TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 Uneasy Times 4 CHAPTER 2 Gods on Ice 8 CHAPTER 3 Unlikely Heroes 12 CHAPTER 4 Do You Believe in Miracles 18 CHAPTER 5 Out of Many One 24 THINK ABOUT IT 30 LEARN MORE 31 GLOSSARY 32 INDEX 32
CHAPTER 1 Uneasy Times Every four years athletes from all over the world compete in the Winter Olympics The Olympics are held in a different country each time People forget about their political differences during the Olympics Everyone comes together to cheer for their teams Athletes from more than 200 countries compete for medals There were only 16 events at the very first Winter Olympics in 1924 One of them was ice hockey Ice hockey is a game played in three 20-minute periods on an ice rink Players use curved sticks to hit a puck into a small goal One of the most exciting hockey games ever played was at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid New York 4 21st century skills library
The threat of war with Russia created a general feeling of gloom in America during the late 1970s The 1960s and 1970s were a stressful time for Americans The United States and Russia then called the USSR were not getting along They had been fighting about who was more powerful since the end of World War II 1939 1945 This conflict was called the Cold War The Cold War was not an actual war It started as a disagreement over which kind of government was better The United States believed in capitalism and Russia preferred communism The United States and Russia both wanted to be the most powerful country in the world The leaders of the two countries tried to get other world leaders on their side 5 Sports Unite Us
