Mr. Gladd and the 1980 Olympic Miracle

March 4, 2010 • Reid Macdonald, Staff Writer  
Filed under Sports

On February 21^st the United States Olympic Hockey Team defeated the Canadian Olympic Hockey Team in one of the elimination matches. This victory marked the 30^th anniversary of the United States victory against the USSR during the 1980 Winter Olympics, also known as the “Miracle on Ice” match. A little known fact about Tom Gladd, a member of the teaching staff at Voorheesville High School, is that he worked at the rink during the 1980 Olympic Games. Gladd was a junior in high school at the time and was given the chance to work as an usher guiding people to their seats during the games. While working at the games he had the opportunity to witness many of the events and because he travelled on the same transports as the athletes; he was able to meet a few competitors in the games such as the United States Olympic Hockey Team and the coach made famous through his ruthless training methods, Herb Brooks. Gladd stated that Brooks was just as harsh on the players as he was depicted in the movie “Miracle”.

Gladd was working in the stands near the United States goal during the match between the United States Olympic Hockey Team and the USSR Olympic Hockey Team. He described the mood in the stadium as a “once in a lifetime atmosphere”. After the United States team won he was responsible for keeping the crowd from climbing the walls onto the rink. When asked how touching it was to see the United Sates defeat the USSR Gladd responded “When I think about this event, I still have an emotional response.”

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