Very sad, and so young. Rest in peace.
One of the greatest triumphs in American sports.
After the withdrawal from Vietnam, Watergate, Carter Malaise, and Iran hostage crisis Americans were feeling pretty broken by 1979. The "Miracle on Ice," was a huge shot in the arm that lifted the spirits of many, as did the election of Reagan in 1980 and the STS-1 Shuttle Mission in the spring of 1981. I was still a kid, but I'll always remember how those three things energized me and my friends and my parents.