On this day in history...

It was 32 years ago today that a group of rag tag amateur American hockey players coached by Herb Brooks defeated a heavily favored Soviet team to advance to the Gold Medal round of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY.


I was 9 1/2 years old and it was Saturday night and I was ready to watch the game. If my memory serves me, my parents went out for the night (my sister had been for 4 months earlier so it might have been their 1st night out since her birth) and we had a sitter (I want to say Paula from down the street).

The story goes that the Soviets didn't want to move the start time from 5pm to 8pm to accommodate American viewers so ABC decided to show the game in prime time on tape delay. On a historic note, tape delay was something the networks used in those days because there was no internet, cable wasn't everywhere (we didn't get it in Marlborough, CT til around 1987) and satellite dishes were the size large pick up trucks. So there wasn't the gluttony of media outlets as there is now. Even the NBA went through a period when they showed playoff games on tape delay at 11pm or later on the east coast during the late 70's & early 80's!Also, since there was no cable, we had a giant antenna on the roof that was connected to a remote that you could move to get a better signal. It was kind of cool in those days (on a good day we could bet channel 38 out of Boston or channel 11 out of NYC, a big deal back then).

The US team was made up of amateurs (mostly collegiate players) but the Soviets (though considered "amateurs") were seasoned veterans of international play (as were most European players). The Soviet team was a juggernaut. They didn't lose. They coldly dismantled teams piece by piece in methodical fashion.The Soviets had taken the Gold Medal  5 times in 6 Winter Olympics (in 1960 the US defeated them in Squaw Valley) from 1956-1976. They didn't just win, they blew teams away.

As a 9 1/2 y/o I was excited to see the US team beat the Soviets. I had no idea of the political and social ramifications of the outcome. As years went by, I began to realize what a major event the victory was. America was going though tough times. There was still the Vietnam War issues lingering, gas shortages, urban decay, inflation and the hostage situation in Iran. In short, Americans had a bit of a self-esteem problem. President Carter would eventually boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow in protest to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. No one was expecting much but a victory over the Soviets would be HUGE!

I remember the major details of the game as the US came from behind to win. I won't go into the details of the game but I remember going crazy in our unfinished basement (my parents had the house remodeled in 1981 or so but the basement wasn't completed until 1988, but that's a story for another time) when the team won. It's all we talked about in school on Monday, everyone was stoked. When my friends & I skated on the lake for the rest of the winter and played hockey (probably for the next 2 winters as well), we pretended to be members of the US team reenacting the American victory. I didn't know it at the time but that feeling that I had was national pride, I was proud to be an American (as were a lot of people). Al Michaels did the play by play of the game for ABC. Al is a hall of fame broadcaster with excellent credentials. As a broadcaster on that stage, you're allegedly supposed to be neutral but even a professional like Al could not contain his excitement when he let out his famous, "do you believe in miracles...YES!" Final Minute of the "Miracle on Ice" Thanks to Kathy Nee Mears for posting this on FB.

In 1999 Sports Illustrated called the "Miracle on Ice" the top sports moment of the 20th Century. I would have to agree as I never saw any of Ali's famous moments, or the Jets beating the heavily favored Colts in Super Bowl III. When I was working on the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay, I got to go the the Opening Ceremonies (thanks to the generosity of Coc-Cola & Ignition, Inc.). The 1980 Men's Hockey team lit the the cauldron with the Olympic flame. It was a great moment (naturally I didn't bring a camera as it was a closely guarded secret as to who would light the cauldron) and I was honored to be there. The team will go down in history. Without looking it up (except to check spelling), I remember Mike Eruzione, Jim Craig, Mark Johnson (a future Hartford Whaler, '83-'85, who enjoyed his best year as a pro in 1984), Neal Broten, Dave Christian and Jack O'Callahan (not to be confused with Dan O'Callahan from the 1984 film Hot Dog, brilliantly played by David Naughton).

Does anyone out there remember where you where when this happened? Thanks for your time.

Some words about Tour Bravo

So I've been working on the Army Tour (it's had a few different names over the years) continuously since 2007. Going into my 6th year, it's the longest I've ever worked for one company since I got my 1st real full time job in 1993, the 2nd longest is 39 months. So I jumped around a lot. From 2008-2011 I was the manager of Tour Bravo. The night before our last event of 2011, I was informed that I would no longer be managing Tour Bravo, that it another group received that designation. I was crushed (it ruined the night and it showed in my attitude at our event too).

In 2008 someone up on Mount Olympus thought it would be a good idea to offer me a Tour Manager position as the program was expanding. Then I thought it would be a good idea to accept that position. From the start of the 2008 touring season the tour that I would manage was known as Tour 2. Nothing special. There were 4 tours and we were designated as Tour 2. At the time I didn't think about all that much or at all. Some time in early August someone somewhere had an idea to rename tours 1-4 to Alpha, Bravo, Charlie & Delta (since our client is the Army it was a good idea and it sounded pretty cool as well). Thus Tour 2 became Tour Bravo. Again, no one on the team thought too much of as we continued to plod along.

By early October 2008 the classic Tour Bravo line-up was set; myself, Pops, J-Bro, Seth, Tim, Dr. Flute & James. This would be the line-up that would go into 2009 and stay together for the entire year. Part of our success was our limited turnover. Other tours experienced a lot of turnover in 2008 and it stunted their progress. In 2009 Seth & I created t shirts for the crew. On the front was the joker (with Tour Bravo on the right & left of the joker) and the back were the lyrics to "(We Are) The Road Crew" by Motorhead (easily the best road song by far, hands down & end of discussion). Seth came up with the joker and I want to say that I came up with  he lyrics idea but it was probably mutual.

When we showed up at the track in Daytona wearing these shirts, the production & account staff were in awe...allegedly. On a side note, I will wear my 3 Tour Bravo t-shirts until they disintegrate.

As time went on, we became better at what we did, even on splits. On one occasion, one of the heads of production commented on how quickly we worked. By lunchtime of the 1st day of set-up at Lowe's Motor Speedway, we had more done than other tours did in a full day. Track set-up started on Tuesdays & We were done by Wednesday which enabled the rest of the crew to have a day off when all the other tours had to work in that same scenario. I was very proud of the fact that we were that efficient. Make no mistake I got handed a very professional crew who knew what they were doing (in 2008, it was rocky at 1st but as time went by & we got more familiar with the equipment, we got better).

It's going to sound like Ray Liotta's monologue from Goodfellas but we did a lot of stuff together. We went to a KC Royals game, a Cubs game and even made the Moosehead Bar & Grill in Charlotte our "happy place," it would eventually become a company "happy place" by 2010. By the end of 2009 it was decided that t shirts weren't enough. The idea came about that we needed blazers with a tour crest. This is the crest (the lightning bolt was possibly my best idea ever)...

Here's a photo of the team while at the 2010 All-America Bowl in San Antonio...

As you can see a few of the guys weren't as enthusiastic about the idea of buying a blazer so they sewed the crest on a shirt. The shirts & red ties were Seth's idea and what a good one it was. I liked to think that the guys from the other tours were jealous of our unity. I had my aunt make the patches and as Seth thought it would be a great idea to have the crest put on a red cap a la Team Zissou from The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou film from Wes Anderson (that's me modeling the cap in the photo). We got the hats for the 2009 Homestead NASCAR race.

I would like to add that once Tour Delta got got solidified in late 2008 and added J-No as the tour manager in 2009, they tried to copy us by making their own t-shirts. The short was based on the West Coast swing of the NHRA Race circuit, Denver to Sonoma to Seattle in consecutive weeks. I always thought the shirt looked stupid and Seth told me that the quote on the back of the shirt was incorrect. None of the guys who were on Delta in 2009 no longer wear the shirts and probably threw them out (allegedly of course).

In 2010, Seth became the Tour Delta manager (J-No, one of my most trusted friends, went back into the office) and took J-Bro and Tim with him. By 2011 James went to Tour Charlie and Bravo was only myself, Pops & Dr. Flute. The Doctor would get married and he was replaced by Steve M.

Tour Bravo meant a lot too me; the camaraderie, our efficiency, the way we worked together & covered each other, the post hot wash beer shotguns and the fact that our superiors admired the way we worked. There was a level of excellence & efficiency that I wanted to achieve and we did it (some guys may not have liked my over-zealousness with the paperwork but I have a background in auto claims so I'm good at paperwork). Our superiors and I like to think the client to a degree knew that when Tour Bravo worked an event they could expect a certain level of excellence and professionalism and I believe we provided it. During the rough spots it was 'us versus them". Whomever the "them" were, we were always "us." I Still wear the red cap with the crest so it can be argued that I haven't "grown out of this phase yet," which I haven't. 

Not that I was owed an explanation or even a heads up, but no one told me that we would lose the Bravo designation. I campaigned to get it back but my appeal fell upon deaf ears. Apparently my superiors didn't know or care how much it meant to me. Not to sound like a sad sack but this job and the Bravo designation were everything. I wore the shirt when I went to Greece and I wear the cap everywhere. It's a badge of honor. I've worked on several tours since 2001 and the 2009 Tour Bravo line-up was the best I've had the privilege to work with. Thank you gentlemen.

Amendmant to 2011 films recap, part 1

According to Academy rules a film can be up for Oscar status as long as it gets released in either LA or NYC for at least 1 week. So I mistakenly thought that Coriolanus was a 2012 release when it's actually a 2011 release. Another film I was interested in seeing, Rampart (nationwide release on 2/10...allegedly), is also a 2011 release.

Since Coriolanus is a really good film I will have to adjust my Top 20. Since I'm also going to see Rampart, I will wait on making the adjustment. Before I talk about Coriolanus I would like to thank Ms. Jennifer Cherry for alerting me to this film. She mentioned it to me at the Moosehead, I viewed the trailer online and it put the hook into me. Thanks buddy and keep the recommendations coming.

Coriolanus is a modern version of Shakespeare's play about legendary 5th Century BCE Roman General Gaius Marcius Coriolanus. Coriolanus is soldiers general who knows only battle. After defeating his arch enemy Aufidius, a Volscian (the Romans defeat the Volscians but the the hand to hand combat between Coriolanus & Aufidius ends in a draw), he gets a triumph in Rome and is going to be made Consul. The problem is that he's not the most charming fellow around and has a real hard time expressing himself. Plus the plebians or "the mob" blame him for a grain shortage and he even puts down a demonstration and the grain depot. So despite all he's done for Rome in battle, he's not a favorite of the people. Thanks to some goading from a pair of senators, Brutus and Sicinius, the people decide they don't want Coriolanus as Consul.

Coriolanus is banished and decides to seek out his enemy Aufidius in order to join up with him so he can take his revenge on Rome. Now Aufidius, like Coriolanus, is very popular with his men but he's also loved by the people of Antium. Aufidius takes in Colriolanus and the Volscians invade Rome. Coriolanus achieves victory after victory and begins to get very popular with the Volscian troops (who shave their heads to emulate Coriolanus) and that worries Aufidius. I don't want to give the entire film away but it's Shakespeare so lets just say it isn't the most happy ending.

The film is directed by Ralph Fiennes, who also plays the lead character. Aufidius is played by Gerard "Leonidas" Butler and the film also stars Brian Cox, Jessica Chastain and Vanessa Redgrave. Stand out performances by everyone and the battle scenes are reminiscent of Hurt Locker or Blackhawk Down. I also liked the way that Coriolanus relationship with his mother (Vanessa Redgrave) is similar to the mother/son relationship of Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) and Mrs. Shaw (Angela Lansbury) in The Manchurian Candidate (similar but not nearly as creepy).

Now I'm not a reader of Shakespeare (my dealings with "The Bard" were relegated to mandatory readings in high school & college) so I wasn't familiar with this play. The tough thing for me was seeing people in a modern setting talking in iambic pentameter so I had to pay closer attention to the dialogue, to body movements and facial expressions. That's the only thing that I can see that would turn people off outside of that, this is a borderline excellent film.

I still would like to see Rampart but it appears that it won't be showing in the Charlotte or Winston-Salem area this weekend. Coriolanus is a cinch for the Top 10 so there will be changes coming soon but it looks like BellFlower will get dropped from the Top 10 and X-Men: First Class will get bumped from the Top 20. If I get to see Rampart then more changes could be forthcoming. Thanks for your time & stay tuned...