One of the most iconic movies in all of sports history, Miracle, is chock-full of inspirational quotes from the coaches and players throughout the movie. Here are my favorite quotes that give me chills or make me laugh each time I watch the movie.
1. "Mike Eruzione?" "You can cross him off the list Walter, kid doesn't have a shot in hell in making this team."
A conversation between Walter Bush (long time USA board member) and one of the members of the group put in place to select the 1980 Olympic team sold Mike Eruzione short and if it would've gone their way, Eruzione never would've worn the red, white and blue. It was a good thing Coach Brooks thought otherwise because Eruzione would go on to score one of the most memorable goals in all of USA Hockey history that won the game for Team USA over the Soviet Union.
2. "Why'd yah wanna play college hockey?" "Isn't it obvious? For the girls!"
A question posed by Jack O'Callahan, by far the Team USA member with the best flow, answered ever so eloquently by Ralph Cox. OC wasn't so amused as the rest of us were though, telling Cox afterward that he wanted to win a national championship and "that pansy over there cheap-shots me and steals the ring right off my finga", detailing his distaste for Robbie McClanahan who was across the room. Cox's hilarious response would go on to be the mantra of college hockey players everywhere.
3. "You think you can win on talent alone? Gentlemen, you don't have enough talent to win on talent alone."
Good old Herb Brooks had this gem. Every hockey coach needs to know this one to whip out when their team isn't playing well at all.
4. "You can't do that, it's my net!" "They just scored 10 goals, Jim. Right now, it's everybody's net."
Coach Brooks had a knack for saying what everyone was thinking in a way that nobody could and wasn't afraid to tell Craig that he couldn't stop a beach ball.
5. "This cannot be a team of common men because common men go nowhere. You have to be uncommon."
Coach Brooks was full of wise words and a lot of his best quotes apply to life outside of hockey too. This one is one of my favorites, in fact, I even used it in my graduation speech.
6. "Again"
Perhaps one of the more iconic words in the whole movie. Look at a hockey player and say "again" and they'll know exactly what you're referring to.
7. "Mike Eruzione! Winthrop, Massachusetts!" "Who do you play for?" "I play for the United States of America!"
One of the most iconic scenes in the movie that represents how far the players on the team have come comes from the one and only Mike Eruzione. It was that moment in the movie where the team came together as a team and realized who they were playing for.
8. "When you pull on that jersey, you represent yourself and your teammates. And the name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back! Get that through your head!"
Another favorite from Coach Brooks that is used by coaches everywhere.
9. "Do you believe in miracles? YES!"
A true real quote spoken, or more like exclaimed by Al Michaels who was calling the game on TV. He later said that he didn't even realize how much that phrase would impact people later on but it became one of the best calls from any game in the history of American sports.
