Most sports fans (if not Americans in general) are familiar with the "Miracle on Ice," when the United States Olympic hockey team took down the powerhouse Soviet Union on its way to the 1980 gold medal.
The moment was forever immortalized in the 2004 film Miracle, with Kurt Russell in the leading roll as head coach Herb Brooks. Russell provided what is considered to be the movie's most greatest scene when he spoke to the team before their matchup against the Soviets.
38 years after the original events, the U.S. men's hockey team is getting set to play the Olympic Athletes from Russia in the final game of the Olympic group stage. The Russians are considered the favorite, so NBC decided to give Team USA some Herb Brooks-style motivation, only with a muppet-style twist.
In a video, Sesame Street's Elmo appears, dressed for the moment in a suit that looks like it was made in 1980 and even Brooks' parted hairstyle.
Elmo recites Brooks' speech almost word-for-word, albeit with some of his own personality sprinkled in.
Hopefully this lights a fire under the American players. Puck drop is set for 7:10 a.m. Saturday on NBC Sports Network.
