OT: Bacon at North Quad Introducing showing of "Miracle"
I'm not sure how well publicized this was, but John Bacon hosted a showing of the 2004 movie "Miracle" last night at North Quad. Anyone who was sentient on Feb 22, 1980 knows where they were that night (I was 12 and when it ended I ran outside into the snowy cul-de-sac just to burn off energy at about 10 pm and at about 10 degrees -- before I knew it there 4-5 other kids doing the same thing, jumping up and down/high fiving). The movie conveys the team and the era well. I hadn't realized that Bacon was working on a project with the team's coach, Herb Brooks, when Brooks died in 2003 (I assume a bio but he didn't say). Anyway, John came out in a nearly "full Herb" ensemble including a camel hair jacket (but no plaid pants), mentioned that he'd spoken to Brook's widow Patti on the way there, and told some interesting stories:
1. It's well-known that Brooks was the last player cut from the 1960 team, but I didn't know he was the captain in 1968. In Grenoble one day, Brooks claimed to be lost in the Olympic village, got a ride on the Russian hockey team's bus on its way to practice and then spent an hour in the rafters taking notes about their practice regimen.
2. John watched a tape of the game itself with Slava Fetisov and Mike Ramsey (who were on the Soviet and US teams). At one point, Slava hit pause and rewound to point out that in the 3rd period you can see he was gassed at a faceoff and the Americans weren't, which had never happened to the Soviet team before.
3. The Russians didn't show a lot of reaction after the loss and seemed more suprised that angry in the handshake line. Fetisov told John that winning has been become so routine for them that they were fascinated by the Americans unrestrained joy at victory.
4. I had forgotten that the US was behind to Finland in the gold medal game in the 3rd period (the Soviet game was the semis). Bacon said that, in some ways, getting the team on track to come back and win that game Sunday after the shocking upset on Friday was as impressive as beating the Russians.
One other aside, in the movie they play Jimmy Carter's "malaise" speech as Brooks leaves the team's Christmas party. That talk is remembered as emblematic of a failed presidency, but it actually is a hell of speech (this is not a political statement -- the speech was not about policy and I can think of great speeches by politicians of all stripes.)
November 14th, 2014 at 10:02 AM ^
Hit CTRL+F for term "Harbaugh" on OP.
Did not find.
Confused.
November 14th, 2014 at 11:29 AM ^
hahahahahaha my man
November 14th, 2014 at 10:13 AM ^
November 14th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
Thank you for the info. I was confused as to what Bacon had to do with Miracle or Herb Brooks.
Edit: NM. Looks like I skimmed over the part where the OP explains it. Derp.
November 14th, 2014 at 10:13 AM ^
November 14th, 2014 at 10:18 AM ^
Only one pedantic nitpick, but the game agaisnt the Soviets was not the semi-final. The medal round was a four team round-robin among USA, USSR, Sweden, and Finland. USA's result from the group stage against Sweden carried over (a 2-2 draw), and they played USSR and Finland. The win over Finland did indeed earn them the gold medal (obviously), but if Finland had won, each would have finished tied with 3 points, and USSR would have won gold with 4 points.
Thanks for the recap.
November 14th, 2014 at 10:47 AM ^
and then I wondered if I could get there soon enough to grab some.
November 14th, 2014 at 10:49 AM ^
CLEARLY John U hosting "Miracle" is his subtle way of telling us that Hoke will be retained next year and for us to prepare for his return. I think it's pretty damn obvious that John knows what's up (despite his radio appearance this morning) and is signalling us in code so as to not panic the masses.
I mean it's all so obvious - a child could see it.
November 14th, 2014 at 11:04 AM ^
BTW-A documentary about the Red Army team comes out today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/movies/red-army-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-soviet-hockey-dynasty.html
November 14th, 2014 at 11:13 AM ^
Thread title had me thinking someone found Jesus in a strip of bacon at the North Quad dining hall.
November 14th, 2014 at 11:49 AM ^
A bruise on the leg is a hell of a long way from the heart, you candy ass!
November 14th, 2014 at 11:57 AM ^
There is no sports moment I wish I could have been alive for more than the Miracle on Ice. In fact, to go with the "which team do you most want to win a championship?" post, I have to amend my list to include USA Hockey. 2002 was a tough loss, 2010 was agonizing, and this year looked so promising after the group stage. I know that gold medal will come soon enough though.
November 14th, 2014 at 2:23 PM ^
top 5 sports movies:
Miracle
Field of Dreams
Bull Durham
Major League
Slap Shot
/end of list
November 14th, 2014 at 4:14 PM ^
with Burt Reynolds was an excellent movie. I'd add Rocky and Raging Bull off the top of my head.
November 14th, 2014 at 4:51 PM ^