As the United States celebrates the 40th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice” hockey game from 1980, President Trump brought over a dozen members of the original U.S. hockey team on stage with him at his latest rally in Las Vegas, as the Washington Post reports.
One day before the 40th anniversary on February 22nd, President Trump held one of his “Keep America Great” rallies in Vegas on Friday the 21st. Commemorating the upcoming anniversary of the U.S. hockey team’s upset last-minute victory over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics, President Trump introduced 14 members of that original team, most of whom were wearing the iconic red hats bearing the slogan “Keep America Great.”
Also present at the rally was Kelly Brooks, daughter of the team’s late coach Herb Brooks, who came onstage also wearing a red hat and declared that her father’s “legacy is still alive today,” and that “he would be proud to be here with you all.”
Responding to some criticism from the far-left, the hockey team’s official Twitter account posted a statement saying that “to us, this is not about politics or choosing sides. This is about proudly representing the United States of America. Whether your beliefs are Democratic, Republican, Independent, etc., we support that and are proud to represent the USA. It is an honor and a privilege.”
In the 1980 Winter Olympics, the Soviet Union’s hockey team was widely favored to win, having already taken the gold medal in five of the last six Winter Olympics. The game initially saw the teams tie at two goals each in the first period, with the U.S.S.R. then earning another goal in the second period, only for the U.S. to score two more in the third and final period, for a narrow 4-3 victory. Nicknamed the “Miracle on Ice,” the upset victory is widely considered one of the greatest moments in sports history.