Red Army Page #2

I used to go with them

to provide security,

and to prevent any "escapes"

to the West.

The "special people"

who traveled with us,

they give your passport before you

get to passport control,

and they collect the passport

when you cross the border.

The Canadians put us

in a five-star hotel.

Chandeliers. Marble.

One room per player,

and a hundred TV channels.

Hey, right now, Loblaws is

having a huge frozen food sale.

Fruits, vegetables in the wintertime.

I've never seen it before for us.

In the Soviet Union,

we got fish only one day a week.

It was "Fish Thursday."

When people went abroad,

especially for the first time,

they were so surprised

by the differences.

We got $48.

They gave us pocket money.

I bought 2 jeans, 3 pair of shorts.

Lots of stuff which just didn't

exist in Moscow.

However, they never saw

the negative side

of the other countries.

Control was intense.

Without such intense control,

there was no point in the work at all.

I was never even thinking

about to defect.

Never. What's that mean?

It meant you were happy.

I'm happy.

Tonight, Team Canada

hosts the Soviet Union.

It's a team we've never seen.

The building was 12,000 people. Packed.

I was so nervous, y'know?

We got shitty gear.

- Canada versus the Soviet Union.

- Team Canada has a definite edge.

The two things

that Team Canada do the best,

they shoot better and they skate better.

Canadians, fans and sportswriters

seem to agree

their team will clobber

the Russian pretenders.

We beat them in all 5 games.

Fetisov over the line.

Fetisov trying to get it out in front.

Throws it out in front.

They shoot, they score!

Fetisov back out of the slot.

Fetisov feeds.

Fetisov with a brilliant play.

He scores!

He scores!

- Fetisov.

- Fetisov.

And the game is over.

The Soviet Union has beaten Team Canada.

Viacheslav Fetisov.

His teammates call him Slava.

He's undoubtedly

one of the great young stars

of the Central Red Army team.

It's been said of him

that he can skate backwards

as fast as most defensemen

can skate forwards.

Kids growing up

now want to play like Fetisov.

Which players do you like the best?

- Fetisov.

- Fetisov.

Okay, Gabe. Let's go. Let's go. Work!

You guys are used to doing

nothing over there in America.

Yeah. Okay.

I want to ask you about Viktor Tikhonov.

How did he become

the national team coach,

and what was your relationship to him?

Tarasov got in trouble because

Tarasov's team scored a goal,

but it wasn't counted.

And he became so angry,

he actually took his players

off the ice.

Tarasov disagreed and stopped the game.

We didn't play for 40 minutes.

And there sat Brezhnev.

And Brezhnev was saying,

"What the hell is this?"

They removed him from the national team.

They punished him for this.

The KGB Chief was a fan

of the Red Army Club.

Tikhonov was his protg.

You mean, Tikhonov was so powerful

in the Communist Party that they made him...

What do you mean powerful?

I mean, can't someone just say...

What do you mean powerful?

He's a part of the system.

The Chief of the KGB put him

in the position.

Viktor Tikhonov was disliked or detested

by most of the players.

If we didn't obey,

he would punish us severely.

He would take your salary

or bar you from playing.

Some rather vigorous discussion.

Our friend, Mr. Tikhonov, is ticked off,

if you'll forgive the expression.

Tikhonov's been heavily criticized

by some of the players.

One of them said if he ever

needs a heart transplant,

he wants Viktor's

because Viktor's never used his.

You can see him

yelling at them on the bench,

and, actually, he would hit them in practice,

and smash them in the head.

Hammer them like this.

I'm very volatile.

That's how I am.

And the guys know that.

They know when to approach me.

He's looking a little bit

deranged right there.

Tikhonov was in a very advanced

position from the beginning.

He got the best team in the world.

He got all kinds of support

from the government.

In the Soviet Union,

you can get any player.

You draft him into the army

and he becomes a Red Army player.

Can Tikhonov be successful without us?

I don't know.

We being successful without him?

I think so.

Here, suddenly, there was a team

that actually could beat Team Canada.

And the hockey players

were all considered as heroes.

And hockey itself became

tremendously popular in the country.

Can you tell me

about your first Olympics?

Want a story? You got the time?

I come to you this evening to

discuss the extremely important

and rapidly changing

circumstances in Southwest Asia.

Massive Soviet military forces

have invaded

the small, nonaligned

sovereign nation of Afghanistan.

A Soviet-occupied Afghanistan

is a stepping stone

to possible control over much

of the world's oil supplies.

It is a deliberate effort of

a powerful, atheistic government

to subjugate an independent

Islamic people.

Heavy fighting continues in Afghanistan.

With invading Soviet troops

in parts of the country,

world indignation at the apparent

Soviet takeover is coming to a head.

Cold War passions

were running very, very hot.

And then, the United States

happened to be hosting

the Olympic Games at Lake Placid.

They had this Cold War

political flavor to it.

The David versus Goliath

matchup featuring

a US team comprised of

inexperienced college players

going up against a veteran Soviet team

widely regarded

as the best hockey team in the world.

The United States

had lost an exhibition game

to the Soviets, 10-3,

a couple weeks before the Olympics.

That showed the difference in skill level

between the two teams.

The excitement, the tension building.

The Olympic Center filling to capacity.

In a political or nationalistic sense,

I'm sure this game is being viewed

with varying perspectives,

but it is a hockey game.

The United States and the Soviet Union

on a sheet of ice

in Lake Placid, New York.

Here we go, as the game is underway.

The Soviet Union in red

and the United States in white.

It's been 20 years since an American team

has beat the Soviets.

Pavelich up ahead to Schneider.

Slap shot! Goes in!

A winner!

The United States has tied the game!

A couple of months ago, would you have

believed this would be possible?

Very careless rebound.

An uncharacteristically

careless rebound by Tretiak.

Here's Tretiak on the bench.

A very uncharacteristic place for him.

He leaves it for Zhluktov.

Zhluktov, number 22,

who passes it to Makarov.

Craig makes the save.

He shoots, and he scores!

4-3, the United States on top.

Checked by Ramsey.

McClanahan is there.

The puck is still loose.

Eleven seconds. You got 10 seconds.

The countdown going on right now.

Morrow up to Silk.

Five seconds left in the game!

Do you believe in miracles? Yes!

Unbelievable!

USA! USA! USA!

USA! USA!

We're number one. We rule. US rules!

Destiny.

And tell the whole team

that we are extremely proud of them.

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