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Fanpuck33_

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The movie sells because it's a human interest story about the US winning...I wouldn't confuse this with hockey interest in the US.

Sure, there is a strong hockey interest in the regions where it's always been strong, but I don't see that this win, in 1980, created any significant amount hockey fans. Like I said, hockey is below quite a large number of sport and gaming events in the US...events like dog shows, poker and arena football. I have no doubt that hockey will always be big in the Northeastern US...and some other pockets of the US.

A classic example of the US media and stories of Canadian hockey is the fact that on the ESPN.com front page there isn't even a mention of the World Junior Championships that Canada won last night. I guarantee you that if the US had won there would an article link and probably a picture. Instead they have nothing at all...not even an article link. Canada destroyed Russia last night and had one of the most dominating junior teams in the history of the tournament. They beat a team that taunted the US in the semi's...you'd think that this would have some sort of article that'd make the front page of North Americas largest sports media.

[Edited on 2005/1/5 by Zowpeb]

[Edited on 2005/1/5 by Zowpeb]

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Originally posted by Fanpuck33

Miracle on Ice made Americans care about hockey.

Yes and look at how strong the game is.

Pro hockey has been in the US just as long as it has in Canada. Miracle didn't change it. Americans will never, in their wildest dreams, "care" about hockey as much as Canada.

The game is struggling bigtime in the US. So I fail to see the point of what you're saying.

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Bah, Soviets are definitely NOT a dynasty to remember...who exactly did they play before 1972?? And after that they didn't "dominate" anymore anyways...

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Dude, you don't need to tell me that ESPN only cares about American sports. It's all about money for them. They are centered in the states, so to maximize ratings and profit, they center on American sports. If they thought the majority of the people who use their site would care, they'd put it up there.

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Obviously Fanpuck...I understand very well why ESPN doesn't show these things.

The point I was making was this: you implied that you didn't know much about the Summit Series earlier. Despite the realisation that it was a Canadian/Russian event you still thought you'd know more about it, if it was more significant then the Miracle on Ice. The point I'm making here is that I'd be surprised if the Summit Series even made a headline in the US circa 1972.

I don't really care if the US as a whole likes hockey or not...I don't care if they show headlines of Canadian hockey events either. My point is that you have no basis to claim Miracle is better then the Summit series game because you know nothing about the Summit series...and most Americans don't. So obviously US fans will be biased to say Miracle...and having a recent movie doesn't hurt that bias either. Canadian fans, on the other hand, have the ability to be more objective because we've seen both games, know the story of both games, etc. Like I've said, the Miracle on Ice was a great game and quite an event for US hockey...but it's not as big a moment in hockey as the Summit series.

[Edited on 2005/1/5 by Zowpeb]

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For me, the movie had nothing to do with my choice. I knew a great deal about the 1980 games before I ever saw this movie, which I only went to see because it was about hockey.

And when I say "transcends the game," I think i may have said that poorly. What I meant is not that it will go down in history as a great moment in hockey, but that it will go down as a great moment, period. It raised the spirits of a lot of people who were worried about the future, that the commies would end up beating us. But if the US beat them in hockey, something they dominated, maybe things would turn out all right in the end.

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Yeah, but that's the reason it's been overplayed: So what? The US beat the USSR at something. Both sides beat each other at something every Olympics (Barring boycotts). What difference does it make for a "great hockey moment" consideration if some US puppet in Iran was overthrown, or if the USSR invaded Afghanistan? Would a Soviet boxing upset be a big deal if it was when Solidarity came in Poland and Reagan still had guys in Central America? This is what I meant by "regular upset promoted because of nationalism/politics."

The USSR/Canada 72 series actually DID SOMETHING for hockey: It brought a new flavour to the game, and new prespectives for both sides.

Also, and it must be noted, it introduced the BEST national team uniforms ever(Canada's):

ussrca72.jpg

Fanpuck, bonus points if you can name both guys in the pic.:)

[Edited on 2005/1/6 by Habsfan21]

[Edited on 2005/1/6 by Habsfan21]

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HF21 - Those are kick ass uniforms, but I think the 87 Canada Cup ones were the best. I dunno why either of them aren't made a historic jersey for team's now a days to wear. I mean they wear the Winnipeg Falcons jersey all the time. Dunno why they cannot pay homage to the 72 team and wear a similair jersey.

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