Thin Ice Nick Young Character Analysis

Skating on Thin Ice Nick Young “Do you believe in miracles? YES!” – Al Michaels The long icy road to the gold medal for ice hockey during the 1980’s Olympic Hockey Competition was not one for the weak or feeble. A group of young college athletes from different, some rival, schools went through trial and tribulation and came together and take on seemingly unbeatable circumstances, much like a protagonist would in a classic grail quest. Throughout the journey, the team of young students took on the immense pressure of representing the United States during the cold war. The United States 1980’s Olympic Hockey Team encompassed many characteristics of a classic grail quest. Much like Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail, Miracle is about
During this time, the United States were fully enveloped with the Soviet Union in the cold war. The world took this rivalry and turned the hockey match between the two into a political fiasco. Fans were sending the players letters telling them to beat the Russians senseless. One fan in the movie, at the USSR game at Lake Placid, brought a giant banner that read “get the puck out of America.” The soviets wanted to make a statement that they can outdo the Americans on our own soil. The showdown was inevitably a critical point in the cold war. The consequence of losing the game to the USSR would have boosted Russia’s already inflated and growing ego and with the cold war being a mostly mental contest, this would have been seriously detrimental. If the game was won, America would crush the USSR’s confidence show the world that we could stand up to the toughest challenge and win. We would show the soviets that we can beat them at their own game. The game became more than just a hockey game and the outcome had a severe consequence, either positive or
Besides the teams obvious goal to beat the USSR at their own game and win the gold medal, coach Herb Brooks had more on his mind then just winning. In 1960, Herb Brooks tried out and made team for the United States Olympic Hockey Team only to be cut right before leaving for the tournament. He trained with the team and dedicated himself to the team only to sit around and watch his team win the gold without him. Herb Brooks never got his gold medal playing so he was going to try his best to win his gold medal coaching. Rather than looking at the gold medal as the grail, he looked towards redemption and success of a second chance as his