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U.S. 1980 victory is still talked about.
By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 22, 2002
WEST VALLEY CITY -- Is the Russian men's hockey team thinking about 1980 or isn't it?
Defenseman Darius Kasparaitis said no, but U.S. coach Herb Brooks believes, well, maybe just a little.
Brooks ran into Russian coach Slava Fetisov Thursday in the cafeteria of the athletes' village.
Fetisov asked Brooks if he realized tonight's semifinal between the teams is 22 years to the day the United States beat the Soviet Union in 1980 at Lake Placid.
"He said, "What do you think?"' Brooks said. "I said, "I'm too old to think about it.' But he was thinking about it."
Fetisov played in that game. Brooks was the U.S. coach.
Fetisov said he is thinking about it in the context of how tonight's game can sell hockey around the world.
"It's the biggest stage," he said, "if we get it right."
Then, to make a barely hidden point, he said, "I wouldn't want to be the ref in this game."
Kasparaitis said a victory would not be payback for 1980.
"I don't even think about 1980," he said. "Americans made a big deal out of it, but for us, it's just another game. We'll come out and compete for what we came here for, not something that happened 22 years ago."
Still, Kasparaitis said, "If we win, it will be huge. People miss the old Soviet teams. They want to see victory. If we win, there will be a big celebration in Russia."
Fetisov does not like the attention paid to the 1980 game; not because the Soviets lost, but because it is part of the politics of sports he finds so distasteful, the politics that threaten these Games when Russia said Thursday it would pull out if its concerns about a string of decisions against its athletes are not addressed within 24 hours.
Turning the tables on a group of reporters, Fetisov asked what a victory would mean to Americans.
"A chance to play for a gold medal," came the reply.
"Same for the Russian people," he said. "Everybody is thinking about politics right now. In 1989, I came here and they hated me in the dressing room. Then we became friends. Communicate."
Fetisov said he explained to his players how best to communicate with Americans.
"I love America. It is a good country," he said. "I know America respects champions.
"If you beat them, they will respect you more."