The Miracle on Ice was an Olympic victory over the USSR by the Americans in the middle of the Cold War and was a huge morale boost for the US at the time. The victory was so well known and amazing for America because of the old rule in the Olympics that pros could not compete(the dream team would never have existed if this rule still existed). Because the Russians had no official league for hockey, any Russian players could play that they wanted. The match itself, while impressive, was not the main reason this is important, but moreover the fact that the US had overall beaten its greatest enemy. The most major quote surrounding the moment was when the announcer said, "Do you believe in miracles? YES!"