As expected, the Canadian women’s hockey team emerged triumphant in Beijing, with viewership spiking to 2.7 million viewers vs. Team USA Feb. 16 at 11:41 p.m. ET on CBC, TSN and Sportsnet. Still, the just-ended 2022 Olympic Winter Games did not seem to bring the same golden glow with North American viewers as they have in the past.
What defining moments that did happened left many of us with negative images, especially in the harrowing women’s figure skating finals. As this AP summary by David Bauder and Joe Reedy suggests, many American athletes underperformed, with arguably the most successful – freestyle skier Eileen Gu – competing for China.
Best then perhaps to look back at an incredible moment of triumph that occurred 42 years ago today as the US men’s Olympic Hockey team shocked the mighty Soviet Union in Lake Placid, New York. ABC’s Jim McKay, usually so stoic, almost loses it.
“Try to imagine if American football was played at the Olympic summer games,” said McKay, “and an all-star group of Canadian college boys beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s that big an upset.”
Check out the link above, with thanks to Kevin Vahey for pulling it out of the vault.
