USA hockey team deserves recognition

Posted January 27, 2025 4:00 am

I read a story where a bill to award Congressional Gold Medals to the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey team was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. This bill was first introduced in October, but it needs to be resubmitted for consideration again in the 119th Congress.

The head of USA Hockey and the NHL commissioner each expressed their support for the bill’s passage.

In February, it will be the 45th anniversary of the USA hockey team beating the heavily favored USSR’s hockey team on the way to the gold medal in Lake Placid, New York. This was all during the height of the Cold War Era, and I was a young soldier back then and we were all so proud of that team. We had beaten the hated Russians.

Our team wasn’t given a chance, talk about David vs. Goliath, and if memory serves me correctly, I believe that Russian team was undefeated and their players were more seasoned compared to our college-age players.

So we’re encouraged to contact our congressional representatives to express their support for the bill’s passage to give them the honor they deserve.

David Kumpula

Hoffman Estates

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