make, uh, maybe nine holes in the afternoon with the boys.

That's a beautiful thing. um can't thank you enough for everything you've done here.

Thanks for having me. The appreciation knows no bounds. And what I think would be a wonderful way to have Mike uh call this an evening would be to give him a little USA on our feet. What do you guys think?

So, let's rise to our feet as Mr. Micah Rouion heads off the stage. Let's first of all give him a hand. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you, sir. Thank you. And let's hear a little USA, USA. USA. USA. USA. USA. USA. USA. USA. Mr. Mike Rousion. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you. Thank you.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Mike Eruzione: USA Wins Gold, the Miracle on Ice, and the Mindset of a Champion"?

Mike Eruzione (Guest), Sean Callagy (Host), Nicole Tink (Guest), Lance (Guest), Nathan (Guest), Tony Marello (Guest).

What is "Mike Eruzione: USA Wins Gold, the Miracle on Ice, and the Mindset of a Champion" about?

Mike Eruzione reflects on how a pivotal summer league moment shaped his path to Boston University and the U.S. Olympic team, emphasizes resilience, self-respect, and the pride of wearing a USA jersey, and highlights the lasting values and mindset that define a champion.

What is mentioned in this Sean Callagy episode?

24 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Herb Brooks, US Olympic team, Mike Rousion, Hockey, Olympics, Boston University. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Mike Eruzione: USA Wins Gold, the Miracle on Ice, and the Mindset of a Champion"?

The episode runs 1 h 49 min; the transcript is about 21,965 words in 300 timestamped sections.

More from Sean Callagy

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated October 29, 2026.