Before the start of the 1980 Winter Olympics, the United States Olympic Hockey Team was not expected to -Unis does as well as her. They had many powerful teams to beat and the team was just a group of students who wanted to play hockey. Ultimately, they pulled off one of the greatest upsets in hockey history by defeating the USSR, who many considered the greatest hockey team in the world. The Soviet Union and the United States were far apart for three decades. a nuclear arms race. Although the two nations never had a direct battle, the Cuban Missile Crisis, among other things, was a result of these tensions. The Missile Crisis began in October 1962, when an American spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being constructed by the Soviet Union in Cuba. JFK did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles, so he made his decisions very secretly. Ultimately, Kennedy decided to place a ring of ships around Cuba and place missiles in Türkiye. Eventually, the two superpower leaders realized the possibility of nuclear war and agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would remove Cuba's missiles if the United States did not invade Cuba. Even though the Soviets withdrew their missiles from Cuba and the United States eventually withdrew its missiles from Turkey, they (the Soviets) continued to build a more advanced military; the missile crisis was over, but not the arms race. In 1979, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan and the easing of tensions between the United States and the Soviets came into full swing. For this reason, the hockey match between the United States and the Soviets in the semifinals was not just any match. It was during the Cold War, a time of great tension between the United States and the USSR....... middle of paper ...... Actor Al Michaels was asked: "Believe do you have miracles? Yes!" he replied. After defeating the Soviets, the United States beat Finland 4-2 over two days and won the gold medal. When Eruzione scored the winning goal, a scene of intense happiness erupted across the country There were 10 minutes left, but the Soviets failed to score a goal; they had several chances to equalize, but the United States grew stronger and more confident as time went on. miracle had just happened, which probably won't happen for a very long time. That night, the people of Lake Placid were running and cheering in the streets. The next day, the victory made hockey headlines around the world; he impact spread far and wide and is still felt today Since this victory, the popularity of hockey has almost tripled in the United States, both at the amateur and professional level...