Mike Eruzione on Fatherhood and Miracles

A couple of weeks ago, I was in Chicago for a professional meeting of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, where one of the scheduled speakers was Mike Eruzione. Please tell me you know who Mike Eruzione is. Please…

Okay, I realize that not everyone is a sports fan, but Eruzione played a huge role in what is certainly one of the greatest moments in sports history. Ever. In 1980, in the midst of the Cold War when America desperately needed something to believe in, he was the captain of the United States Olympic Hockey Team, back in the day when real amateurs represented our country in a sports world filled with professionals.

Against all odds, this ragtag band of skaters captured the attention of the world and beat team after team on home ice in Lake Placid, New York, including the Soviets in the penultimate game and Finland in the finals to win the gold. It was, perhaps next to my own appearance in the 1973 Missouri-Illinois Little League All-Star Game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis (where I went 2 for 2 and drove in the go-ahead run in the 3^rd inning…), the most exciting sporting event I ever witnessed.

Eruzione’s winning goal against the Soviet Union has become one of the most played highlights in American sports, and it was voted the greatest highlight of all time by ESPN viewers in March 2008. “The Miracle on Ice,” as it was known, was later made into a Disney movie called “Miracle,” but nothing was better than seeing the real thing happening before our very eyes on television.

And here I was in Chicago, standing next to him in the doorway of the meeting room, trying to act all nonchalant and stuff. Mike now works for Boston University where his job is pretty much being Mike Eruzione. He’s also a frequent inspirational speaker, and his talk this day was titled, “How to Surmount Obstacles and Win.” It’s certainly something he knows a little about, along with the importance of teamwork. For what it’s worth, I thought the best line of Eruzione’s presentation was this: “1980 wasn’t a miracle. It was teamwork and a work ethic.” Well said, sir.

But what really drew me into his talk were the wonderful stories about his father, who worked multiple jobs to support his son’s passion for hockey, even though he himself knew little about the game. Once, when Eruzione missed a shot on a breakaway, his father told him after the game, “You should have deked the goalie.”

“Really, Dad?” Eruzione replied. “And what does deked mean?”

“I don’t know,” his father said, “but the guy behind me said you should have deked the goalie.”

You gotta love his commitment to his son. That’s what dad’s do. Or what they are supposed to do. We love what our kids do and we support them, even if we don’t understand what’s going on or even if we’re not really interested. When Eruzione won the gold medal, he said his father said he was so proud he was going to “have the medal bronzed and set it next to his baby shoes.” I’m pretty sure that was just a made-up story to make us laugh, but the point remains the same: We need to be proud of our kids and let them know. Frequently. And no matter how old they are.

Eruzione grinned widely as he retold the story of watching the movie “Miracle” with his dad, who was riveted to the screen and sitting on the edge of his seat.

“Relax, Dad,” he said. “We win.”