Cool off from the July 4 heat!

It is hot outside. Extremely hot. As the calendar flips to July, it is only going to get hotter. This Friday is the Fourth of July, aka’s America’s birthday (but that is up for debate. I would argue that the official Independence Day for America is when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown and America OFFICIALLY became a country and no longer a colony, but that’s another debate) should be incredibly hot. And if you don’t want to brave the heat just to watch the same fireworks display you saw last year, let me give you a cool alternative: stay in and watch one of the most underrated sports movies of all time. You will still feel VERY patriotic!
Cue up your DVD player and throw in Miracle. The movie, in case you didn’t know, is the story based on the 1980 US men’s hockey team that went on to claim gold at the Lake Placid games. This movie has EVERYTHING you want from a sports movie: an underdog story, the token funny character, the “we’ve reached bottom, now let’s build up TOGETHER” angle and several goosebump scenes. And the best part: WE WIN! That’s right, America wins. You can’t ask for anything more on July 4.
This movie gives you a look at several of the key players as well as a look at the coach, and the best part is, the actors were hockey players that were turned into actors. Some they really are in a way underdogs. They clearly are not true Hollywood standouts like Clooney playing Jim Craig with Matt Damon as Mike Eruzione or some crazy concoction like that. That made everything seem a little more real. They overacted at times, but that is perhaps how the REAL players would have acted.
Kurt Russell gave a fantastic performance as coach Herb Brooks and his speeches going into the semi-final round vs. USSR got ME fired up. I WANTED to play the Soviets in that game.
And even though you KNEW what was going to happen at the end, you still will find yourself cheering wildly when Al Michaels drops his “Do you believe in Miracles? YES!” line. I could not stop smiling and I always seem to raise my arms in triumph when the team wins the gold. It makes me proud to be an American.
So if you are looking for a fresh alternative, check this movie out and beat the heat. If you want a double feature, grab Rocky IV, but Miracle is my pick. And if you don’t get goosebumps when, after a grueling extended workout session designed to break the boys down, Rizzo screams out, “Mike Eruzione, Winthrop, Massachusetts. I play for, the United States of America!” then I don’t believe you have a soul.