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President Trump welcomed members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team into the Oval Office this week and signed legislation awarding them Congressional Gold Medals, a long-overdue recognition of a moment that lifted an anxious nation. The ceremony, held on December 12, 2025, was more than a photo op — it was a salute to patriotism, grit, and the American spirit that beat the Soviet giant on the ice 45 years ago.
Captain Mike Eruzione and several of his teammates stood behind the president wearing the white cowboy hats they sported at the 1980 Opening Ceremonies, and Eruzione presented Mr. Trump with a replica hat as a token of thanks. The sight of those veterans, still proud and still standing for America, was a welcome contrast to a media culture that prefers to smear symbols of national unity.
In interviews after the ceremony Eruzione reflected on how that unlikely victory in Lake Placid connected to our national character today, and was even asked how communism would be described in the modern moment. That question is not academic — it’s a sober reminder that freedom won’t defend itself, and that the values those college kids embodied matter just as much now as they did during the Cold War.
Conservatives should be grateful the president chose to honor these men who put country first, especially when the left-wing press still delights in turning heroes into political punching bags. The same outrage machine that tried to shame the team after a 2020 appearance with campaign hats has never tired of scoring cheap points against patriotism. Instead of attacking our icons, journalists ought to celebrate what unites us.
The lesson of Lake Placid is timely: discipline, teamwork, and faith in American institutions beat tyranny and sloganeering every time. Today’s flirtations with socialism and woke experiments are not harmless debates about policy — they are slow corrosions of liberty that would have made the victory in 1980 impossible for a future generation. If we forget why we fought and what we won, we risk gifting future miracles to our rivals.
We should applaud the White House for restoring honor to these patriots, and push back against the elites who sneer at national pride while cozying up to radical ideas that undermine our prosperity. Mike Eruzione and his teammates deserve more than a moment in a photo gallery; they deserve a country that remembers what made that triumph possible and defends it with conviction.
Hardworking Americans know the truth instinctively: we don’t need teachers of self-loathing or pundits who prefer division to unity. We need leaders who celebrate courage, preserve liberty, and stand with those who carried the flag in dark times. Honoring the Miracle on Ice team was a small but meaningful step toward reclaiming that common-sense patriotism for a brighter future.
