WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump hosted members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team at the White House on Dec. 12 for a bill signing ceremony in honor of their victory over the Soviet Union 45 years ago.
“This is very exciting,” Trump said during the event. “This was one of the greatest moments in the history of U.S. sports.”
The president signed H.R. 452, known as the Miracle on Ice Bill, authorizing the production of three commemorative medals celebrating the team’s gold medal championship in Lake Placid, New York.
“This will serve as a fitting commemoration of that incredible achievement and will hopefully be a lasting memorial of that achievement going forward,” Will Scharf, assistant to the president and White House staff secretary, said during the ceremony.
Trump welcomed team members—including goalie Jim Craig, recognized for his show-stopping performance defending the net; and forward Dave Christian, who later played for 15 years in the National Hockey League (NHL); among many others—and their families to the Oval Office.
“We’re delighted to be joined today by true legends of American sports history, the heroes for the entire nation,” Trump said.
“These are the men who gave us one of the most storied athletic wins of all time.”
Ryan Suter—a longtime NHL player—attended for his father Bob, a defender for the Olympic team, who died in 2014.
“It’s a true honor for me to be a part of this,” Suter said.
Defender Ken Morrow told Trump that the familiar chants of “USA” heard in stadiums and at rallies across the nation first began in the legendary game.
When the president congratulated Buzz Schneider for scoring the first goal of the game on a slap shot from about 50 feet away from the net, the left-hander who specialized in playing left wing described the moment.
“The pass came across the ice,” Schneider said. “I caught it going the other way.”
Many of the players are from Minnesota, a fact the president noted with amusement, asking if there were “any Somalians on the team,” in reference to recent fraud cases involving Somalis in the state.
Olympic gold had eluded the U.S. team since it captured the medal in 1960, and the Soviet Union was dominating the sport, with four straight gold medal victories coming into the 1980 match.
The U.S. men’s hockey team has yet to repeat the success of the “Miracle on Ice” squad, while Soviet and Russian teams have claimed four more gold medals since then.
Sporting hats like those the team wore during the 1980 Olympics, many of the teammates and their family members offered words of encouragement for the president and his policies.
“I don’t think words can explain how proud we are for what you’ve done for our team,” said Mike Eruzione, the team’s captain. “The honor that you’ve bestowed upon our team is something that’s incredible.”
Trump thanked the players for their efforts on the ice decades ago.
“This team united us and they inspired us,” he said. “The United States was brought to a level of sports that they’ve never seen, and they brought us Olympic glory that we celebrate to this day.”
This article was originally published by The Epoch Times.
Travis Gillmore | The Epoch Times
Travis Gillmore is a White House reporter for The Epoch Times. He previously covered the California legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Contact him at Genivf.tvyyzber@rcbpugvzrfpn.pbz
