 Sometimes athletics get too much emphasis in
society. Sometimes an athletic event can change a
country.
The year was 1980. The U.S. had been
through some tough times—high inflation, high
unemployment, gas shortages, Americans held
hostage in Iran, continued tensions with Russia.
People were on edge. Nerves were frayed. Citizens
were disheartened.
A man from Minnesota and a group of
collegiate athletes were about to brighten their
world. After the “Miracle on Ice” at the Olympics
in Lake Placid when Mike Eruzione and his
teammates defeated their nemesis, the Russians,
thousands of Americans celebrated. Two nights
later, hundreds of thousands took to the streets
jubilant over their team winning the gold.
Eruzione, who was in Waterloo earlier
this summer as guest speaker at a fund raiser
for Waterloo Youth Hockey Association,
says the Olympic experience has created
many opportunities in his life, but didn’t
change him as a person.
“It’s given me a lot of opportunities—
T.V., speaking engagements, celebrity golf
tournaments. As a person, I was very
happy with who I was before the Olympics.
They haven’t changed me.”
In fact, Eruzione says he never talked
much about the Olympic experience with
his children. “I’ve always told my kids, ‘What I did was what I did. What you do is what
you do.’”
His oldest son, Michael, and daughter
Leighann attend their father’s alma mater, Boston
University. His youngest son plays baseball
at Northeastern University.
“It’s interesting. As great as the Russian victory
was, an unbelievable victory, if we would
have lost to Finland and didn’t win the gold
medal, the Russian game would have been just a
nice victory. It would have been sort of depressing
to us and would not have been as successful
because we didn’t win the gold.”
Eruzione grew up playing hockey to pass
the long, cold Boston winters. Even during his
accomplished collegiate years, enthusiasm for
the sport he loved was limited to frozen locales—
New England, Wisconsin, the Dakotas. The rest
of the country only took note, barely, during the
Olympic years.
Eruzione has seen an explosion of interest
in hockey all over the United States
recently. He credits NHL teams moving to
“warm states” like Texas, Florida and Arizona
for part of the new excitement. In fact, writer
JohnTranchina reports for USA Hockey
Magazine the impact the Dallas Stars have had
on youth hockey.
Tranchina writes that when the Minnesota
North Stars moved to Texas in 1993, there were
only about 250 youth hockey players in the Dallas/
Fort Worth metroplex. During the 2005-06
season, youth hockey participation had grown to
over 5,000 kids. The AT&T High School Hockey
League in DFW grew from four teams in 1996-
97 to 72 varsity and junior varsity teams this past
year. (“Big Development in Big D”, USA Hockey
Magazine, www.usahockeymagazine.com, by
John Tranchina)
Eruzione says it’s all about fun. “Once kids
see it (hockey) and get out and start playing, they
realize how fun the game is and how exciting it
can be. That’s what catches you when you’re
young.”
Eruzione also sees strong signs for
the future of hockey in the U.S. “Women’s
hockey has really taken off. And the number
one and number two draft picks in the
NHL this past year were American-born
players.”
Eruzione continues to work to gain more
exposure through the media for hockey. “Hockey
is growing by leaps and bounds in terms of the
number of players. I know the NHL and USA
Hockey are doing the best they can to try to get
more promotion of the game.” Eruzione also
provides opportunities for players as part-owner
of the Omaha Knights of the USHL, opponents
of the Waterloo Black Hawks.
These days Eruzione, who is Director of
Development for Athletics at Boston University, has
traded in his hockey stick for a golf club. “Hockey
is a young man’s game. I help coach a high school
team so I’m on the ice once in a while. I would much
rather play golf than hockey. It’s warmer. No one
beats me up.” It appears to have been a good trade…
Eruzione has made three holes-in-one in his golfing
career.
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