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In an interview with Fox News Digital earlier this year, “Miracle on Ice” goaltender Jim Craig said he hoped this year’s United States Olympic men’s hockey team would show “that same commitment” his 1980 squad had. Well, this team has won him over.
In an Instagram post showing the celebration from the U.S.’s overtime win over Sweden in the quarterfinals, Craig praised this year’s Olympic team as it geared up for a gold medal game against Canada on Sunday.
“You can feel it. The preparation. The poise. The response when it matters most,” Craig wrote.
“Great teams don’t chase history – they create it. The 1980 team proved what belief can do. This group has that same edge. Different names on the back. Same name on the front. That crest carries history. It carries sacrifice. It carries belief.
“Congratulations on the win, @usahockey. One more.”
When Craig played in the Olympics, NHL players were not allowed to participate. Craig was all for having the “best athletes in the world” compete, but on one condition.
“I just hope that they have that same commitment that the amateurs had, right? That what’s the most important thing isn’t their brand, or where they play. It’s about representing their country, and it’s not about themselves,” Craig said to Fox News Digital last month.
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“That’s what I’m really proud of our teammates that we were able to do. It wasn’t about who’s going to get the best contract, where are you going, how much money are you going to make? It was about what was really important, and that’s representing your country.”
For Craig, last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off proved as such, but clearly for Craig, this team has confirmed it.
“You can be politically correct all you want, but you can see how unpolitically correct those teams were,” Craig said about the 4 Nations squads. with a laugh. “Canada wanted to win, and the USA wanted to win, and you can even see the way that Canada has picked their team [this year]. I mean, their team now isn’t just the greatest athletes. It’s an ingredient of things that it’s going to take to beat the United States.
“They’re tougher, there’s players that, like Herb [Brooks] said, ‘I’m not looking for the best players, I’m looking for the right players.’ I really think now when they go into the Olympic Games, it isn’t who the highest scorer is. They’re really looking for something that’s going to be helping them win, and that’s something Herb did a long time ago.”
The puck will drop for gold at 8:10 a.m ET on Sunday — the 46th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice.”
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