It’s the new Miracle on Ice. Strip the old one of the
Olympic, political and nationalistic implications and you’re
left with tonight’s USC-UCLA showdown. In fact, tonight also
compares favorably with another hockey classic: junior Team
USA’s epic penalty-shot-deciding triumph over Team Iceland in
the timeless, “D2: The Mighty Ducks.”
Against a tense backdrop, 1980s epic Olympic hockey final pitted
the world’s two unquestioned superpowers, the United States
and USSR, on an icy battleground determining another Cold War
contest of democracy vs. communism, capitalism vs. socialism, good
vs. evil.
“D2″ was another battle of good vs. evil. The
writers couldn’t have been more on the money. Who can think
of anything more inherently evil than Iceland?
Tonight’s hockey game is also about good vs. evil. This
incarnation has an even dastardlier villain and an equally virtuous
hero. It represents what will soon be known as the third of the
trilogy of most improbable hockey upsets of all-time.
USC vs. UCLA.
The parallels between the schools’ feud and the Cold War
run deep. We wear blue; they wear red. We represent diversity and
opportunity; they represent elitism amidst general poverty. We
elect our leaders; theirs ascend in bloody military coups.
And finally USC, like the USSR, has dominated in hockey. USC has
won the previous four Pac-8 titles, is currently 11-0, has already
beaten us four times this year by a combined score of 46-12, and
has an eerie resemblance to Team Iceland.
After the football debacles of the last five years, our UCLA
community is looking for something to believe in. Something to
raise our spirits and reinvigorate our battered athletic
confidence. Something to respond to their jeers besides the typical
ghetto quips. Above all, something to unite the Bruin nation.
A win tonight against USC can and will do this. Picture the smug
faces of the Trojans circling the ice before the game confident in
a blowout. As they skate, they even impart cheesy, over-the-top,
“D2″-like putdowns to us like (cue Russian accent)
“Hey baby bears go home ““ the only fish smell on this
frozen pond is your stench” or “Hey the figure skating
event is tomorrow” or “First you, then
capitalism.”
Now, pan to us, the virtuous little-engine-that-could Bruins
whom everyone dismissed. Skating proud and valiant against this
evil juggernaut. If you even look hard enough, forward Chris Coker
looks like Joshua Jackson and wing Alex Omoto looks like the Asian
figure skater who scores a goal after distracting the defense with
an improbable 900-degree high-sticking spin.
However, the No. 1 thing we have going for us is that we
believe.
Just ask Omoto.
“We are going to win,” he said.
See, we are going to win.
And, really, if you disregard the relative talents, we actually
do have a great shot.
Whether we win or not, though, the actual point of this column
is to point out that it’s games like this which seem
impossible to win that could really turn into the most amazing
athletic event you’ve ever witnessed. The fact that
it’s not football or basketball means there’s less
hype, but not necessarily less drama.
Tonight may look hopeless. But then again, one writer claimed
the USA v. USSR matchup was like a high school football team
playing the Pittsburg Steelers. And, come on, no one could have
foreseen halfway through “D2″ that USA would ever be
able to pull through!
For $23 tonight (that includes the preceding L.A. Kings game),
the Staples Center could be our Lake Placid.
Do you believe in miracles?
Peters believes in miracles. The Warriors will one day make
the playoffs. E-mail him at bpeters@media.ucla.edu