Tim Danube
associate director of the Nebraskan Student Union, 308.865.8523
The team captain who led the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey Team to its gold medal victory in Lake Placid, N.Y., will speak at the University of Nebraska at Kearney at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, in the UNK Health and Sports Center.
Mike Eruzione scored the game-winning goal against the Soviet Union. The Disney movie, Miracle, is based on that very game. The victory against the Soviets advanced the U.S. Hockey Team to the gold medal game where they beat Finland and won the gold medal.
“There is so much history with that game,” said Tim Danube, the associate director of the UNK Nebraskan Student Union. “Whether you’re a sports fan or not, there is so much more going on there than just athletics,” In 1999, Sports Illustrated voted the 1980 Olympic hockey team winning the gold medal to be the #1 sports moment of the century.
After the victory in Lake Placid, Eruzione spent several years in New York and New Jersey as a sports commentator for Madison Square Garden. In 1984, he joined ABC and did broadcasting for the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary.
On Feb. 8, 2002, Eruzione and his teammates had the honor of lighting the Olympic Flame at the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Eruzione is the vice president of business development for Gymamerica.com, which is a health and fitness Web site. He remains in his hometown of Winthrop, Mass. with his wife and their three children. He is actively involved in fund raising events for the Olympic Committee as well as several charitable and youth organizations. In December of 2001, Eruzione appeared on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, where he won more than $100,000 for local charities.
Eruzione now travels throughout the country as a motivational speaker, and he is also the director of development for athletics at Boston University.
