Miracle On Ice Captain Mike Eruzione Regrets Wearing MAGA Hat At Trump Rally

[Shabibilicious]

Yahoo Sports

Miracle on Ice captain Mike Eruzione regrets wearing MAGA hat at Trump rally after blowback

Cassandra NegleyWriter

Yahoo SportsFebruary 25, 2020, 2:39 PM EST

 

 

Mike Eruzione, captain of the 1980 U.S men's Olympic hockey team, said he would not have worn the Trump hat if he knew it'd make people mad. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Mike Eruzione, the captain of the 1980 Miracle on Ice U.S. national hockey team, explained why they donned “Keep America Great” hats while attending a rally for President Donald Trump during its 40th anniversary weekend.

And he was surprised it drew such blowback, noting if they could do it over, they would.

“If we knew we were going to piss off this many people, we probably would not have put the hats on,” Eruzione, 65, told the Washington Post. “That’s the big question here. A lot of the stuff I got was, ‘You guys said it’s not political, but when you put the hats on, you made it political.’ ”

Eruzione scored the winning goal against the Soviets, making him a hero along with the rest of the national team, but he’s now receiving scores of angry messages.

Trump invited Miracle team to rally for photo

The group, which defeated the Soviets en route to a surprise gold at their home Lake Placid Olympics, was in Las Vegas over the weekend to celebrate the anniversary of the historic game. The rally was not in their initial plans, Eruzione told the Post.

But Trump’s people called and asked if they wanted to appear for a photo. Afterward, he said, Trump asked them to join him onstage. And as they went on, staffers handed over hats to wear.

Via the Washington Post:

“What are you going to say?” Eruzione said. “To us it was, ‘Sure.’ ”

When he was handed the red hat, he said, “I just put it on. I wasn’t thinking. Maybe this shows I’m naive, shows I’m stupid. I don’t know. I don’t follow politics. I know he’s had some issues and said a lot of things people don’t like.”

Eruzione told the Post he voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and Trump in 2016. He once appeared on “Celebrity Apprentice” and is a member of Trump’s golf club in Florida, per the Post.

Four of the 14 former players chose not to wear the hats. But it’s hard to notice it in the photos the team shared on its Twitter page with “The name on the front is more important than the name on the back.”

That’s what drew a lot of ire as well.

Eruzione: People think Miracle team is a disgrace

Eruzione shared with the Post some of the tweets he received about the hats and appearance with Trump.

He’s also getting angry calls and messages from school alumni at his job as director of special outreach at his alma mater, Boston University.

“I told my wife, ‘People think we are a disgrace.’ ”

The Miracle on Ice team is not the first to get slammed for wearing Trump’s rally caps, which first started with “Make America Great Again” in the 2016 election cycle.

Washington Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki wore a red “MAGA” hat to the team’s celebration at the White House and accepted an awkward hug from the president. UFC fighter Colby Covington has donned the hats and pledged his allegiance to Trump.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/miracle-on-ice-captain-mike-eruzione-regrets-wearing-maga-hat-at-trump-rally-after-blowback-193908721.html

 

There are times throughout our lives that stick with us forever, where a person can remember the time of day, the weather, the smells, what we were wearing....a time with so much impact it will never be forgotten....For me those days included, taking my military oath, our wedding day, birth of our son, family and friends passing, the day Elvis died...and the "Miracle on Ice".  I, like most of the country, wanted to be those guys.  All that said, I feel just terrible for them and the grief they are taking....I played hockey for years as a youth and teen and can honestly say, hockey players tend to react, as opposed to thinking first....so they deserve a break in my opinion, as most of them had no idea they were making a political statement in that moment in Vegas.

 

GO RV, then BV

[coorslite21]

Totally agree......the team was on stage as an honor to their accomplishment......simple as that.......really no need to make any more out of it than that!

JMO.    CL

[md11fr8dawg]

Damn Shabs, there you go again, something we both agree on. We've got to stop this or the next thing you know you'll be voting for Trump!!!😜

[umbertino]

 

"Eruzione" means "eruption" in Italian btw

[Shabibilicious]

13 minutes ago, md11fr8dawg said:

Damn Shabs, there you go again, something we both agree on. We've got to stop this or the next thing you know you'll be voting for Trump!!!😜

 

Hahahaha.....In a way, I will be voting for Trump, fr8dawg......for his removal.  

 

GO RV, then BV