Context

This line was spoken by Al Michaels during the 1980 Winter Olympics.

To say the United States men's hockey team was an underdog going into their match-up with the Soviet Union during the 1980 Winter Olympic games would be a major understatement. The American team was made up of mostly college players, while the Soviets had won six gold medals. Yikes. Throw in a little Cold-War-era friction and you've got a matchup made in sports heaven. You seriously couldn't write a better plot if you were making a movie.

Before the game started, no one thought the American team stood much of a chance against the Soviet superstars. But, while the Soviet team led most of the game, the Americans managed to score and pull ahead 4-3 with 10 minutes left. It wasn't over yet. The U.S. players had to hold off their talented opponents until time ran out. Near the end of the game, the hometown crowd began to count down the clock, and announcer Al Michaels joined in. Then, just as final seconds ticked down, he shouted, "Do you believe in miracles! Yes!"

Whew! That is one Olympic-sized moment.

Where you've heard it

If you believe in miracles, especially sports miracles, you've definitely heard this one. It's fun to use this any time the underdog wins.

Additional Notable References:

• The movie Miracle portrayed the build up to this miracle-making game, complete with audio from the original broadcast.
• Do You Believe In Miracles? was a documentary about the U.S.-Soviet matchup in 1980.
• This moment has been cited as one of the best sports calls of all time. It's easily the most ecstatic.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Is it a teeny bit pretentious to say you just pulled off a miracle? Maybe. But we can't really hear those groans over all the cheering.