‘Miracle on Ice’ players discuss political climate heading into Winter Olympics

Throughout the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, the U.S. men’s hockey team received telegrams from fans from across the country — telegrams they would then paste to the wall on the way onto the rink.

As Team USA prepared to play the Soviet Union in the semifinals, a game in which the Americans were considered big underdogs, the players found inspiration in the many notes they received ahead of the Games. “They were so emotional,” recalled Jim Craig, the team’s goalie.

The game was being played during the height of the Cold War, in a charged political climate. “(The telegrams) helped us feel how much America felt — how important that win would be,” Craig said.

One woman wrote from Texas saying, “Beat those Commie bastards.”

Well, you know what happened next. The U.S. won 4-3 in one of the greatest upsets in sports history, a game now simply known as the “Miracle on Ice.” The story was turned into a movie in 2004, and this week, Netflix is releasing a documentary titled “Miracle: The Boys of ’80.”

On Tuesday, four members of the “Miracle” team appeared on NBC’s “TODAY” show to promote the new film. Afterward, they retreated to a back room, where they spoke with NBC News. You probably still know their names — Craig, the goalie; and forwards Buzz Schneider, Rob McClanahan and Mike Eruzione, who scored the game-winning goal.

They are remembered not so much for winning gold — but rather for that win over the Soviets, what it meant off the ice, how it stirred national pride. The new documentary appears to frame the “Miracle” game in its historical context. The trailer shows marching troops, missiles being transported, and a player calling the Soviets “the enemy. They were Darth Vader.”

The film also arrives just before the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics start next week, during another politically charged moment. Russia has invaded its neighbor Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump has complicated relationships with several countries — Venezuela, Greenland and Canada, to name a few. Then there’s the federal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, and the ongoing chaos of the American political system. It’s safe to say, America’s reputation abroad is not the same as it was in 1980.

“We could use an ’80 now,” said Eruzione.

Meaning, we could use another unifying moment, like the “Miracle on Ice.”

The “Miracle” players have been keeping up with the news. Russia is viewed as an adversary by many today, but for different reasons. On the war in Ukraine, Eruzione said, “How many thousands and thousands of people are being killed for no reason at all whatsoever. It’s pretty frustrating to see something like that go on in the world. Forget sports.”

McClanahan and Schneider are from Minnesota and still live in the state. They have followed recent events there, the violent clashes between federal agents and protesters. “All I’ll say is, people just have to regain some common sense, and you have to start respecting one another,” McClanahan said. “Regardless of where your views are from. It’s a matter of having respect.”

“And treat people how you’d like to be treated,” Schneider added.

Eruzione reminisced about 1980, when the “Miracle” team made people “proud to wave the flag … proud of our country.”

“If you did a background check, we all came from hard, working-class families,” Eruzione continued. “We were the kid next door. Next thing you know, you’re watching him play in the Olympic Games. I think people saw the personality of our team, the closeness of our team, and they rallied behind it.”

That’s why he thinks we could use another “Miracle” moment.

“Just pulling this country together,” Eruzione said. “Getting people together. We’re so distanced from each other, whether it’s Republicans or the Democrats. People don’t respect people anymore. It’s frustrating to see that. People hate the president, but we elected him, so support the president. We don’t have that. We don’t have a togetherness.”

In 2020, Eruzione and members of the “Miracle” team appeared onstage with President Trump at a campaign rally in Las Vegas. Many players also wore red “Keep America Great” hats, which drew backlash online.

“If we knew we were going to piss off this many people, we probably would not have put the hats on,” Eruzione told The Washington Post at the time.

Then, just last month, the “Miracle” team visited President Trump at the White House and received Congressional Gold Medals. When Bill Baker, a member of the team, introduced himself to Trump, he mentioned he was from Minnesota and said, “I know that right now that doesn’t ring very well,” an apparent reference to Trump’s disparaging comments about Somali immigrants in the area.

“Any Somalians on the team?” Trump asked, drawing laughter in the room. “I don’t think so.”

Eric Schweikardt/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

Eric Schweikardt/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

On Tuesday, the “Miracle” players said they didn’t expect Team USA to be viewed any differently in Italy, despite the political landscape here.

“They’re athletes. They’re not political [figures],” Eruzione said. “I think they’re going to take great pride in representing their country and hopefully accomplish what they want.”

The “Miracle” players insisted politics hadn’t entered their minds in Lake Placid.

“It doesn’t even enter the equation,” McClanahan said.

“It wasn’t once talked about in the locker room,” Eruzione said. “Not once.”

“We were just so focused on playing,” Schneider said. “Having to play the best teams in the world.”

But what about the “Commie bastards” telegram?

“It’s inspiration,” Craig said. “Not political.”

“Exactly,” McClanahan added. “It’s inspiration.”

“The Olympics were a time of pause,” Craig added. “The Olympics represented sports where the best athletes in the world got together. There’s supposed to be no fighting. Really, the Olympics are about being — nothing about politics. I wish it was still like that.”

Rarely have the Olympics been apolitical, though, going back to Jesse Owens in Germany, Tommie Smith and John Carlos in 1968, or that scene in Lake Placid, when a group of underdogs upset the Soviet Union.

“The flags [waving], people singing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ people singing ‘God Bless America,’” Eruzione said. “It was just an incredible atmosphere.”

Jack Hughes, Laila Edwards and Declan Farmer announced the men’s, women’s and sled hockey teams for the Milan-Cortina Olympics on TODAY.