← Unblinded with Sean Callagy
Unblinded with Sean Callagy
The Making of a Miracle: Lessons from Mike Eruzione on Leadership, Legacy, and Belief
01:48:23
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- [00:01]
Michael Rizzioni
Please join me. I welcome it back to the stage.
- [00:03]
Sean Callagy
Sean Callagy. I'm blinded.
- [00:15]
Michael Rizzioni
What is your profession?
- [00:20]
Sean Callagy
All right, let's take a quick seat.
- [00:21]
Michael Rizzioni
Get ready to go.
- [00:23]
Sean Callagy
It is that time. Please, Mr. Michael Johnson and Tink Nicole Maello. Let's hit it. Let's get to our feet. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Mike Riggione.
- [00:40]
Michael Rizzioni
Hello, everybody.
- [00:42]
Sean Callagy
Hey, bud.
- [00:49]
Michael Rizzioni
Oh, thank you. Very much. Hi. Thank you. Wow, you people were born.
- [01:05]
Sean Callagy
When I played.
- [01:08]
Michael Rizzioni
Some of you, I.
- [01:10]
Sean Callagy
I told Mr. Michael Rion that if we had the opportunity to have Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, or Beyonce, you guys would prefer him. Was I telling the truth? If yes, say yes.
- [01:23]
Michael Rizzioni
I. I'd rather see you than those three.
- [01:28]
Sean Callagy
Speaking. So, Mike, it is such an honor and privilege to have you here today. But before we get started, we wanted to share a couple thank yous. And you met Nicole. Tink, my ello back there. So she's gonna read a couple thank yous that we prepared for you for being here and for who and what you are in the world. Would that be okay with you?
- [01:47]
Michael Rizzioni
That's fine. Thank you very much.
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Sean Callagy
Tink, are you ready?
- [01:51]
Tink Nicole Maello
Absolutely. Mr. Virgione, on behalf of Unblinded, our certification partners, unblindedly, the entire Unblinded ecosystem, my co founders and leaders, Sean Cowdy, myself and all of our loved ones, we'd like to thank you for using. Thank you for being here. Thank you, Mr. Oruzioni, for making the trip to Long beach island to be with us at this unblinded immersion. Your very presence here is a privilege and a gift. Thank you and your team for your voice. Thank you and your teammates for choosing not only to win that game, but to carry a message of belief and possibility into the world for decades.
- [02:37]
Sean Callagy
Then.
- [02:40]
Tink Nicole Maello
Thank you for the ordinary becoming extraordinary. Thank you for reminding us that ordinary people, through vision, courage, and relentless effort, can do the most extraordinary thing. Thank you for standing in the fire. Thank you. And thank you to coach Earth Brooks, for braving the rivalries, the conflict, the pressure, and showing us all that greatness is born in the fire. Thank you and your team for having a Nation. Thank you, Mr. Ruzioni and your entire 1980 U.S. olympic hockey team. Thank you for carrying the spirit of America on your shoulders in the darkest hour. Thank you for scoring the goal of belief. Thank you for putting that cup into the net against the Soviets, not just to win a game, but to ignite belief in a nation that had almost forgotten how to believe. Thank you and your brothers on the ice for proving possibility. Thank you for proving together that giants can fall and that impossibility is an illusion and that miracles are not fairy tales, but lived reality. Thank you for reshaping history. Thank you and your teammates for a victory that became more than a medal, a moment that shifted the psychology of America and helped open the door to a new future for America and the world. Thank you for embodying team. Thank you for showing the world that legacy isn't written by one hero alone, but by a band of brothers who believed in each other when no one else did. Thank you for your humility. Thank you for staying grounded, blue collar, integrous and humble. When the world put you on its grandest stage, that humility is more powerful than any goal ever could be. Thank you for your legacy. Thank you for a legacy that lives not only in the record books, but in the hearts of every child who laces escape, every parent who whispers, you can do it, and every human who chooses belief over despair. Thank you for miracles. And finally, thank you for reminding us all that miracles are not once in a lifetime. They are possible every day, in every life, in every moment. We choose belief.
- [05:13]
Sean Callagy
Let's hear one more time.
- [05:14]
Michael Rizzioni
Thank you. I think we could use a 1980 now.
- [05:22]
Sean Callagy
Yeah, we really could, for sure. And it feels very difficult for me to call you Mike.
- [05:28]
Michael Rizzioni
Yeah, we spoke on the phone.
- [05:29]
Sean Callagy
You asked me to do that.
- [05:31]
Michael Rizzioni
I didn't get my last name until I was in the fourth grade. So, yeah, Mike's a lot easier.
- [05:35]
Sean Callagy
Yeah, so, you know, I come from a world very much like you did. Northeast. You know, I played probably about 10 years younger than you, but I had a lot of people that you were shaped by in high school was very much like my high school experiences. You know, I would love to call him Mr. Rossioni. I won't in honor of his request to call Mike, but it feels like you should always be Mr. Rossioni. So thank you for that privilege to call you Mike. So, Mike, who were you in high school? Like, what was growing up like and live, you know, small town, lots of.
- [06:14]
Michael Rizzioni
Family around, like, yeah, lots of family. You know, I thought my life was like any other kid's life. You know, I grew up in a. I grew up in a three family house. We lived in the second floor. I have four sisters and a brother. This kind of gets a little crazy. Upstairs was my mother's brother who married my father's sister. Told you it was going to get crazy. And there were five kids in that family. And my father's other sister lived on the first floor. And they were four in that family. So I grew up in a house of about 15 kids and understood the importance of hard work. Learned at a young age how important it was to be a good person, be a good, good brother, be a good friend, be a good neighbor. Values that my mother and father taught me as a kid. Growing up in this three, I thought everybody lived in a three family. I didn't know people had their own homes. And as fast forward, my wife grew up four houses for me, and she's one of 13 kids. And I live next door to the house I grew up in. And my son lives directly behind me. My daughter lives down the street. And my other son, he moved to Connecticut a few years ago because she wanted to be near her family. And I said to her, who moves to be with their family? So as we talked about earlier, and I have seven. Seven grandkids now, which is kind of fun, watching them play hockey, football, lacrosse, they're all. The oldest is 12. The youngest is 18 months. But again, back to, you know, my childhood growing up is just, you. You worked. I caddied as a kid. My dad worked three jobs. My mother stayed home and took care of six kids. There wasn't a lot of money in the house, but there was a lot of love. There's a lot of support, and that's kind of how I grew up. Sports was. Was your vehicle. I played football. I played baseball, probably played more baseball than anything. And hockey was something you did in the wintertime. It got cold. You. You went and played hockey because your friends played. I remember wanting to play hockey because my friends played, but I didn't have any ice skates. My parents didn't have enough money to go buy me ice skates if it wasn't something I wanted to show them I wanted to do. And they used to freeze the tennis courts down the street from where I lived. And in those days, you could go down the tennis courts by yourself so you didn't have to have a police escort. And not everybody got a trophy. You just showed up. And I remember wanting to play hockey because my friends played, but I didn't have any ice skates. But my sister had these white figure skates, and I fit into her white figure skates, and I'd get the white figure skates, and down the hill, I'd go on the tennis courts and learn to skate or try to skate. Hockey's a macho kind of game. Not only was I in white figure skates, but she had these blue pom poms on Her. And that's how I started to play ice hockey. And in those days you could save some people might remember, maybe not. You could save S and H green stamps. And I came home one day and there was a pair of hide ice skates on the table and my mom saved up enough stamps to get me a pair of ice skates. And that's how I started playing hockey at 9 years old, never knowing it was going to lead to the Olympics, obviously, but it was something I wanted to do. And like all great parents, you support your kids and what they want to do. So that's kind of how hockey started for me. But like I said, I probably played more baseball. And actually, you know, I was an all state football, hockey and baseball player. So sports were, was my life as a kid.
- [09:32]
Sean Callagy
And Mike, do you think that was, you know, how much of that was baseball? Football, hockey was genetic. How much do you think you worked harder, you know, had better coaching? Like what do you.
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Michael Rizzioni
I think it's, it's, it's a little of both, but, but you know, without hard work, you don't accomplish anything. So I, you know, nobody steps on the field, nobody makes major league baseball or football or NHL players by just skill. There's a lot of work, there's a lot of time, there's a lot of effort. There's a lot of sacrifices that go into people becoming successful. And I'll again, I think of sacrifices. Like I said, my dad worked three jobs. You know, he had a supportive family. So the sacrifices he made, giving me a chance to play a game, never knowing it was going to lead, like I said, to an Olympic games. But as a parent, you support your children and what they want to do. And I was fortunate to have a dad that understood that my love was sports. And he found a way to make sure that I was able to do that. And you know, I look back on my coaches. My high school football coach was a big influence in my life. Obviously my college hockey coach, Jack Parker at Boston University, where I played and, and work right now. And I'm going to tell you, this is, you know, a crazy story, but I always talk about opportunity. To me, life is about opportunities. It's what you do with that opportunity that counts. And I was given an opportunity to play a game, never knowing drinking or believing or dreaming would get to get to. But it did. But I remember graduating from high school, I wanted to go to University of New Hampshire. And my grades weren't really good in school. One thing I kind of messed up was as Long as I was eligible, I was happy. So I wanted to go to the University of New Hampshire. I went to prep school for a year up in Maine with the hope of going to unh, playing football, hockey and baseball. That's what I wanted to do. Well, the hockey coach didn't think I was a Division 1 hockey player, so I had no school to go to.
- [11:23]
Sean Callagy
Wow.
- [11:24]
Michael Rizzioni
I was 17 years old with no college and nobody interested. So one school that was interested was a school called Merrimack College. And Merrimack College was Division 3. They were Division 1. They were Division 3 school. And they offered me a full scholarship. And for all you parents out there, it was $3,500 my freshman year. I think Boston University is, I think 80 something thousand now, but that's, thank God I'm not around now. So I wanted to go to college at unh, but I ended up going, I'm going to go to Merrimack. Well, in the summer, I played baseball in the summer. I didn't play hockey in the summer. So a friend of mine called me and he said, look, we have a summer league game and we need some guys to play. A bunch of guys went away for the weekend. Do you want to play? I said, well, you need a player, I'll play. So I played in the game. And it turned out the referee of the game was this guy named Jack Parker, who I didn't know who he was. He was just the referee. And when the game was over, Jack Parker pulled me aside. He says, hey, I'm Jack Parker. I'm the assistant coach at Boston University. We have a kid from Canada decided not to come. Would you like to come to Boston University? And I'm like, Yeah. I mean, BU's coming off back to back national championships at the time. And I said to him, it has to be a full scholarship because my dad can't afford, you know, $3,500. He goes, no, it's a full scholarship. So I went to Boston University and Jack Parker was the assistant coach. A guy named Leon Abbott was the head coach. And Leon Abbott didn't know me from Adam, but I made the varsity my freshman year and I was playing a few games here and there. And Leon Abbott got fired for recruiting violations. Jack Parker became the head coach. So I went from centering the fourth line to playing left wing on the second line and led my team in scoring my freshman year.
- [13:04]
Sean Callagy
Wow. Let's hear for that.
- [13:09]
Michael Rizzioni
I tell you the story because if I had never played in that summer league game, I never would have gone to Boston University. And if I had never gone to Boston University, I never would have ended up playing on the US Olympic team because I would have come out of Merrimack versus a national championship contending BU team. So, again, life is about opportunities. And then I was given that opportunity to play on an 80 Olympic team, and here I am today. So it's kind of funny how life works.
- [13:37]
Sean Callagy
It sure is. So, going back for a sec, though, I didn't know that part of the story that you're coming out of high school, you don't have Division 1 offers. Fun footnote, by the way, my daughter Courtney went to University of New Hampshire for starting her college career. Just as a quick, fun footnote. And you have a Division 3 opportunity. And were you coming out of high school thinking and hoping about playing college baseball or football or hockey? Like, what was that? What was going on there that was in your mind, or you weren't thinking that? So what was happening as you were leading up to going to college? Were you hoping to play a different sport in college or hockey?
- [14:21]
Michael Rizzioni
In college, I wanted to play all three. I wanted to play football, hockey, and baseball. Even at Boston University, I ended up playing hockey and baseball. They wouldn't let me play football because it was kind of the beginning of the hockey season. But, yeah, my mind was to play all three sports in college, but ended up just doing two at Boston University. Although the next my junior senior year, I didn't play because I made the US national team and it went over to Europe for the world championships.
- [14:50]
Sean Callagy
I think is important for the audience how often we could just be overlooked. So, obviously, Michael Ruzzioni was incredibly talented. He goes out and ends up starting and be one of the leading scorers in his first year at Boston University. But yet nobody's. And this is a defending national championship team, but nobody else is even offering you Division one to come play. Like, why do you think that was? Was it just you didn't have opportunities to be exposed to college coaches? Like, what. Why weren't you getting those opportunities, do you think?
- [15:24]
Michael Rizzioni
Because they weren't smart enough to realize how good I was. I mean, again, you know, Sean, you and I know each other a little, but I'm not a real deep thinker. I'm not that in depth on things. I. I just do things.
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Sean Callagy
Yeah.
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Michael Rizzioni
And I never thought about why they didn't like me. I, like, I thought I was pretty damn good.
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Sean Callagy
Yeah. I mean, you guys think he was pretty damn good? Say yes.
- [15:50]
Michael Rizzioni
Yeah. No, but you guys missed that. I Look at the college coaches and I played against these teams and say, you missed the boat. And, and you know, Boston University, four years. I graduated as the all time leading scorer, which has since been passed because players today are a lot better than when I played. But you know, I, I've always been. The one thing I've always been is very confident in myself as a, as an athlete and as a person. You know, I was talking to a group of people the other day and I'm kind of old school. I believe in a lot of old fashioned values. Things that my dad taught me about pride and commitment and respect. I talked to you earlier about respect. And I tell kids today, you know, it's easy to be a nice person. You gotta go out of your way to be an asshole. No, you really. Pardon my language, but these people have.
- [16:41]
Sean Callagy
Heard a few F bombs in the city, so we're okay.
- [16:44]
Michael Rizzioni
Easy to be nice. It's easy to be a good, a good, a good teammate, a good neighbor, a good friend. And those are things that I always believed in and always taught even at a young age. And I think those are values that, that carried with me, that carry with me to this day, but I think carried me through my athletic career too, was I don't care what other people think. I know what I think and what I care about and what's important to me. And I'm not going to listen to somebody say, no, you can't do that. If they do, then it makes, drives me even more that I want to say, really, let me show you what I can do. And not, you know, not everybody's great day. I've had challenges over, you know, 70 years of my life. I haven't lived the greatest, you know, I've made stupid mistakes. And that's part of life, that's part of being, you know, the world that we live in. But I think, you know, when I, when, when the smoke clears, I can look back on my athletic career and what I've been doing for the last 45 years, since the 1980s, take great pride in knowing that I, I've done a good job at the opportunities I've been given and that I think people look at me and respect me, clearly respect my teammates. You know, what we did was 45 years ago. And I can talk, we talked about it earlier. I don't know if you follow anything, but we just found out that our team is going to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, which is the ultimate, which is I think the ultimate honor. You know, it's not A sports award. It's not an ESPN award. This is this from your country? This, this is. If you look at the recipients of it, it's, you know, something my teammates and I take incredible, incredible pride in. Because our game was more than a hockey game. We didn't know it at the time, but realized that it was a moment that, that's why I said earlier that that touched the lives of a lot of people. In 1979, 1980, we were, we were looking for something to feel good about. The hostages, the gas lines, inflation. And all of a sudden we come along and I've said this, and I'll say this till the day I die. Other than being a police officer, a firefighter, or somebody in the military, there's no greater feeling than putting on a USA jersey. And I'm not playing for Chicago or Boston. You're playing for your country. And I think in 1980, people saw that in us and rallied people. We didn't go to Lake Placid to rally a whole country we didn't even know. Think about it. There was no Facebook or Twitter, was three TV stations that, you know, that the social media didn't exist. And yet when we won, we got out into the country and realized that this thing was, wow, pretty big. And I think again, we, we take, even 45 years later, take great pride in knowing that people came together because of what our team was able to do. Not me, what our team was able to do. And showed the world that, you know, if you believe in something and you're willing to work hard, you can't accomplish it. And our team was at her. Brooks, our coach, used to call us a lunch pail hard hat group of guys because that's what we were. If you follow the backgrounds of my teammates, we all came from working class families and we're all taught about the important values in life and not just values in the sport of ice hockey.
- [19:48]
Sean Callagy
So, Mike, as you. A couple quick things. So some of the things that we'll think about are things, and it's exciting for me that you haven't thought about that before because one of the things that we. About why coaches weren't seeing you is one of the things we talk about here is how do we create the opportunities to be seen, you know, so when you ended up being asked by a friend, hey, would you like to come play in this game? That was an incredible blessing. And you seized that opportunity, hearing loudly and clearly. But sometimes you don't get that phone call and have the same opportunity. You didn't know it was an opportunity, but you were seizing all the opportunity. But if I could. Do you think that at that time. Because today I know that, you know, this is part of your world. There's all these showcases and club teams and every sport imaginable. It was a different world then, right? In. In the 1970s, was there anything out there? Was it just like your college coat, your. I'm sorry, your high school coach was gonna be talking to college coaches, or were there any showcases? How broken was the talent assessment system of high school hockey at that time that you weren't seeing? I mean, do you think it was just all these college coaches making bad choices about not seeing you, or they just never even knew you existed? Because there's no social media, no showcases.
- [21:18]
Michael Rizzioni
You know, there were no showcases. You played in your hometown. You know, I played in. And where I live now, I played in Winthrop. I played peewee hockey. I played youth hockey, played high school hockey, played bantam hockey. There were no all star teams. There were no travel teams. Today, it's. It's crazy today. The cost, you know, again, these kids, they're on these select teams, these travel teams, and mom and dad are paying thousands of dollars chasing something that might not be there. But the problem now is if you're not on one of these teams, they think you get no chance of being seen. In my day, you know, you were seen because coaches went to your high school games. There were no showcases. So you want to see the best players play? Go to Lynn arena and watch Winthrop High School play Danvers High School. So, I mean, that's basically what it was. We live in a whole different. You know, again, I work at Boston University. You know, we got three kids from Sweden. We got two from Finland, we got one from Russia. We're recruiting all over the world.
- [22:19]
Sean Callagy
Wow.
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Michael Rizzioni
And our coaches are out there at these showcases, but all these kids are paying a lot of money to play. And, you know, to me, there's only a few that are going to make it. I personally think this kid spend too much money spending, searching, trying, traveling. But that's, you know, that's the culture. You know, you want to play Division 1 baseball, you got to be on the AAU team. That's. That's what it is today. I'm glad it wasn't like that when I played, because you just played and pressures and did you.
- [22:49]
Sean Callagy
So when you're Winthrop, then did you have coaches? Did you have 1, 2, 5, 10 college coaches? Come see, like, how many overlooked you. Was it just a Small number or was it a lot of coaches that were coming to your high school?
- [23:03]
Michael Rizzioni
I would say they were probably a small number because there weren't many colleges playing hockey at that time. You know, the game has grown. It's, you know, where, you know, when I was a kid, you were from Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, maybe Maine, upstate New York, places like that. Who are hockey players now? California, Arizona, Texas, Florida. Look at how many players play. Not just men, our women, our women's program. You can't believe how good the women are now than they were 10 years ago. So the game has grown, the sport of hockey has grown, and more and more kids are playing. So, you know, you're probably going to get seen a lot more now than you would have when I played, because there were just a handful of schools that had Division 1 programs.
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Sean Callagy
Absolutely. So when you were then in high school, you're loving baseball, football, hockey. Did you ever think about the Olympics and hockey in high school before college or. That wasn't even a thought in your head?
- [23:59]
Michael Rizzioni
No, I just played. I wasn't that smart to think ahead other than just, I'm gonna be a senior next year and let's. Hopefully my senior year will go well athletically, academically, whatever. It always went well athletically. But I, you know, I. Again, it was a different era and a different time. I don't know how I would be in today's era, you know, because I. I know one thing. My parents wouldn't have had the money for me to play. The travel with the kids play today.
- [24:33]
Sean Callagy
So then when, once you get to college and all of a sudden you become this standout, like your mastery is rising at that point. Were you doing things differently than the other kids? Like, were you doing extra things or were you practicing more intensely than the people on your team? Or you were just flat out better already?
- [24:55]
Michael Rizzioni
I think the practices continue. I mean, you want to play at Boston University, you better be ready to play every year because there's new recruits coming in next year and new players challenging you. But it was, again, it was. It was a different thing. I watch our players today. I mean, practice is over. These guys are in the weight room. We have a nutritionist. We have a sports psychologist. My sports psychologist was my father. My nutritionist was my mother. You know, we have a sensory room now. Kids have. They go in this room and they just sit there and just kind of. I don't know what they do. We didn't have any of that shit. You just played. And when the season ended, you know, the Summertime, you know, I'd maybe play a little once in a while at the end of the summer to get ready for hockey. But I played baseball in the summer. Wow. These kids, after practice they go into the weight room. I'm going to tell you the truth. We went to the dugout, which is the bar on campus. Practice is over. Hey, guys, let's go now. We have a few Bears and we'll go, go to school classes tomorrow and then we'll get up and go to hockey practice. And after practice we're going to go to the dugout for a little while. It's now, it's a different, different whole scenario. And good for them. I think it's great for the, for the players because these guys have aspirations playing the National Hockey League. I wanted to go to Boston University to play at Boston University, and if it happened that maybe, maybe I could play pro hockey after, then that was something. But I didn't go. You know, we have freshmen that come in now, first round draft picks, second round. Then you got the name, image and likeness. Kids getting paid money. You know, we lost. The number one recruit in the country this year was coming to Boston University. He's going to be the first pick in the draft next year. He was coming. It was coming to Boston University. He's going to Penn State because Penn State's giving him $800,000. That's name, image and likeness. You follow any sports. Quarterback at Michigan this year is not going to make about 9 million. Shadow Sanders, the football player, he took a pay cut to play for the Cleveland Browns. The money he was making in Colorado. So you're dealing with a whole different mindset now. There's money. These kids are making money. For me, my scholarship was plenty. But now it's. It's a different environment in the college sports for men and women. You know, there's a girl, I think, out in ucla, the gymnast that's making like, stupid money. But that's just, that's the arena we're in now. That was never there when I played. When I played, you just played.
- [27:27]
Sean Callagy
Yeah. So when you're just playing and you're BU and you're obviously just standing out, scoring goals, leading the team on the way to breaking the scoring record. At any point, did you. I mean, you're just playing, you're focusing. Do you remember when, the first time you ever thought or heard of the Olympics and hockey? Like, when, when did that come into your mind?
- [27:51]
Michael Rizzioni
Okay, again, crazy story. I got asked to play in the 1976 team the Olympic team. Wow. And I did not want to leave Boston University. In those days, you'd leave your school right before the Olympics and you'd go play. In our case, we trained for six months. It was a whole different mindset in 1980 than it was in 76. So I had a chance to play in 76, and that was the year I thought we were going to win the national championship. I was a junior at Boston University and decided I was going to stay at bu. The games were in Innsbruck, and I think the US Team came in fourth or fifth, but so I missed that. I passed that opportunity up. So again, I talk about how my life turned and things in your life that happened. So I graduated from Boston University in 1977, and the New York Rangers, they owned my rights. They drafted me. I was a second round draft pick of the New York Rangers. So when the season ended, BU ended that summer, I was getting ready to go to camp with the New York Rangers. So I went to camp with the New York Rangers and had a really good camp. And a guy named John Ferguson was the general manager of the New York Rangers. And Fergie called me into his office, says, mike, you had a great camp. We really like you. We think you're going to be a really good player. But we don't. We're not signing any new players. We have our first pick, which a kid named Ron Dugay who had a great career with the Rangers. And we have a bunch of older players that we're not shelling out any money for any more players, but we want to keep you in our system. So they sent me to Toledo, Ohio, and I played for a team called the Toledo Gold Diggers. Anybody seen the movie Slap Shot? That's where I was.
- [29:28]
Sean Callagy
You played for the team from Slap Shot?
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Michael Rizzioni
That was the league. Ogie Vogel talk. Remember him?
- [29:34]
Sean Callagy
Yes.
- [29:34]
Michael Rizzioni
He was on our team in Toledo for a week and then he got traded. But anyway, so I go to camp, I go to. I get sent to Toledo, the New York Rangers number two farm team. But I didn't have an NHL contract. It was a minor league contract. So I got paid every two weeks by the gold diggers. I made $4,000 my first year in Toledo. I led our team in scoring. I was rookie of the year. I'm going to sign with the New York Rangers. John Ferguson got fired. A guy named Fred Sherrow, who used to be with the New York, with the Philadelphia Flyers, he becomes the general manager of the New York Rangers, and he calls my agent and says, look, It Mike's free to do what he wants to do. We're not signing Mike. We know he had a great year, but we're going in a different direction. So here I am in limbo. What am I going to do? So I go back to Toledo to stay in amateur, hoping to get invited to try out for the 80 Olympic team. So I go back to Toledo, they gave me $8,000 and a van because I didn't have a vehicle when I played there. So I had a van and I got four thousand dollar raise. But I still got paid every two weeks. I can get traded tomorrow. No NHL contract, which kept me as an amateur, which gave me the opportunity if I did get to try out for the 80 Olympic team. So I go back to Toledo. That summer I got a call from Herb Brooks inviting me to try out for the 80 Olympic team. So I go to the tryouts, I make the team, and here I am today. If John Ferguson never got fired, I would have signed with the New York Rangers and I would have been considered a pro and not given an opportunity to play on the 80 Olympic team. So there are two moments in my life about opportunity. One in high school and second, when the Rangers decided to let me go and do what I wanted to do. And the best decision that ever happened.
- [31:33]
Sean Callagy
Wow.
- [31:33]
Michael Rizzioni
And then the Olympic Games and then, you know, we win. And then couple of NHL teams wanted to sign me into pro contracts and I decided it was time to move on and do something else in my life. And I was going to coach and teach and then found out that this moment, this event was bigger than we could have imagined. And I remember I was talking to my phys Ed, the school administrator in my high school asking if there might be a phys Ed job open next year because I want to teach. And then I was thinking about maybe coaching at Boston University because they might be looking for an assistant coach. And then IBM, this was in February, and then IBM called my agent advisor and they wanted me to do 10 appearances. Five at the Fontainebleau in Florida and five at the Drake in San Francisco. I'd never been to California and I'd never been to Florida and they were going to give me $3,000 just to walk out on the stage and wave. I didn't have to do anything. I made more in those 10 appearances than my dad made in one year. So I thought this is a pretty good deal, maybe I'll do some of these again. And then I get into broadcasting, then I get into obviously speaking and doing things that I do now, 45 years later. Although, as you well know, I work at Paulson University. I've been there 30 years. Although if you counted all the days I've been there, probably been there 5. I got a good gig at BU. But it's just funny how, you know, your life works, never knowing what you're going to do, what, what is available. But like I said, after the Olympics, I was going to coach and teach. That's, that's what I was going to do. And the next thing you know, wow, this thing was pretty big. And your life kind of turned or changed. My life changed to a degree. I haven't changed. It drives my wife absolutely nuts. And we've been together for 50 years. So it's not like, you know, I always, again, I tell my kids all the time the same thing about. I was very happy with who I was before the Olympics. Why should your life change because of an athletic event? It clearly changed a lot of things in my life, but it hasn't, it shouldn't change who you are. You know, my friends are my friends, my family's my family, and I still live where I belong and stay where I am because if we didn't win, I'd be living in that town. I'd be. Probably have more than three kids because I'd have been home more.
- [34:00]
Sean Callagy
So like, so for everybody, we have these conversations over the last couple days about these dark moments and the hero's journey. So Mike's this phenomenal player, has nothing going on with colleges Besides a Division 3 opportunity. Talked about my opportunities where nobody's looking at me, and all of a sudden there's 100 schools looking at me and how God makes all things work together for good or the universe or whatever you believe. And same thing. I mean, it's really amazing that Mike comes out second round draft day. Mike, correct me if I'm wrong, most second round draft picks end up on the team. Isn't that, isn't that relatively normal or.
- [34:41]
Michael Rizzioni
Yeah, yeah.
- [34:42]
Sean Callagy
So Mike doesn't. This is normal. Course, like you're a second round draft that from a professional team in sports, you're going to be on the team and all of a sudden he's not. And that could have been something. I mean, I'm, you know, we're getting a sense of Mike and Mike seems like a pretty incredibly grounded person and he just goes forward. So something that happens that for most people would have been emotionally devastating. What I'm hearing from you, Mike, is kind of like shrugged and said, all right, on we go. Because the values that he was raised with, and that's an incredible strength for this man, that he's not taking things and trying to analyze, why did God do this to me? And why is the universe against me? He's just like, hey, this is the hand I'm dealt. Let's go. And we do see that things work together for good. As Mike said, maybe he gets on the Rangers, maybe he gets hurt, maybe he plays a little bit, and there's a couple of things that happen, and all of a sudden, he's not eligible for the Olympics, he's not in the NHL. And Mike's life looks completely differently. So these two events that would have been incredibly upsetting and frustrating for most people, maybe not for Mike, because he has such an incredibly strong level of self mastery with self masters of our language for psychology, that he's just like, hey, let's go. And he knows that he's gonna make whatever happens in his life turn into the right thing. Am I hearing that correctly, Mike? That's how you operate?
- [36:06]
Michael Rizzioni
Yeah. My dad always said to me, there's more to life than athletics. And at some point, the game ends. You know, Michael Jordan had to stop playing someday. You know, these great athletes, eventually it ends. But your life doesn't end, you know, just because I didn't play. You know, let's just say this. If I didn't go to Boston University, I'd still be happy with my life, whatever that was, because that's the direction I was going to go in. I'm always very positive and very upbeat. You know, there's so much out there for me to do. If I didn't play hockey, if I didn't play football, I'd have done something else, and I'd have been happy with what I did and what I was doing. But my life took a different turn, and my life went this way. But it shouldn't change, as I said earlier, who I am and why. Why should I be different? You know, just because. Because I want a gold medal doesn't make me better than people in this room. There are certain things that you can do that I sure as hell can't do. So everybody brings something to the table. I happen to bring something to the table in terms of my athletic ability. And then it turned out to be what it's become today. But I think for me, like I said, if we didn't win, I'd be living in my hometown. I'd be married to the same girl. I'd be coaching and teaching and that's just the way it was going to be. That's the way it was going to be.
- [37:26]
Sean Callagy
So this is. And for everybody here, I'm going to really lock in on this. The lack of attachment that Mike has, the outcome, he shows up, he gives everything he's got, and then what happens, happens. And I'm inspired. I'm not only inspired. It's a really. We talk about the difference between inspiration tools, you know, like, right. Hockey sticks, A tool, how you use the hockey stick is, you know, part of your tool. And then you have psychology. And for me, what I'm clear about is I get. I get more attached than Mike does. And I invite you to consider the same for yourself. So thank you, Mike, already, for helping me, like, be a mirror for me. I'm like, yeah, I took things a lot harder than you did, you know, and that, you know, I had a strong psychology. Not as strong as yours. As a high school athlete, as a college athlete, I must play my way out of college baseball my sophomore year, pouting. I was, you know, runner of five year league run, rookie of the year my freshman year at Columbia, and the coach tried to change a few things. And I was quiet. I wasn't ever mouthy. It's very respectful. But I would pout more. I would take things more personally. I would be more upset about things. And what I'm hearing from you is it sounds like you didn't. And if I could ask, when. When the Rangers didn't sign you, did you spend. If you remember, did you spend, you know, the night getting upset? You have a few beers, you call somebody, you're like, hey, f it, like, here I go. Or is it like a week? You're upset at all? And if so, for how long?
- [38:53]
Michael Rizzioni
I was pissed off. What do you mean you don't want to sign me? Look what I just did. But then again, hey, that's. That's. That's your decision. I'll go in a different direction. Yeah.
- [39:03]
Sean Callagy
What's your.
- [39:04]
Michael Rizzioni
How strong is that? Not. Not every day is a great day. Like I said, sometimes things don't go the way you want them to go. What are you gonna do? Pout? Quit? No.
- [39:18]
Sean Callagy
I mean, most people do.
- [39:20]
Michael Rizzioni
You know why?
- [39:21]
Sean Callagy
If you haven't quit sometimes, say yes. So thank you.
- [39:26]
Michael Rizzioni
Yeah, no, I. That. That's not in my. That was never in my vocabulary. And I think part of it is the way I grew up. You know, like I said, I saw my dad get up every morning, go to work, come home and go to work. Come home, go to work. I saw my mother take care of six kids with no money. So quit. Is, isn't, isn't something that I've ever even thought about doing. I know I'm going to be successful at what I do, whatever it was I was going to do. So my mindset was, and again, that's my wife and I get into these discussions all the time. Why are you such a, in such a good mood all the time? I says, because I don't want to be miserable. I don't wanna, I don't wanna live a life of wondering. I'm just going to do what I want to do and I'm going to go ahead and do it despite the challenges. And like I said, not every day is a great day. Sometimes things don't work out the way you want it to work out. I missed a 2 footer yesterday for $20. I was so pissed off. The next time I have that two footer, I better make it. So again, I'm not that deep a guy, I'm not that smart a guy. I just live my life the way I want to live it with, with total respect for my family and my, my kids and my wife. And usually things are going to work out well. And if they don't, there's another day and I'll figure that out. Yeah.
- [40:40]
Sean Callagy
And Mike, thank you. And just so we're like, level said, I failed freshman high school geometry for the year as a freshman high school. I had a lower GPA in high school than I did in law school. So I wasn't, I went to Columbia because of baseball, you know, so it wasn't that I was thinking about things quite the same way then as I am now. And one of the things that I think for these guys, like these are people who are trained, like this is not a sales program. These are people trained to think about how do you, how do you succeed, how do you master things? And so what we're hearing, what they're hearing from you is we have the same. And Einstein said, make it as simple as possible, but not simpler. And honest to God, what I'm taking away from you is that it is so simple for you because you just give everything you have, you take the outcome, result and you just go forward. And that is that because my, my job, my, the way I look at people is I try to find out like what's the simple formula that causes microrzioni to be microrizioni. And that's present for me, like, that's here, like that's just clear to me. And while you're saying it as, yeah, just like it's easy, it's. If you think it's not easy for you yet, say yes. Yeah, it's not easy for me either. But because you do it, what they're trained to do, what I'm trying to do is like, we're gonna have the. The self mastery according to microorizioni, which is very simply, don't get attached. Get everything you got, like the microusian word from his dad, formula. And your identity doesn't change. We'll talk a lot about that, but just go do your thing. What happens, you know, it's going to work for good in any way because you're just going to do the next thing. You're going to use it as fuel and go forward. So does that sound like a fair, very simple encapsulation?
- [42:29]
Michael Rizzioni
I've never met a person that's successful because they're lucky. People are successful because they understand the values of work. And again, I'll go back to my dad always said, if you understand the value of work, at some point in your life, you'll be successful. And it might not be today or tomorrow or next month, but when you're the best at what you do, I guarantee it's the time and effort and work that you put in, and those are the values that are important. Whatever field you're in, whatever challenges you have, if you're not willing to work hard at it, you're not going to be successful. So I worked hard at everything that I've done, whether as an athlete or if I happen to go in a different direction. You know, if sports ended and I went, which it did, I went into a new direction. I'm work damn hard at what I do in order to be successful at what I do. And I think that's. To me, it's pretty simple. It's like I said earlier, it's easy to be nice. It's really hard to be an so like. So I live with that.
- [43:24]
Sean Callagy
And it. And if you feel that from Mike, say yes. If you feel his authenticity, say yes.
- [43:30]
Michael Rizzioni
Yes.
- [43:31]
Sean Callagy
And his mastery, yes. So Mike, you go. And these bu ends the draft of the Rangers playing hockey in Toledo. And now Herb Brooks calls you up. And what happens from there? Do you. Then was there in the movie, right? These guys have seen the movie lots. We show clips all the time. So in the movie, there's the shortened version of the tryout. Like, could you please take us through what happens?
- [44:01]
Michael Rizzioni
Well, in the movie, the team was picked in one day. Trust me, it was two weeks. And in the movie, they had a bunch of people picking the team. There was only one person picking this team, and it was going to be Herb Brooks. So I went to the tryout, I got invited. I was on the Great Lakes team. They divided all these players into four teams. And we competed against each other over two weeks. And Herb Brooks sat in the stands, evaluated the players, and we were in a room maybe kind of like this, maybe a little bigger. And the 68 players tried out for the 80 Olympic team. I shouldn't say that hundreds tried out. 68 got selected. 68 of us went to Colorado Springs, competed against each other in a kind of a mini tournament. And tryouts were over. 26 players made up the 80 Olympic team, but only 20 were going to Lake Placid. Six guys were going to get cut.
- [44:53]
Sean Callagy
Can I just slow you down for a second? Is that okay? So in Colorado Springs, when this happens, what's that, two weeks? Like where. And I'm just going to give you a couple of, like, multiple choice where. Were there fist fights? Were people getting along? Were people like, you know, kind of in the same boat of, you know, being friends, buddies? Were there rivalries from college? Like, how was all that? What was Colorado Springs like?
- [45:17]
Michael Rizzioni
Well, it was, it was a tournament, it was competitive. It was a team from Massachusetts, which I was not on. I was on the at large team. So my team was guys from Michigan, Minnesota, New York. Then there was the Minnesota team, and then there was another at large team and that.
- [45:32]
Sean Callagy
And that had players from Hurt, Coach Brooks's college team.
- [45:36]
Michael Rizzioni
A lot of, a lot of the kids played under Herb at the University.
- [45:39]
Sean Callagy
Of Minnesota because for everybody. So coach Herb Brooks coached the University of Minnesota. They were a top program in the country. Mike played at Boston University, a top program in the country. And correct me if I'm wrong, there's a big rivalry. Yes.
- [45:53]
Michael Rizzioni
Well, we had the year before the Olympic tryouts, in the national championship, Minnesota and Boston University got into a bench clearing brawl.
- [46:02]
Sean Callagy
I would call that a big rivalry.
- [46:05]
Michael Rizzioni
Four minutes into the game, both teams, national championship. Yes. Both teams should have been thrown out of the tournament because you can't fight in college. So we ended up losing a player, they lost a player, they ended up beating us in the game.
- [46:15]
Sean Callagy
Then they went, who was the player you guys lost?
- [46:17]
Michael Rizzioni
We lost Terry Mahar, who was our leading goal scorer at the time. And they lost one of their guys who wasn't caught.
- [46:22]
Sean Callagy
They're leading the guy Terry Mahar?
- [46:25]
Michael Rizzioni
Yes.
- [46:26]
Sean Callagy
Did he make the 80 Olympic team?
- [46:27]
Michael Rizzioni
No. Terry was from Canada. He was the captain of our team in 19, in 1976.
- [46:32]
Sean Callagy
And Jack O', Callaghan, he played for.
- [46:34]
Michael Rizzioni
Jack was a freshman at Boston University at that time.
- [46:37]
Sean Callagy
Got it on that team.
- [46:38]
Tony (Brain Surgeon)
Right.
- [46:38]
Michael Rizzioni
There were four guys. When the smoke cleared at the end, there were four guys from Boston University, nine from the University of Minnesota, two from Wisconsin, two from Bowling Green, one from North Dakota, and two from Minnesota Duluth. But they were. Of the 20 guys, 12 of the 20 players were from Minnesota.
- [46:56]
Sean Callagy
Wow. And 13 of the players then, if I'm counting correctly, nine from Minnesota, four from BU. So 13 of the players were from this big rivalry with nine from Minnesota and four from Boston University.
- [47:07]
Michael Rizzioni
Well, in Wisconsin and Minnesota had a huge rivalry because national championship battles for years. So there was a lot of animosity between the two programs. But so we're in the room and 68 players try it out. Herb came up to the. To the stage and he said, if I call your name, please stay. And if I don't, thanks for coming.
- [47:30]
Sean Callagy
And forgive me for interrupting. Just want to really let these guys get it because they've seen some of these clips.
- [47:36]
Michael Rizzioni
Right, right, right.
- [47:37]
Sean Callagy
So do you think in that moment, A, I know I made the team. B, I think I made the team. C, I hope I made the team.
- [47:45]
Michael Rizzioni
Probably B, because I. I was on the Great Lakes team, and I was elected captain of the Great Lakes team. And then we, the Great Lakes team won the tournament, and I led our team in scoring. So I thought, I'm going to be on this team. But the concern I had was, Minnesota coach, Western players, Eastern coach, Eastern players. That's how it always was. Years before, it was an Eastern coach that he was going to pick most of the guys going to be from the east because he knew. So my concern was, is Herb going to take an Eastern guy? So we're all in the room, and I remember the first name he called was Ken Morrow. Kenny was a great defenseman from Michigan.
- [48:24]
Sean Callagy
He would improve the Islanders.
- [48:26]
Michael Rizzioni
He played. He won four Stanley Cups right after the Olympics. That's a pretty good run. And I'm sitting there thinking, I hope this isn't alphabetical. My name's not going to get cold. And then my name was called. So there were 26 players in the room, and then her.
- [48:42]
Sean Callagy
You had a second name called.
- [48:44]
Michael Rizzioni
No, I was called later on down the road. I forget who was.
- [48:47]
Sean Callagy
Kyle, Were you starting to get concerned?
- [48:48]
Michael Rizzioni
Yeah, we all antsy, wondering, you know, kind of listening is it going to be me? Is it going to be me? And it's interesting because now we have the Olympic Olympics coming up in February. The Team USA is going to have 26 players, 25 players. They carry more now than they did then. Then they could only carry 20. So 26 players make up the team. And then we're going to embark on six months of training and six guys are going to get cut throughout the course of the season. And you're still up until I was elected captain in October, was this.
- [49:17]
Sean Callagy
By the players?
- [49:18]
Michael Rizzioni
By the players, but I don't think I was voted by the players. There's no way. Nine guys from Minnesota voted for a guy from Boston. And as our assistant coach said, we voted. But Herb counted the ballots. I think Billy Baker was probably named captain by the team because the nine kids played with him at the university. And Billy actually was the assistant captain of the 80 team. But for whatever reason, they gave me the captaincy, which was not a big deal to me. I think my dad was more excited than I was because I've always said I was a captain amongst captains. We had a team of captains. Everybody in that team was a captain of their high school team. Eight guys were captains of their college team. So it was a, it was a great group of leaders and people. So the captaincy was, was nice, but it wasn't that, oh, my God, I'm the captain. So 26 players made up the team. And throughout the course of six months of travel and training, six were going to get cut. And up until the last week, I still wondered if I was going to be one of the 20.
- [50:19]
Sean Callagy
Can I take it back for a second? Okay. During. So during Colorado Springs that time, was Herb Brooks quiet and just watching and scouting, or was he already starting to be coach her Brooks towards everybody?
- [50:35]
Michael Rizzioni
You know, he was Coach Brooks, and that's the way it was going to be. We were going to travel. Please. I think we played 60 some odd games all around the country, went to Europe for a month, played overseas, and then throughout the course of the six months, he evaluated all the players and, you know, he threatened to cut me two weeks before the Olympics. He said, look, you're just not doing it. I just don't know what I'm going to do. And I'm like, wait a minute, I'm the captain. And I'm thinking, well, he's the coach, you know, always. And it's even funnier. Years later, Herb would call my house, and this was before cell phones, and my wife would answer the phone and she'd go, it's Coach Brooks. And I'm like, oh, shit, here I am. I got three kids at home, and I'm worried he's gonna yell at me. He was always in charge. Even when he threatened to cut me, I thought he would. It was just the last kind of jab at me to get me going for whatever reason, I don't know. But he was a. He was a incredibly mind kind of guy. He loved to. To get into people's heads and players heads. And part of me said, he can't cut me on the captain. And the other part said, you know, he just might. He's crazy enough to do it.
- [51:48]
Sean Callagy
So when in the you guys get together like the movie depicts, a moment that Mike told me actually didn't happen. He didn't say, who do you play for? I play for Team usa. But there was a night of crazy skating. So can you take us through that night? And if that was. Was there a time the team was the movie Miracle shows, great division between the players. Was there that kind of division? Or is that a little exaggerated? Or what was it really like? And then how does that fit into the game?
- [52:27]
Michael Rizzioni
The division was what they thought was going to happen once the team was picked, everybody. Can the Minnesota and the Massachusetts guys get along? Can the Wisconsin, Minnesota guys get along? And we bonded right from the beginning. And I tell you that because anybody who's played hockey, you realize at a young age how important your teammates are. Hockey is the ultimate team sport. And you know how important. Like I've said many times, Mark Johnson, who's from Wisconsin, was our best player. We don't win without Mark Johnson. But how good would Mark be if the right wing and the left wing and the defenseman and the coaches weren't doing their job? So we understood everybody had a job, everybody had a role. Understand what your job is, understand what your role is, and we as a team have an opportunity to be successful. That was the mindset from the beginning. Not everybody's going to be out on the power play. Not everybody's going to be out killing penalties. Everybody's got a job and a role. We do that, we'll be fine. To me, I've always said this. There's no better place to be, whether it's on a team or in business, when everybody that you're with has the same goals and objectives that you have. And our goals and objectives as a team was to be the best, never knowing it was going to lead to a gold medal. But we knew in Order for us to be successful, we had to believe in ourselves, but we had to believe in each other. And that's a great place to be.
- [53:44]
Sean Callagy
That's awesome.
- [53:45]
Michael Rizzioni
To go to practice every day knowing everybody's willing to sacrifice to be the best. And that's. That was our mindset from the beginning. So the teams picked 26 guys. Then right before the Olympic Games, we. He cuts the last two players correct.
- [54:00]
Sean Callagy
It's the again again night. The skating, skating.
- [54:04]
Michael Rizzioni
We played Norway and the game ended in a 3, 3 tie. And her isn't very happy with Norway.
- [54:10]
Sean Callagy
Was not like a world power.
- [54:11]
Michael Rizzioni
No, we should be able to handle the Norwegians. They're not known for talking. And it ended in three, three tie. And in the movie Miracle, they have the guys on the bench looking at the girls in the stands that look at her, look at her. Trust me, that didn't happen. I told my wife that didn't happen. I said, the guys from Minnesota were looking at the girls. I was not. But we did skate. We skated for an hour and a half. They shut the lights off in the building. We didn't go 20 at a time. We only went waves of five guys at a time. And only 15 of us dressed that night. The other 10 guys were in the stands watching. So we did the Herbies for about an hour and a half. The game ended, the drill ended when Mark Johnson smashed a stick against the glass. And Herb said, if I hear another stick smash against the glass, you'll skate through. You die.
- [55:00]
Sean Callagy
I say that one more time. What did Coach Brooks say?
- [55:03]
Michael Rizzioni
If I hear another stick smash against the glass, you'll skate till you die.
- [55:08]
Sean Callagy
That is called Zeus Energy, ladies and gentlemen.
- [55:11]
Michael Rizzioni
Then they shut the lights off in the building. Just had the electrical lights on, and we finished the skate, and he brought us in the locker room, and he said, if you play this way again tomorrow, you're going to skate again. Well, we beat Norway eight to nothing the next day. But I'm going to tell you why I tell the story about why we skated. It wasn't because we were looking at the girls in the stands. To me, this is the message from Herb was this.
- [55:35]
Sean Callagy
There.
- [55:36]
Michael Rizzioni
There are a lot of important values in life, and the most important one is respect. And we skated that night because of three things. He said to us, if you don't respect yourself, you won't be successful. If you don't respect your teammates, people that you work with, people that you associate yourself with, you will not be successful. And if you don't Respect your competition. You will not be successful. We never made that mistake again. And now I'll fast forward. We win the Olympic gold medal. We beat Finland. A lot of people don't know this. If we lose to Finland, we could have won no medal. There was a chance we could have come in fourth place. We beat Finland, we win the gold medal. We go back in the locker room. It is bedlam, Bedlam in the locker room. All our parents are in the locker room. You couldn't go anywhere in Lake Placid without your badge with your name tag. To this day, how our parents got in the locker room, we have no idea. How my dad get in with a six pack of beer. My dad was sitting waving at me like it was a high school game. And the locker room's the size of this here was so tiny. All of a sudden, Herb calls me into the back area and he says, mike, I just got a call from President Carter, and they're sending Air Force One Tomorrow morning at 6:30 in the morning to take you guys to the White House. I want you to make sure that everybody's in bed early and nobody acts up tonight. And I looked, I looked at Herb and I said, who's going to watch me? I got to tell you the truth. We stayed out all night. But why I tell you, that story was Herb never wavered from that value. Respect your success. Respect your accomplishments. Respect the time, the effort, the work, and the sacrifices we put in collectively and you put in individually. So even though we had won this incredible moment, although Herman, and like I said earlier, our team didn't know it was that big a deal, he never wavered from that fact. Respect your success. And that's, That's. That's an important value that you have to have in life, not just sports. And I think that's. And we talked about a little earlier. Yeah, I think that's what we've lost sight of in, in our countries. People just don't respect people anymore. And, you know, we. I can mention it, but we. We just got awarded. Our team's going to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, which is, I think. Did I say that earlier? You did.
- [57:59]
Sean Callagy
Yeah, I did.
- [57:59]
Michael Rizzioni
Well, I repeated myself. But that is an ultimate honor for our team, and I think that's what makes our team and separates our team from other athletic achievements, is that it was a us story and not Boston or Chicago. So I think Herb was the right guy to keep and maintain those values that are so important in life. He was an old school guy, you know, he Was, you know, lunch pail, hard hat. That was our team. That's the way he coached us. That's the way he was.
- [58:32]
Sean Callagy
And Mike. So now we're getting towards the Olympics and there's the. The game against the Soviets at Madison Square Garden. And do you think that. Why do you think Herb want to play that game? Was it just, hey, this is part of the schedule. Was there, you know, any deeper thought, you think by, you know, coach Herb Brooks and the game tobacco will for you guys? And how, how did that all fit into what would happen at the Olympics, if at all? It's just like a game and like, hey, you watch the audience.
- [59:05]
Michael Rizzioni
Well, for me, it was the last. And why we scheduled the game, I have no idea, other than maybe her bonus to play the Soviets, just to see what the competition was going to be like. Because during our season, we played 68 games against colleges, minor league teams. We had a great series with the Canadian Olympic team. We played in eight times. We had a great series with the Soviet B team, not the A team. The 18 was playing the New York Rangers, the New York Islanders, the, you know, NHL teams as they prepared. So the last game was in Madison.
- [59:36]
Sean Callagy
So you guys understand this, like. So they're the 1980 team that Mike is on. They're playing against college teams, minor league teams. The Soviets are playing against the NHL teams and beating them. And the NHL All Stars. Mike and the team, these are college players. The Soviets, because of communism versus capitalism, are professional hockey players. Essentially where their life is paid for, their role is paid for. And these are much older players, much more seasoned players, like they would be NHL players. And I repeat, they were beating NHL teams and NHL All Star teams. But Mike, back to you. And going into Madison's program.
- [60:17]
Michael Rizzioni
Yeah. So we, we step on the ice. You got to remember one thing, too. Some of the Soviet players were going for their third consecutive gold medal. That's playing together for 12 years. Some of these guys. The average age of our Olympic team in 1980 was 21 and a half, 22 years old. Matter of fact, I don't know if anybody here follows college hockey, but our Olympic team in 1980 would be the youngest team in college hockey today.
- [60:41]
Sean Callagy
Wow.
- [60:42]
Michael Rizzioni
And I was 25 at the time. And Buzzy Schneider was 25. Neil Broughton was 18. Mike Ramsey was 18. Davy Christie was 19. So we step out of the ice in Madison Square Garden. The building sold out. This is two days before the Olympic Games, and we lose 10 to 3. Totally embarrassed, totally humiliated. God, we thought we were Good. And all of a sudden, we got welcomed to the world moment. So we lose 10 to three, the game's over. The last two guys get cut from the team. Now 20 of us are going to get on the bus the next day and go to Lake Placid for the Olympic Games. And when the game ended, Herb didn't say anything to us. He said, go back to the hotel, get a good night's sleep, come back to the rink in the morning, we'll pack our bags and we'll go to Lake Placid. Never mentioned, talked about the game. So the next morning, I pick up the New York Post. Wrong newspaper to pick up. And the article talks about how the US Team has no chance in the upcoming Olympic Games. The Soviets are the best team in the world. They will win. They will win the gold medal in the US has no chance. And it said, we didn't have the talent, we didn't have the ability, we didn't have experience to compete at that level. And then there was a quote from Herb Brooks, and Herb said, I knew our team was in trouble when the Soviet players were being introduced. My players were applauding them. And it was like, there's Kalamov, there's Yakhashev, there's Kutov. These great players we heard so much about. Herb was a great speaker, great motivator. We go in the locker room to get ready to go Lake Placid. He said, gentlemen, if you ever get a chance to play the Soviets again, and we don't know if we are, because they're in the other division, we had to win our own division or come in second in our division to even get a chance to play. Then he says, remember how you played in the second and third period? Not the first period. We were losing six to nothing after one period. And I tell you that because he turned a negative into a positive right away. He said, look how even you played with him when you guys are ready to play. So instead of screaming and yelling at us, saying how much we sucked or how bad we were, we walked away thinking, wow, we played even with the best team in the world. And I tell that story because when things don't go well, and there are times things don't always go well, find something positive and build off of that. Because if you think negative things, guess what? Nothing but negative thoughts will stay in your head. So we get on the bus, clearly excited about what just happened. We played even, and we don't know if we're even gonna play him again. So our Mindset going into Lake Placid was totally different than if he had screamed and yelled at us. So we get to Lake Placid and the tournament starts, but that game that we lost 10 to 3 was never, ever talked about again. Even when we got to play him the second time in Lake Placid the day before at practice, Herb never said, remember what happened last time? That game didn't. It was like it didn't even exist. All he talked about was positive, do the things we need to do in order to win. We were never concerned about other teams. Herb said it in the movie, I think, a lot. I haven't seen the movie in years, but play your game. Play your game. That was constant on our bench. We were never concerned about what other teams were doing. We needed to control the things we needed to control and do the things that we needed to do in order to be successful. So play your game. Play your game. Throughout the Soviet game, that's what he talked about. Never once did he bring up anything negative about what had happened before. So your mindset's different. Your mindset's totally different. This game didn't. It was like it didn't even exist. It was something in the past, and.
- [64:22]
Sean Callagy
I wouldn't expect it to hear that. That's extraordinary, right? I mean, would you guys have expected to hear that? Yeah, extraordinary. So now you're at the Olympics, and as it starts, and I think you play Sweden, game one. Am I right? Okay. So going into the Sweden game, as you're, you know, you're. There, was there any talk in the team about how you guys would do gold medal, medal rounds or the team culture was more like just play the game in front of you. Didn't guys talk about things that. How is that psychology?
- [64:57]
Michael Rizzioni
Well, we got to Lake Placid, and the first thing you do is you go into the room where they're going to give you the clothing that you're going to wear for the opening ceremonies. In our case, it was sheepskin jacket, jeans, cowboy boots, cowboy hat. I live in Boston. As the last time I'm going to wear a cowboy hat and boots and jeans. But anyway, that was the. You know, so you get all your clothing, and then I remember there was a stack of Sports Illustrated, and you go over and you're picking them up because they get predictions, speed skating, bobsled, luge, and you read, it's got ice hockey, and it says, the Soviets will win the gold medal. They're the best team in the world. Czechoslovakia, because of the rivalry between the two countries, from a political standpoint at the time, and the Czechs had the three Stasny brothers, who were great players. They might give the Soviets a game. Then it said, sweden, Finland, Canada and West Germany will fight for the bronze. United States will be anywhere from seventh to 10th place. And I think it was the same guy who wrote the article in the New York Post, because it said we didn't have the talent, ability or experience to compete at that level. And I remember seeing it the second time reminded me of my high school football coach. My high school football coach told me that an ability in a dime gets you a cup of coffee. And you think about it in your life, how many times we've all been around people with great ability and great talent and can't get the job done. It's like, no, I can take you all outside. I can measure how far you can run, how high you can jump. I can measure how much weight you can lift. But I can't measure heart, and I can't measure pride, and I can't measure commitment. And those are intangibles. I've said this. Little things separate good teams from great teams, and little things separate good business from great business. Intangibles, hard work, qualities that our team had. So we opened up the Olympic Games against Sweden, and there's nobody in the building at that time because the opening ceremonies were the next day, so the Games hadn't officially. Officially started, and there were maybe 2,3000 people in the stands. Billy Baker scores arguably the biggest goal of the Olympics. With 28 seconds left to go, we tie Sweden 2 to 2. And it was a huge point because nobody thought we could beat Sweden.
- [67:04]
Sean Callagy
And at the end of the game. Sorry. Yeah. So they're. They're losing by a goal into the final minute. Correct.
- [67:11]
Michael Rizzioni
28 seconds.
- [67:12]
Sean Callagy
28 seconds left. They're losing. If they lose this game, then basically there's no way you're going to make the medal round.
- [67:18]
Michael Rizzioni
Yeah, but it would have been really hard because that was a big point for us to get.
- [67:22]
Sean Callagy
Yeah.
- [67:22]
Michael Rizzioni
So we tie Sweden, we get a point. Next day is the opening ceremonies, which was incredible. Next day, Czechoslovakia, the only team that anybody thought could beat the Soviets. And we blow them out. We beat him seven to three. Now everybody's talking about the US Hockey team. You can't go anywhere. You can't talk to anybody. The good thing was there was no media. There was no Facebook and stuff, like I told you earlier. So we didn't know what was being written. And we're In a little village in Lake Placid, which is about the size of this church. And you know, we beat them, then we beat Norway, then we beat Romania, then we beat West Germany. And now we're in the middle round. That was our goal, get to the medal round. And as it turned out, we were second in our division because Sweden had a better goals for and goals against. So it's a crossover. Number two plays number one. Obviously number one on the other side was the Soviets. And they, they were averaging seven goals a game. They beat Japan 16 to nothing two nights earlier. And we're going to play them. That's the deal. You're in the tournament. Where you got the next game is the Soviets and now we'll play them.
- [68:29]
Sean Callagy
And so the movie shows the pre game speech. I think when we had spoken a few months ago, you had mentioned, I think that more of what her Brooke says in the movie, in the Soviet pregame speech, he said in practice the day before. Is that right?
- [68:45]
Michael Rizzioni
Right. The speech. When I saw the movie for the first time and I heard his speech and went, oh, shit, that's long. I remember him saying that, but I remember him saying, you were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours. Tonight is your night. But in the movie they lengthened it because of what he talked about in practice the day before. They're ripe, they're ready to be beaten. If anybody can beat him, you guys can beat him. And we went on and on and on about that. So I think they incorporated what he said the day before into the speech before the game. So.
- [69:18]
Sean Callagy
And they show the wall in the game. How did that build over the. Was that a real thing, that the wall?
- [69:26]
Michael Rizzioni
Yeah, we got telegrams. I mean, every day you'd get bags of telegrams from people all across the country. That's the only kind of way that we knew people were watching. But I remember we got a telegram from a lady in Texas, and I live in Boston, and all the telegram said was, beat those commie bastards. Swear to God, that's all it said. And I was like, wow, that's cool. So that went up on the wall. And a lot of telegrams would come to individual players, family, friends, and some just to the team in general. And it was a great way to spend. You know, you come to practice and it'd be telegrams. You'd open up and read it and put it up on the wall. So we're walking out of the locker room onto the ice and that wall of telegrams were there. So we knew people were watching from afar, but knowing nowhere did we have an idea the world was watching the way they were. So that was kind of motivating for us as, as a team. And then we went out and RSC beat the Soviets 4 to 3, and two days later we had to play Finland.
- [70:24]
Sean Callagy
How. What does that bring up. Bring back, if anything for you?
- [70:29]
Michael Rizzioni
Just the emotion in the locker room. See how quiet it was? It was deadly quiet. Our locker room was never quiet. Guys would be eating hot dogs before the game. You know, Neil, like I said, Neil Broughton, 18 years old. He'd have a slice of pizza before he go on the ice. And I'm sitting there, how can you eat anything like that? But this game here, just. I remember how walking in the locker room, how deadly quiet it was. And I'm thinking, wow, we are. We are just. We are focused and we are ready. Although I thought we were ready for every game we played, but never in the locker room was it quiet, like. Like that. And then I think the, you know, the speech, as I said to you, a lot of that stuff he talked about the day before that. I'm sick and tired of the Soviets and everybody talking about them, and I thought they did a great job of combining everything. And I think the music adds a little to it, too.
- [71:16]
Sean Callagy
And.
- [71:16]
Michael Rizzioni
And Kurt Russell was. Was. I told you, he was amazing as her Brooks, although friendlier in the movie.
- [71:22]
Sean Callagy
Well, let's hold it. That guy. This is something Mike said to me just a little while ago. Kurt Russell playing Herb Brooks, he said, was much softer and friendlier than when he saw the movie.
- [71:36]
Michael Rizzioni
My Herb's wife's in the movie and I don't think I saw her once all year. I didn't even know what she looked like.
- [71:41]
Sean Callagy
But.
- [71:42]
Michael Rizzioni
But they. Yeah, there's a couple of scenes in the movie that he smiles and I'm like, that's not the guy that coached me.
- [71:50]
Sean Callagy
So. Did you ever see her, Brooke, smile?
- [71:52]
Michael Rizzioni
Yeah, years later. Because I was a broadcaster for the New York Rangers when Herb was the head coach, so I got to see a little another side of Herb. Herb. Herb made a choice to coach our team. That way he was going to be. It was good cop, bad cop. Craig Patrick, our assistant coach, was huge. How important he was because Herb stayed away. He was an sob. That's the way he was going to be, partly because, again, all the Minnesota guys on the team, if Herb, you know, favored the Minnesota guys, it would have created an unpleasant locker room. But the fact that he was A bitch to all of us and was a hard, demanding coach. Bonded us even more together because it was always us against him. We'll prove you wrong. Really? You're going to yell at Buzzy, then you're yelling at me. And we understood that. He says, he said many times as a. A method to my madness. But he did say after the Olympic Games he would have loved to have been closer to that team, but choose not to be.
- [73:02]
Sean Callagy
And so he was sacrificing what he wanted emotionally for himself, for some greater outcome. Yes, any. And we'll get to. We're ready for the come out to the game, Tank. Okay, so we'll go there in one sec. And so just in a little bit of fun, were there any moments where he just did something totally crazy and insane or what were some of the more ridiculous moments? They maybe felt ridiculous then, but as you look back, any unique, crazy, interesting moments between the team and him or things he said that come up for you?
- [73:38]
Michael Rizzioni
Mike? No, he was, he was just a prick to play for. He. John Harrington used to write down, we called them Brooksisms. Herb would come up with these statements and Harrington would write them all down. We kept them a book of them. You know, one thing, one time he said, weave, weave, weave, but don't weave for the sake of weaving. Weaving was intricate, you know, cross, crisscross. That's the style of hockey that we were going to play. So weaving was the international thing. And I remember sitting there going, weave, weave, weave. But don't weave for the sake of weaving. And he told Ken Morrow one day in practice that he was skating like he had a 10 pound fart on his head. And Kenny skating around going, what's it look like? So there were some stupid things that he said that kind of made you laugh a little. But for the most part he stayed pretty true to form as far as being, this is the way it's going to be. And like I said, we got it, we understood it, but we as a team kind of had fun with it sometimes without him knowing it.
- [74:42]
Sean Callagy
And there's a scene in the movie with an interaction after the Soviet game between Jim Her Brooks and Jim Craig. Did that happen? How did he relate to Jim Craig, you know, Coach Brooks?
- [74:53]
Michael Rizzioni
I don't know that. That must have been. Something was separate. You know, goaltenders, you usually just leave him alone. We had a goaltender coach who could probably maybe deal with Jimmy, but for the most part, you know, whatever they said, I wouldn't have. I wouldn't have remembered.
- [75:09]
Sean Callagy
I thought about and it Is correct. By the way, the team has never been back to. Did the whole team make it onto Air Force One the next day or they did just.
- [75:18]
Michael Rizzioni
Jim Craig did not. He went to Atlanta because he signed with the Atlanta hockey team.
- [75:23]
Sean Callagy
So it is true that not even at the White House the next day has the team ever been back together again since they were all on the podium together. Is that correct, Mike? Isn't that crazy?
- [75:37]
Michael Rizzioni
I remember sitting on the plane, going back to Boston after we go to the White House and then found out that this thing was huge. And I remember getting on the plane, Eastern Airlines, that's how long ago that was. And I'm sitting next to Dave Silicon. Silky's kind of got tears in his eyes. And I said, silky, what's the matter? And he just looked at me, went, it's over. We're never going to play together again. And it was like, fuck, you're right. And we all went our separate ways. You know, Neil Broughton signed, Mark Johnson signed all these guys, you know, sign pro contracts. And I remember going home and we won the gold medal on Sunday. And Monday night, my mother's making me dinner and I'm like, what the hell just happened to me? Well, you know, and I had to get up early the next morning to go to New York to do Good Morning America. And I slept in my own bed, you know, my mother made breakfast. The next morning I had a car out limousine taking me to the airport to take me to New York. And I got on the Eastern airline shuttle and everybody on the plane started applauding. And I turned around, I didn't know who got on the plane. I swear to God.
- [76:43]
Sean Callagy
I went, what the.
- [76:44]
Michael Rizzioni
What you people watched? And the pilot, and he just wrote a book. The pilot in the book he mentions. He told me to get out of my seat and come and sit behind him on the plane because people wanted to come up and. And talk to me and get autographs and pictures. And he said, don't tell anybody you were here because you're not allowed to be here. You're not, you know, a member of Eastern Airlines. And I remember getting off the plane and New York line people, they were all clapping and patting me on the back. I'm like, healthy, you know, what happened here? You people watched. It was crazy, you know, to go from having no idea to, oh, my God, Mike.
- [77:30]
Sean Callagy
I was 10 years old. I was not a hockey player. I did like the Islanders that time, but I was much more of a baseball, football, basketball fan and player. And nobody in my family was a hockey person at all. I remember fighting with my mom to help Rush get me home so we could listen to the game on the radio. Because I don't if I recall correctly, it wasn't in. I was in New Jersey, it wasn't being broadcast on television, it was tape.
- [78:01]
Michael Rizzioni
Delay the Soviet game.
- [78:02]
Sean Callagy
So I listened to it on the radio and I was, I was a huge USA person. So I love the Olympics. I watched everything. So I didn't necessarily just love hockey, but I loved all of it. And I sat by myself. In the basement parents house, small house on a main road. We weren't three families, two family. And listened to this go on. And as a 10 year old somehow could stand the Soviet Union. Commie bastards. Like I was in a commie bastard household for sure. And it meant everything. And I sat there as a 10 year old by myself crying when you guys won. And what all those people did and they were sharing, it just couldn't be more real. And I thank you for that with all my heart. Because what you guys did was life changing for me. And every time along the way that I faced challenge, including find out I was going to go blind or high school sports challenges and everything that would come in my life things to this day, your signature or a fraudulent version of it, but I hope it's yours, is on a jersey in my library, my house, along with the hockey skates. It has the 80 blue jersey, all you guys signed it and the skates. And that is the core of everything for me is what you guys did. And it is, it is so unbelievable and it is totally believable. And what, how I relate to what you guys did personally and what we talk about here is it, it was totally possible. It was almost impossible, but obviously it was totally possible. And because of the process, the system that was put in place, we call that the math, the numbers, the dynamics and the heart. Coach Herbrooks put that together. You as captain, such an incredible leader amongst leaders, as you always say, all these leaders. And you really did do something that was virtually impossible, that changed the course of human history. And it's so unbelievable. And remember, you know, Mr. Michael Rizzioni isn't on television, he's not in movies, he's not on social media, but he's at the Seashell today. And what happened? And then what happened?
- [80:35]
Michael Rizzioni
Then they wanted to take pictures, then they wanted autographs, then they started chanting usa, usa. And I'm like, I just wanted a drink. And it was, who's gonna recognize me here? And you know, So I finished my drink and took some pictures and signed some autographs and left my drink at the bar. I'm still pissed off.
- [80:57]
Sean Callagy
We'll get you a few drinks.
- [80:58]
Michael Rizzioni
Oh, no, I'm gonna get a few later.
- [81:01]
Sean Callagy
So fairly accurate. Not failure accurate. And how were you so focused that you don't Even remember hearing USA? Were you @ all aware of the moment and the magnitude, or you just like, I'm focused and we're gonna go play this.
- [81:19]
Michael Rizzioni
Game? Like, you know, it's. When you're on the ice, you don't hear anything. You hear a teammate, you know, asking for a pass or Herb Yellen, change up the lines or whatever. So you don't hear any chance you're on the bench. You could hear the crowd a little, but you're still, you know, it's. You're just so geared to what you're doing, what you're watching. You don't. Everything's kind of blocked out. And it's funny because I'm not that smart a person, but it's amazing the focus that you can have in a situation like that where you just. My mindset is just on the ice. You know what's happening in front of.
- [81:55]
Sean Callagy
You. Awesome. Do you miss playing at.
- [81:57]
Michael Rizzioni
All? Oh, no, no. I skate. I help out with my high school team. I've been, you know, 45 years a volunteer coach. I skate with my grandkids. They play. So we were talking earlier, I get a little rink I put in my backyard so the kids will. The grandkids come over and we'll skate and things like that. But I don't want it because I may fall and miss them. I'm a golfer, so I'd much rather do that than skate around the ice. I don't need the aggravation. Plus, I just can't do things. I try to lift the puck and my shoulder hurts. I'm like, so.
- [82:35]
Sean Callagy
Quick. Fun fact. And we're going to take, then go to the next spot. The game is tied three to three, and I don't know, some guy scores a goal that puts the USA up four to three. So maybe go there next. But not that long ago, Mike was scoffer, and he ends up at this place, and there's a shared experience and some people around the table. And I think it was Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, who is considered to be the greatest golfer in history by many, Jack Douglas's son, and, oh, the president, United States, President Trump. And President Trump's like, come on over. And so Mike is sitting there And I think you reminded the president of a very important fact that he might not have been aware of with Tiger woods and Jack Nicklaus and some difference between you.
- [83:23]
Michael Rizzioni
Guys. Well, I. You know what? And I'm not going to get into politics because I've known President Trump a long time. He used to play celebrity golf with us. And while he was the president, I played a couple of rounds with him because I'm a member at his club. So I was going to play that day, but Jack Nicklaus, his son, ended up playing. I was going to be the fourth in the group. So they'd done golfing, and I was sitting at a table, and the president called me over and sit down, and we're just talking back and forth about this and that. And I looked at the president and I said, hey, boss, I said, there's a lot of majors between these two guys, but I'm the only gold medalist at the table. And he looked. He just. He went. He went. That's.
- [84:00]
Sean Callagy
Funny. Just give me a heads up. We are so. Games going. Okay, one sec. Games going. You're playing and is it. What I'm hearing is. It's for you. You're so focused. The team, it's like just another hockey game. But I think a. Keith, I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, but what I'm also hearing is because you treat it like just another hockey game. You no longer were. You guys weren't elevating the Soviets. You're playing hockey and the game is now 3. 3 in the third period. Correct. Not correct. Or is there any time in the game when it kind of changed where you guys became clear, which is the hockey game, we could beat these guys? Like, did you come into the game just as a game, or did your confidence as a team, do you think, build over the.
- [84:48]
Michael Rizzioni
Game? You know, first of all, you know, you go into the game thinking you can win. If you think you're going to lose, you probably will. So, I mean, we knew it was going to be difficult. We knew we had to play well, we had to be smart, we had to be disciplined. We couldn't take penalties. We couldn't get into a shootout because if, you know, we weren't scoring five goals, you know, four. Four. We got four. Because, you know, if they scored. If they scored five, we weren't getting five. But that, again, that's the way the game kind of went. But as a player, you just focus on what you're doing, doing your job, do the things that you're asked to do. Go out there every shift, play hard, play smart, be disciplined, and, you know, the game just kind of goes the way it does. And, you know, obviously, Mark Johnson scores a goal with no time left on the clock to tie the game.
- [85:33]
Sean Callagy
At the end of the first.
- [85:34]
Michael Rizzioni
Period. The end of the first period was a huge goal because we didn't play really well in the first. We weren't terrible, but we didn't play well in the first. Jimmy played great. So it's two, two, you know, then it's, you know, it's three to them, and it's three, three, us. And like I said, if it got to be four to them, the game's over. Because now we got to chase them. Now we got to change the way we want to play. The fact that the game stayed the way it was.
- [85:56]
Sean Callagy
Going. Because you guys were. You were never down two goals in the game.
- [85:59]
Michael Rizzioni
Right? Yeah, no, we were never down. You know, I'll give you a statistic that I didn't know about till a couple of years ago. In the third period of the Olympics, the third period, we outscored our opponent 16 to three. That is unheard of. We gave up three goals in the third period. All tournament long, we didn't give up any to Finland, we didn't give up any to Sweden, and we didn't give up any to the Soviets in the third period. Condition. Condition. I think condition was a big part of our success. We played four lines. We didn't just play one and two. We rolled four lines. Everybody played, everybody.
- [86:35]
Sean Callagy
Contributed. Do you ever watch the movie and think it might not go in, but, I mean, and. And, Mike, I know that you're a humble man, and, like, listen, I'm not that deep. Do you feel anything when you watch that or.
- [86:49]
Michael Rizzioni
No. Happy that it goes in, you know? Yeah. Obviously, it brings a smile to your face, you know, for me, knowing I was able to help out our team at a time when we needed something to happen. Like I said earlier, though, if Mark Johnson doesn't score his two goals, who knows? My goal doesn't mean anything. But the fact that I scored at a team, and I did, and There was still 10 minutes left to go in the game. It was a long 10 minutes. But in the movie, like I said, I haven't seen it in years. But in the movie, they have, like, at the end after I scored, like, the Soviets, they just, save Craig, save Craig, save Craig. And when you watch the actual footage, I scored with 10 minutes left to go in the game, and the Soviets only had five shots on goal in the last 10 minutes. We totally. We totally shut them down in the third period and especially the last 10 minutes. But again, you know, I look at it, yeah, it's nice. It went in. I got the winning goal, and we win 4 to.
- [87:45]
Sean Callagy
3. And so what that means is. And take. Let's get ready to watch the last very end of the game. So for everybody, that means that they just kept playing the game. And as the Soviets became more desperate and urgent, sounds to me like what Michael R. Is saying is that they were taking that momentum as a team and they were shutting down the Soviets. They weren't just playing great defense. They were still playing offense. They were outplaying them at every level because the Soviets only had five more shots on goal the rest of the game. Am I hearing that.
- [88:23]
Michael Rizzioni
Correctly? Yeah, yeah, We. They started doing things they normally don't do, you know, and we just continued to play the way we were playing, continue to do the things that made us successful throughout the.
- [88:35]
Sean Callagy
Tournament. Mike, what was it like standing on that podium and bringing the team up when that was all.
- [88:40]
Michael Rizzioni
Complete? Oh, that was. That was pretty special. You know, to stand and to hear the whole building. The whole building singing the Star Spangled Banner and see our flag being risen just a little higher than everybody else's was pretty special. And, you know, I was standing there, and I ended up obviously calling all my teammates up onto the podium because one person shouldn't be. There should be everybody. And the next Olympic Games. And since then, it's a long platform where all the players stand, and that's the way it should.
- [89:09]
Sean Callagy
Be. He changed.
- [89:10]
Michael Rizzioni
That. You can see we all fit. I don't know if we'd all fit now, but we all. Although there's only. Unfortunately, three of my teammates have passed since 1980, but we. We get. Well, actually, we'll all be together next week in Minnesota doing one of those memorabilia signing things. We sign. This company hires our team for, I think, every three years. We do. We sign, like, five or 600 prints, and then they use them for charities or whatever. So we'll get. We'll get together and we'll have some.
- [89:46]
Sean Callagy
Fun. And they have a.
- [89:48]
Michael Rizzioni
Netflix. Netflix special should be coming out in January or February. They finished. They finished that. They interviewed all of us. All of us went back to Lake Placid, which was kind of fun. And it's. It's kind of typical Hollywood or whatever. So Netflix comes to my hometown, and they kind of walked around with me and talked to. Talk to people, and I don't know what's going to end up on the editing floor. Not the editing floor, but they interviewed my wife, and my wife doesn't say anything. She's very quiet and very shy. So they said, can we talk to her? I said, yeah, you can talk to her. You're not going to get much out of her. So she was sitting there, and the guy looked at my wife, and he said, when Mike was elected captain of the team and he called you and told you, what did you think? What did he say? And she looks and goes, call me. You think he called me? He didn't call me. He called his friends and his father. I'm the last person he called. And I said, God, I hope that makes it onto the show. That's pretty fun. So I'm curious what Netflix is going to do, but they usually do some good stuff, so I think that'll be fun. I think, you know, after the Netflix and then the commemorative, that's got to be it. What else can they give us? It's.
- [91:01]
Sean Callagy
Over. You know, it's never over.
- [91:03]
Michael Rizzioni
But. Well, yeah, right. No, I. I get that. But still, it's just like, you know, okay, what else can we.
- [91:11]
Sean Callagy
Have? So, legacy. Do you think about those things? Do you think about, you know, I know, simple person. Do you think about what you'd want people 100 years ago, when you leave this, 100 years from now, when you leave this world, what you want to be remembered for? Has that ever come across your mind, your.
- [91:29]
Michael Rizzioni
Heart? No, I guess I think it's what I talked about earlier, you know, like. Like my teammates and I. To be remembered as a good group of guys who worked hard to accomplish their dream and. And that we were good people. And like I said, if you. If you spent time with my teammates, you'd get a total understanding of how we were successful. You know, not only were we good, we were the type we, you know, we were the guys that wanted. You wanted as a neighbor, as a friend. And I think I'd like our team to be remembered as just a bunch of good guys who. Who worked hard and had incredible values, who loved our country. We took great pride in putting a USA jersey on, and I think we represented our country the way that I think people in this country were proud of, and our team wanted to be remembered for that. Being a good group of guys that you would want to hang with and sit with and talk with and you could trust and who you respected and I guess things that my dad always told me about, it's easy to Be a good person. And I think our team was.
- [92:31]
Sean Callagy
That. Amen. It's okay. We're getting down to it. Final couple minutes. Okay if we ask two or three quick.
- [92:37]
Michael Rizzioni
Questions?
- [92:38]
Sean Callagy
Sure. Okay, let's go. Sir partner questions. Any sir partners have a question for Mr. Michael Rosio? Just raise your hand real quick and let's get them the microphone. And actually did last. It did. I also would if Lance. And then if Nathan had his hand up, great. If not, fine. But after what Nathan did today, I think that would be earning a question. And let's try to get one of the women of cert as well. But Lance, you had your hand.
- [93:04]
Tony (Brain Surgeon)
Up. Mike, I just wanted to say I.
- [93:12]
Sean Callagy
Never. Oh, by the way, Nathan is a retired lieutenant colonel, United States Air Force commercial airline pilot now and doing many other incredible.
- [93:22]
Michael Rizzioni
Things. My nephew, a separate sergeant, just retired as a full bird colonel in the Marine Corps. He went to the Naval Academy and then he took the Marine end of it and works for the government now and he can't tell me what he does.
- [93:34]
Tony (Brain Surgeon)
Outstanding. I won't hold the Naval Academy part against.
- [93:36]
Michael Rizzioni
Anyone. I.
- [93:40]
Tony (Brain Surgeon)
Just. I never really knew your full story or, you know, this man here is responsible for my full knowledge of this and how special it is to everyone in this audience. First time I've ever met you or her speak. And I just want to say you are a national treasure and not just because of the way you told the story, but for being a lunch pail and hard hat kind of guy and the values that you espouse and talk about. It just oozes out of.
- [94:08]
Sean Callagy
You. So this is a.
- [94:10]
Tony (Brain Surgeon)
Question. I just wanted to acknowledge you for that and also how you tell her Brooks's story. And I think the witness that you provide for what he did, who he was, is the greatest gift that I believe you can give another human being. Being a witness for somebody's life. Thank you are for him. And yeah, we all believe in miracles in this room. And as you said, you know, maybe we meet another 1980, this day and age. And because of this man and the witness that he is for your team in your life, I think one of us, as a retired fighter pilot myself, I've said this before, but I believe that the mission that we're on now is more crucial to our nation, to the furthering of that dream for what you fought, for, what you represent, than the mission I served when I was actually flying over the skies and defending the country. So they do believe in miracles. And I think that the next miracle that happens will be created in this.
- [95:13]
Michael Rizzioni
Room. So thank you for being here tonight to tell us. Thank you for having me. Thank.
- [95:19]
Sean Callagy
You.
- [95:25]
Michael Rizzioni
Amen. I wrote a book a few years ago. It's called the making of a Miracle, and it's kind of my life story. And I don't tell you to buy the book, but you can if you want to. But I remember when they contacted me, they wanted to write a book about our.
- [95:42]
Sean Callagy
Team. This is simple, Mike. And I'm buying a book for everybody in the room. Done. I'm seriously. Order the.
- [95:47]
Michael Rizzioni
Book. I don't know, Amazon, whatever. But I remember they wanted to write a book about our team. And I called my teammates up, and they said, no, no, not interested. Like, I said, if you knew my teammates, they don't like any attention at all whatsoever. They said, no, we're not interested in a book. I said, okay. So I called the guy back, and he goes, why don't you write one? I don't want to write a book. Then I got to talk about myself. Then I got to go to book signings, and you got to see people. And then I thought about it, and I talked to my wife. I said, you know what? I'm going to do it. I wrote the book, and I wrote the book for one reason. I want my grandkids to know that papa's life wasn't one game or one goal or one moment. And want my grandkids to know about their grandfather, their great grandfather, and their family, because family is very important to me. So I did write the book, and it actually became a bestseller. And thank God Covid hit because I didn't have to go around do book signings. I did, like, two signings, and that was enough for me. Thank God for.
- [96:44]
Sean Callagy
Covid. Thank God for co. Amazing. Who's got the next question?
- [96:48]
Michael Rizzioni
Team can't ask me any.
- [96:52]
Tony (Brain Surgeon)
Later. Here's a question for.
- [96:58]
Sean Callagy
You. This is mama Soul wisdom. She had her face on a times square billboard, 40ft for, like, a month, rotating, incredible human being.
- [97:07]
Tony (Brain Surgeon)
Please. Good for you. Thank you. Mr. What do you hope the Miracle on Ice teaches future generations about what's possible for the human spirit when vision outweighs.
- [97:24]
Michael Rizzioni
Fear? I. I think that the message is what I talked about. If you believe in something and you're willing to work hard, you can accomplish it. So I think the value of work, I think hopefully our team will instill that in people. You know, miracle is a catchy phrase. Sounds great, but it wasn't a miracle. It was accomplishment by a group of people who believed. We believed. And I said this earlier in ourselves, and we believed in each other. And I think that's an important value to have about belief and faith and hope and don't ever quit despite. Despite the obstacles and the challenges. I guess that would probably be our message because nobody thought we could win. We believed it. We had a hope and a dream. But let's go play and find out. So I think that would be a great legacy and message. I remember when we were named Sportsman of the year. Sports Illustrated. E.M. swift wrote an article about our team, and it was entitled A Lesson and Message of what We Can Be. And the article didn't talk about goals that were scored or saves that were made. It talked about our values. It talked about our work ethic. And I think that's the key to our success. And I think that, you know, then it was named the greatest sports moment of the 20th century. And a lot of it was because of those values. And that's what I hope people take away from the movie or take away from our team is what we. The hope and belief that we.
- [98:46]
Sean Callagy
Had. Let's hear for.
- [98:48]
Michael Rizzioni
That.
- [98:51]
Sean Callagy
And. And we can take a final question. I was 10 years old, as I told you. And maybe I was too naive or maybe I just hadn't been brainwashed about why you can't do things. But when I went home that day to watch that game, I believe with every cell in my body that we. That's what you guys did. We. You made it a way for everybody in America who actually could still not be conditioned to a negative headspace that we were going to win. And I thank you for that. And because of that incredibly impossible dynamic of me being 10 years old to the right age, the right time, that imprinted on me just in all these circumstances, that I am in my life and lives of others. Yeah. That it's truly possible. And I mean it with every part of me. Thank you. And I feel so blessed to have the miraculous timing of being 10 years old and that night happening. So thank you. Thank.
- [99:56]
Michael Rizzioni
You. It's funny. My grandkids want to watch the movie sometimes, and I've never sat with them and watched it. At some point I'm going to. But about a month ago, my grandson wanted to watch the movie, and I took the tape out and he looks at me and goes, what's that? I says, that's the movie. What movie? That's the movie Miracle. What's that? That. That's a tape. That's the tape of the movie. You know, spoil little brat. That's it's not a CD. It's not a disc for your VHS tape. Here, watch.
- [100:25]
Sean Callagy
It. But Mr. Brazilian, and I have to say, when I share this, far be it for me to ever, ever even give you any advice, but would it be okay if I offered a thought really quickly? Yeah, please watch it with them, because it would be, it will be, I am absolutely certain, a remarkable experience for you and them forever. And you have so earned what that will imprint on them.
- [100:54]
Michael Rizzioni
Forever. No, I'll watch it. And I think someday I'll watch the Soviet game with them as well. The problem with the Soviet. I don't want to be watching the Soviet game, which is on vhs. I don't want to. Watching the game. And all of a sudden one of my buddies shows up, you know, let, let it go, Mike. It's over. You know, but I, but I do have a VH tape of every game that we played. And maybe that will be something. Maybe when the 18 month old is a little older, we can all watch it.
- [101:22]
Sean Callagy
Together. But let's hear for.
- [101:24]
Michael Rizzioni
That final question. Final question. Tony.
- [101:33]
Sean Callagy
Mariello. Listen, we talk about like, you think you're not smart. I don't think I'm that smart. This dude's a brain surgeon, literally an actual brain surgeon. So.
- [101:43]
Michael Rizzioni
Yes. Well, I'm glad he's not a.
- [101:44]
Sean Callagy
Dermatologist. We'll get to that in a.
- [101:47]
Michael Rizzioni
Second.
- [101:50]
Tony (Brain Surgeon)
Yes. Just watching the clips and hearing the story, if there's a lot of similarities to medicine and the way we were trained. And would you say that Her Brooks was the toughest coach that you played.
- [102:08]
Michael Rizzioni
For? No. My high school football coach and my college hockey coach were pretty intense. But then again, you know, we were talking about earlier, that's how coaches coach in the 70s. You deal with it, you know, I mean, live in the house of my father for, for, you know, 40 years and see how, how tough it was. You know, I tell people Herb was like your dad. You know, you love your dad, but sometimes you hate your dad because he makes you do things you don't want to do. That was hurt. So that's the way it's going to.
- [102:36]
Sean Callagy
Be.
- [102:36]
Michael Rizzioni
Okay? I can deal with it. You only had to yell at me for two hours. Practice is over and I'm out of here. But he was demanding and he was challenging, but that's the way it was going to be. So if that's the way it's going to be, that's the way it's going to be. I'm not quitting. I want to be on this.
- [102:49]
Tony (Brain Surgeon)
Team, some of the physicians here with me, we all train in an error where. Where our attendings treated us like that, and again and again and.
- [103:00]
Sean Callagy
Again.
- [103:00]
Tony (Brain Surgeon)
Right. And, you know, we just have. Our results were better because of that. We keep the. Keep them in a special place in our heart because they made us who we.
- [103:11]
Michael Rizzioni
Are. Makes you.
- [103:12]
Tony (Brain Surgeon)
Stronger. Yeah. And I wonder if some of that's missing today. You know, you're still here with the.
- [103:17]
Michael Rizzioni
University. It's a lot different coaching kids today. You don't coach them the way you used to coach. Don't yell at Johnny because you know you'll get in trouble. But, you know, I think the era that we grew up in was that kind of an era. Now they grew up in a different era. You got to learn how to coach today differently than you could coach 20 years ago, 30 years ago. And the great coaches adjust that way. The great coaches understand, you know, things. They could still be firm and disciplined and things like that. But the. You got to find a way, a different way of doing it than I think the old. The old coaches.
- [103:52]
Tony (Brain Surgeon)
Did. Thank.
- [103:54]
Sean Callagy
You. Thank you, Tony. So Mike's got a great new doctor. Can you share that real.
- [104:01]
Michael Rizzioni
Quick? My wife's a fanatic about going to the doctors. Got to go to the doctors. My dermatologist retired, so she gets me this new dermatologist. This was about, I'm going to say, six, eight months ago. So I go into the guy's office, go to the room four. So I go to room four. I sit down, wait for the doctor. Doctor comes in, take your shirt off. So I take my shirt off, and he's got the thing. And he's looking. He's. That's good. That spot's good. That's good. And I have, after the Olympics, my girlfriend, who's my wife, I had this replica gold medal made for me. She worked in the jewelry business. And he looks at it, and he sees Lake Placid. He goes, lake Placid? I went there last year. You know, that's where the US Hockey team won the gold medal. Swear to God. And I think he's messing with me, right? And they have the oval where Eric Haydn won five gold medals, right next to the arena. And they have a museum, and they can watch ski jumpers, and there's a bobsled and a luge. Have you ever been there? And I still think he's messing with me, right? I looked at him and I went. I was on that team. He goes, no, no, you weren't. I said, no, I was. I was on that team. He goes, oh, my God. So I leave and I go home and I tell my wife the story. She goes, what do you think? I said, I think I need a new doctor. This guy had no idea who I was. He never looked at my chart. It's not like my name is Smith, right? My name is. If you go to Lake Placid in the arena, this big billboard with all our names all around the rink, it says, you know, Mikey Ruggione in the rink. And he was there, and he never looked at my chart. So I'm getting a new doctor. That's a true story that actually happened. No.
- [105:58]
Sean Callagy
Idea. Anything, Anything left that you want to accomplish that is unaccomplished yet here? Family, the Congressional Gold Medal. You obviously have incredibly successful.
- [106:12]
Michael Rizzioni
Speakers. Like I. Like I said to you, I take each day as it comes. I look forward to going home tomorrow. My grandson's got a football game, I think, tomorrow night. And go watch him play and live every day and enjoy every day and watch my kids, my grandkids, grow and hopefully live a little longer to see them have kids someday. I told my wife, and this is funny, I know you aren't going to agree with me, but when I first became a grandfather, I said to my wife, the worst thing about being a grandfather is I'm sleeping with a grandmother. She didn't think that was funny. I thought it was hilarious. Yeah. Slept on the couch for the next month. But no, I. Like I said, I just, you know, I. I cherish the things that I'm doing, continue to do opportunities that I still have. Working at Boston University is awesome. We're going to have another good hockey team this year. Three years in a row, we went to the Frozen Four, Final Four. And maybe this year we can win it, which would be great for the. For the kids themselves. But no, I. I just hope that. Hope the plane lands on time tomorrow, and I'll make maybe nine holes in the afternoon with the.
- [107:25]
Sean Callagy
Boys. That's a beautiful thing. Can't thank you enough for everything you've done.
- [107:32]
Michael Rizzioni
Here. Thanks for having.
- [107:33]
Sean Callagy
Me. The appreciation knows no bounds. And what I think would be a wonderful way to have Mike call this an evening would be to give him a little USA USA on our feet. What do you guys think? So let's rise to our feet as Mr. Mike Abrigizioni heads off the stage. Let's first of all, give him a.
- [107:54]
Michael Rizzioni
Hand. Thank you very much. Thank you.
- [107:59]
Sean Callagy
Sir. USA. USA. USA. USA.
- [108:07]
Michael Rizzioni
Usa. Thank.
- [108:09]
Sean Callagy
You. USA.
- [108:12]
Michael Rizzioni
USA.
- [108:13]
Sean Callagy
USA. Mr. Micah Ruzioni. Ladies and.
- [108:16]
Michael Rizzioni
Gentlemen. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.