ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series just finished their fall slate with The U Part 2 featuring after the Heisman Trophy ceremony, but it’s already time to get excited for the next wave of films. Already we know about plans for a 30 for 30 centered around Duke’s Christian Laettner. Now ESPN has announced a second film that will air this February.
“Of Miracles and Men” will examine the 1980 USA-USSR Olympic hockey game. The Miracle on Ice is one of the most famous games in the history of American sports. But this film will go to a place where audiences have not been taken before – to the Soviet side of the upset.
Here’s the announcement from ESPN:
The story of one of the greatest upsets in sports history has been told. Or has it? On a Friday evening in Lake Placid, a plucky band of American collegians stunned the vaunted Soviet national team, 4-3 in the medal round of the 1980 Winter Olympic hockey competition. Americans couldn’t help but believe in miracles that night, and when the members of Team USA won the gold medal two days later, they became one for the ages.
But there was another, unchronicled side to the “Miracle On Ice.” The so-called bad guys from America’s ideological adversary were in reality good men and outstanding players, forged into the Big Red Machine by the genius and passion of Anatoli Tarasov. There was a reason they seemed unbeatable, especially after routing the Americans in an exhibition the week before the Winter Games began. And there was a certain shame in them having to live the rest of their lives with the results of February 22, 1980.
“Of Miracles and Men” will explore the scope of the “Miracle on Ice” through the Soviet lens with an intense focus on the game itself, giving it renewed suspense and a fresh perspective. But the journey of the stunned Soviet team didn’t begin – or end – in Lake Placid. In the wake of that famous loss, head coach Viktor Tikhonov and captain Slava Fetisov waged a personal battle that determined the future of Russian hockey.
It may sound quite lofty given the standards of the series, but this has the potential to be an all-time great 30 for 30. You can’t have a more compelling subject matter than the Miracle on Ice. And even though it’s a story that’s been told again and again over the years, the series has found a completely new and intriguing lens in which to view it through. Seeing the Soviet side will put that game into an even deeper and more meaningful perspective.
Of note for the film, viewers will be able to hear the counterpart to Al Michaels’ “Miracle on Ice” call with footage of the Soviet call of the game from Nikolai Ozerov. In addition, “Of Miracles and Men” will explore the construction of one of the great teams ever assembled and the impact of the stunning defeat to the Americans.
This is what 30 for 30 is all about – unearthing great, unknown stories from the sports world or helping us to see well-known stories in a new light. I know this is one 30 for 30 I can’t wait to see – set February 8th at 9 PM ET in your calendars.
[ESPN]
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