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The Christians: America's first hockey family
By Mike Diegnan
ABC Sports Online
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For the 20 college-aged kids in red, white and blue, it was just a game. For millions of Americans, it was a moment that will never be forgotten.
When the United States defeated the Soviet Union in Lake Placid at the 1980 Winter Olympics, it was a victory that transcended what was on the scoreboard. It was the Stars and Stripes striking down the Hammer and Sickle.
Meanwhile, for the Christian family from Minnesota, it was a second time to enjoy the thrills of a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
"You expect it once in your lifetime," said Bill Christian, who helped the U.S. win the gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley. "That is about all you can hope for, but to go through that a second time was unbelievable."
|  | | Mike Eruzione beats Soviet goaltender Vladimir Myshkin for the game-winning goal as the United States beat the U.S.S.R. on Feb. 22, 1980 en route to the gold medal. |
"I just went out and played with the thought that, although it seemed impossible, it's something that in 1960, it was the same thing -- huge underdogs -- yet the impossible happened," said Bill's son, David, who led the '80 team with eight assists.
"Why not again?" David added.
Bill was there in Lake Placid with his brother, Roger, celebrating another U.S. gold medal. In 1960, Roger scored four goals in the gold medal-clinching game against Czechoslovakia. During the Games at Squaw Valley, the brothers starred for the United States, with Bill scoring twice in the U.S.' 3-2 win over the Soviet Union, the first American win ever over the U.S.S.R. Bill also played on the 1964 Olympic team.
Needless to say, David grew up with the Olympic spirit. In addition to Roger, Bill's brother Gordon starred on the 1956 U.S. team, which won the silver medal in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. In Lake Placid, they watched David lead the U.S. to the most important victory in the country's ice hockey history.
"The gold medal was always at the house," says David, who grew up in Warroad, Minn. and now helps a Pee Wee team in Moorhead, Minn. "I went through the scrapbooks and articles. As a kid growing up, that was something that was always in my mind, wanting an opportunity to play for an Olympic team. It was one of the things I took into the Olympics and took out of the Olympics. This was something that had happened before in 1960; there's no reason it couldn't happen again."
"We lived it for 15 years," says Bill, who is a co-partner with Roger in Christian Brothers, Inc., a hockey stick company. "(David) always heard about the Olympics. Every four years, we watched the Olympics with interest because we participated in 1960 and '64. He was aware of the Olympic movement. He knew what the reward would be if he won."
The reward for the '80 team was an opportunity to win over the hearts of all Americans. Yet it wasn't until a trip to the White House after the Games that the players truly realized what their victory meant to a country that was reeling from a gas shortage and the Iran hostage crisis.
|  | | USA's Steven Christoff attacks the Soviet goal defended by Vladislav Tretjak in the first period of the U.S.' miraculous defeat of the U.S.S.R. |
"That was our first realization that the whole country had paid attention and put so much emphasis on that one game," says David. "From the moment we got into Washington to see the trip to the White House, people were all over the place with flags and banners. That's when we realized the whole country was paying attention to what was going on."
Before heading to Lake Placid, the U.S. team members were more concentrated on their games than on the world surrounding them. Two weeks before the Olympics, the Americans were in awe of the Soviets in a 10-3 shellacking in Madison Square Garden.
"That was our chance to watch these guys play," says David, who retired in 1996 after 15 seasons in the NHL and two in the IHL. "They had been playing together a number of years, and we had watched play in the Canada Cup challenger series and in prior Olympics. What we did was we stood and watched them play. They showed us how good they were. It kind of set our priorities and allowed us to go into the Olympics thinking we wanted to play them again."
For David and his teammates, the rematch in Lake Placid was a chance to redeem themselves, more so than a chance to provide the country's ideologies.
"I don't think it was ever a sense that we had to play the game to prove that democracy was better than the Communist way of life," says David. "I don't think that ever played a part in the game. Was it just a game? No, it was probably more than just a game. It was an opportunity for us to show that we could play better than we had when they beat us 10-3 in Madison Square Garden. Our objective was not to show that our way of life was better than theirs by winning the game."
Indeed, the squad was oblivious to the attention it was receiving around the country.
"The other athletes in the Olympic Village were talking about the game," says David. "Did we get a sense or feel for what the whole country was feeling? Not really, not through the newspapers. But we were getting hundreds of telegrams. We had them posted up on the wall near the locker room. But I don't think we really had a real sense of the attention that was being played and the emphasis that was being played on the game. I think it was a good thing. We were able to look at it as a sports competition and just as a game."
Like every other game during the Olympics, the U.S. had to come from behind to defeat the Soviets. In the third period, they were trailing 3-2 when Mark Johnson tied the game. Then Mike Eruzione scored the game-winner with 10 minutes to go.
Those final minutes slowly ticked down before the crowd could enjoy the moment, before Al Michaels chimed: "Do you believe in Miracles? Yes!"
"You get a sense through the tape that the crowd was so into it," says David. "It was so loud in there, especially when any goals were scored."
Two days later, on Feb. 24, the United States knocked off Finland to clinch the country's second gold medal.
Both those golds have a Christian link. And nothing could ever change the significance of their victories.
Mike Diegnan is an editor for ABC Sports Online.
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 ABC Sports announcer Al Michaels counts down the final seconds of the Miracle on Ice.
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U.S. goalie Jim Craig makes a key stop in the first few minutes.
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The USSR takes a 1-0 lead as the puck gets deflected past U.S. goalie Jim Craig.
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Buzz Schneider ties it up for the Americans in the first period.
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Sergei Makarov regains the lead for the Soviets.
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Mark Johnson ties it at 2-2 with one second left in the first period. Johnson's goal prompted USSR coach Viktor Tikhonov to pull goalie Vladislav Tretiak.
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The Soviets take a 3-2 lead on Aleksandr Maltsev's breakaway goal.
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Mark Johnson nets his second goal of the game to tie the score at 3-3.
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Mike Eruzione nets the game-winning goal midway through the third period.
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