25 years ago today, the United States hockey team beat the Russians in the 1980 Olympic hockey semi-finals. For the 25 years since then, me, my dad and my brother Doug have kept this classic Sports Illustrated safe:

I was eight at the time of the Miracle on Ice, and so I didn't know much about the political implications of the victory. I was drawn to it by the sheer joy that the Americans expressed at winning. When I think of the word exhilaration, this cover photo is what's in my mind's eye.

For some people, this game foreshadowed the renewed optimism of the Reagan years. Others saw it as a lesson in how underdogs can overcome the odds or how a great team working together can defeat a team of great players (you think the Patriots were the first?). For me, I learned that sometimes a game can be the most exciting thing in the world, and that's why I'm a sports fan today. You can sit through hundreds of awful defeats and they are all worth it for that one moment of triumph. And actually, that's really a lesson that transcends sports or politics, isn't it?