On February 10, 1980, the Russian national hockey team absolutely demolished the U.S. national team in an exhibition game in Madison Square Garden just prior to the Olympics, by a 10-3 score. Arguably the game hadn't even been as close as the score. The Russian team looked a lot like the Harlem Globetrotters on ice, and the U.S. team appeared to be significantly less competent than the hockey equivalent of the Washington Generals. They didn't even look as good as the Mighty Ducks (meaning the team coached by Emilio Estevez, not the NHL version.) After that brutal and humbling loss, U.S. coach Herb Brooks made a very interesting observation. He said: "Sometimes a real butt-kicking is good for a quality team, or a quality athlete." Incredibly, less than a month later the U.S. national team managed the unthinkable and defeated the Russians in the far more-important "Miracle on Ice" rematch in the Olympics. Do you believe in miracles? I do. I happened to watch that 1980 hockey game in the SAE fraternity house in Athens, Georgia as it happened, in real time. And yesterday I witnessed a similar sports miracle. Georgia won the SEC Championship by three touchdowns by the same team that had beaten them by more than three touchdowns, only three weeks earlier. Don't pinch me. If I'm dreaming, I don't want to wake up. The University of Georgia Bulldogs are the 2017 SEC Champions. Say it again, out loud and proud. Go Dawgs! Sic 'em! Woof woof woof woof! Who could have believed it, before this season started? Heck, who besides our players and coaches believed it … [Read more...]