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The Winter Olympics have been filled with ice. Figure skaters have landed the quadruple axel on the ice, luge racers have travelled speeds north of 90 mph, lying on their backs on boogie boards with blades on the ice, and curlers have demonstrated strategy and finesse in chess matches on the ice. But hockey is the real king of the ice, and the real reason everyone should watch this year’s Winter Olympics.

The United States team upset the heavily favored and four-time-reigning gold-medalist Soviet Union in 1980 on its way to winning gold in Lake Placid, New York. America’s “Miracle on Ice” is the greatest upset in sports history. But the United States has not returned to the throne since that victory. 

“I play for the United States of America,” Mike Eruzione said in the movie that memorializes the historic team of 1980. He no longer played for Boston University. His teammates no longer played for the University of Minnesota or the University of Wisconsin. Together, they played for the Stars and Stripes, leaving their college dorms to take down the Red Machine. 

This year, the United States will have professional hockey players wearing the red, white, and blue sweaters. These athletes, though, will be leaving the teams that sign their paychecks so that they can play for pride in Italy. If you were to ask any player who they play for now, they would not say the Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, or Detroit Red Wings. They would say, “I play for the United States of America.”

The last time National Hockey League players competed in the Olympics was in Sochi in the 2014 Olympics. The Canadians won that year. The Canadians also won in 2010. Canadian hockey has assumed the same role the Soviets held leading up to 1980: they dominate. They reinforced this within the past year. Last February, Canada defeated the United States in the championship of the Four Nations Face-Off in overtime. It was the second most-watched hockey game of the past decade. 

Despite the heartbreaking defeat, the United States should enter the Olympics with a high level of confidence. They defeated Canada once in the preliminary round of last year’s round robin. And, they showed the bullies up North that they were willing to fight. Now, they have their chance.

The final event of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, is the gold medal match of the men’s hockey tournament. On the evening of Sunday, Feb. 22, nothing else should occupy the television. Assuming the United States and Canada take care of business leading up to the championship, all eyes will be on them in a monumental culmination to the Olympic Games. 

As skaters take the ice, the total medal count of the entire Olympics won’t matter, nor will anyone remember who won the curling championship. The only thing that will matter is whether or not the United States of America can return as kings of the ice, and stand on the podium with gold ice around their necks.

Robert Matteson is a sophomore studying the liberal arts.