It's a 'Miracle' this isn't an ESPN original

If Oscars were given for the year's best feel good movie, "Miracle" would be a shoo-in for a nomination. Based on the true story of the 1980 Gold Medal-winning U.S. Olympic Hockey team, "Miracle" takes you on a journey through all the pain and glory of building champions out of ordinary boys and achieving the impossible dream.\nAs the film begins and the credits roll, a flashback of scenes from major American events from 1970 to 1980 are displayed. You see the rise and fall of President Nixon, the nationwide gas shortage, the rising aggression in the Middle East and the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and the former U.S.S.R. As the series of events bring you up to the year 1979, nine months before the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, you are introduced to head coach Herb Brooks. \nBrooks, as played by Kurt Russell, has a dream of the next U.S. hockey team defeating the unbeatable Soviets, who have dominated world hockey for the past 20 years. Russell is brilliant as Brooks. From the very realistic Minnesotan accent to the full-blown intensity of a coach, Russell brings to life the person who Brooks really was.\nMost of the unknown actors who play members of the U.S. hockey team have all had college hockey-playing experience, which makes all the game sequences realistic and in your face. All of the scenes have also been shot to make the audience feel like they are actually in the rink. You also get to experience the grueling practices the team goes through under the direction of Brooks, and most of the time it's not pretty.\nFor me one of the most entertaining aspects of this movie was watching the boys from Minnesota and Boston try to get along and form a team. For those of you who don't know much about college hockey, most every national championship is played between an east coast team and a Minnesotan team. While it seems as if in the beginning no one will ever be able to get along, through the difficult physical and mental tests of Brooks, the boys put their differences aside.\nFor a film where I already knew what was going to happen, I got nervous watching all the games -- even the final, fabled match-up against the Soviets. When the crowds in the film began chanting, "U.S.A., U.S.A.," I wanted to stand up in the theater and join in. For an America that now needs something to feel good about, "Miracle" couldn't have come at a better time.