Forty years ago Saturday, Team USA shocked the four-time defending Olympic gold medalist Soviet Union at the 1980 Games in Lake Placid, New York. It was one of the greatest sports upsets of all time, and it also led to one of the greatest broadcast calls ever.
As the clock counted down with the Americans up, 4-3, and just trying to hold on, Al Michaels called out: “Do you believe in miracles?! Yes!”
The incredible upset snapped Team USA’s 12-game losing streak to the Soviet Union, and those losses were often ugly. As ESPN recently noted in a detailed breakdown of just how absurdly unlikely this victory was, the USSR outscored the U.S. 117-26 in those games between 1960 and 1980. And then there was the 10-3 exhibition blowout loss at Madison Square Garden right before the Olympics started, offering little hope that an upset was remotely possible.
So in honor of that stunning takedown and arguably one of the most famous hockey games ever on its 40th anniversary, here’s the end of the “Miracle on Ice” game.
It was a true David vs. Goliath game that no one thought the Americans would win, and the upset in the semifinals led to Team USA ultimately winning Olympic gold by beating Finland in the following game.
