Friday was the anniversary of one of the biggest American sports moments of all time. 33 years ago, a team comprised of bunch of college kids beat what was supposed to be the best hockey team in the World. The USA Olympic hockey team, capatined by Mike Eruzione, beat the Russian team in the semi-finals of the Olympic games. Eruzione scored the game winning goal. The Americans went on to defeat Finland for the gold medal. Lake Placid, NY will be forever known for the "Miracle on Ice", and a really bad movie about a giant crocodille.

Over the weekend, Mike Eruzione auctioned off the gear he wore during that monumental game. The gear had been in a bag in his attic. He heard that a jersey worn by Paul Henderson in the 1972 Summit series against the Russians sold for over $1 millon. His "Miracle" jersey sold for about $675,000. The stick that scored the game winner sold for about $265,000. The stick that scored the goal to make the Miracle. The jersey he wore in the gold medal round against the Fins sold for about $287,000. Eruzione said that he gear was just lying around, so it might as well do his family some good. Ken Morrow, a defensemman from the 1980 team, sold his jersey for $104,000. Mark Wells, a forward, sold his gold medal for $310,000 in 2010. Steve Christoph, another forward for team USA, put his gold medal up for sale on Saturday as well. It didn't reach his set mark of $350,000. he is working on a private deal with a buyer now. Eruzione said that he will never sell his medal as long as he is alive. Maybe his kids or grandkids might, but he hoped it would be "for the right reasons".

The Miracle On Ice was basically what got me interested in hockey. I lived in North Carolina, we didn't play much ice hockey here. And we got to see an occassional game on TV, usually during the playoffs. I watched the 1980 games and started enjoying the sport. I was a huge fan of Team USA  goalie, Jim Craig. He played for the Atlanta Flames, who moved to calgary in 1980. I decided that I didn't want to pull for a Candian team, so I just followed the sport not having a real favorite. Then in 1997 another Miracle happened when the Whalers moved to Raleigh. But that is another blog for another time.