Miracle Media Review
In the beginning of Miracle, there are tryouts for the US national team, where college hockey players from all over the country showcase their talent in hopes of making the team. This situation produces an interesting dynamic where many athletes, who have been on rival college teams in the past, come together to try out for the same team. These past rivalries induce tension between some of the athletes. After the first day of tryouts, many of the players go to a local bar where they segregate based on the college they attended. During this scene, Michael Eruzione (“Rizzo”), who played for Boston University, says hello to Rob McClanahan, who played for the University of Minnesota, as he passes by. Immediately Rizzo’s college teammate Jack O’Callahan says, “I don’t know how you can sit in the same room with that clown.” O’Callahan then bitterly describes how McClanahan cheap-shotted him in the NCCA college hockey championship and stole the championship from him. This scene exemplifies aspects of an important concept in sports psychology called social identity theory. Social identity theory says that a person’s self-esteem is composed of two parts: a social identity and a personal identity. One’s personal identity is determined by personal achievements and one’s social identity is based on favoritism towards the in-group, derogation towards the out-group, and group achievements. The different components of both social identity and personal identity come to light in this scene. Favoritism towards the in-group is extremely salient as each college team has separated themselves at different tables in the bar. Each player favors their college teammates and therefore is unwilling to mingle with the other players trying out for the team. Further, there is derogation toward out-groups, as O’Callahan disparages McClanahan because he played for the University of Minnesota. Lastly, when O’Callahan discusses Boston University’s loss to the
University of Minnesota in the national championship, we see that he is upset because of both personal and team-related reasons. His college team lost, which negatively impacts his group achievement status. But O’Callahan also feels personally disrespected and resentful towards McClanahan because he cheap-shotted him, which he claims is the reason why they lost. This establishes how the championship also adversely affected O’Callahan’s personal achievement levels. In this bar scene, the audience sees a great example of social identity theory and how both
personal and social identities can influence one’s self-esteem.
Throughout Miracle, we see the U.S. men’s hockey team go from a fragmented group of individuals to a high-performing cohesive team. During this transformation, there are distinguishable stages that parallel the sports psychology linear model of cohesion. This model states that all groups go through four distinct stages as they develop and prepare to carry out the particular goals of the group. These four distinct stages will now be described and applied to the U.S. men’s hockey team’s transformation throughout the film. The first stage of this model is “forming,” which is when group members come together. The formation of the U.S. men’s hockey team, as described in the last paragraph, begins during tryouts, seven months before the start of the Olympic games. The second stage of the model is “storming,” which is when group members manage conflict. Conflict among the U.S. hockey team develops when O’Callahan unwarrantedly knocks McClanahan to the ground during their first practice together. Following this, Coach Brooks requires that members of the team introduce themselves to one another and work through their differences. The third stage of the model is “norming,” which is when group members develop strategies for working together. This stage is depicted in the film through the team’s many practices together and eventual scrimmages. At one point, Coach Brooks pulls three players aside to inform them that they will be on the same line because of how well they have been working together. This is evidence of norming. The fourth stage of the model is “performing,” which is when group members pull together to achieve goals. At the end of Miracle, the U.S. men’s hockey team wins the gold medal in the Olympics, which was considered a lofty goal during the team’s formation.
As with many contact sports, hockey players are prone to injury, which is evident throughout Miracle. In one instance, Jack O’Callahan hurts his knee during the U.S. exhibition game against the Soviets. The film’s depiction of O’Callahan’s injury and his progression to get back onto the ice parallel sport psychology’s affective cycle theory, which is a stage-model of reactions to injuries. This model will now be explained and applied to the film. The first stage of the affective cycle theory model is “distress,” which occurs shortly after an athlete is injured; this stage includes negative feelings, such as anger and helplessness. When O’Callahan gets injured, Coach Brooks visits him to see how he is doing. This scene establishes the pain and negative feelings O’Callahan is going through, as he whimpers and worries that he will not be able to play for the rest of the Olympic games. The second stage of the affective cycle theory model is “denial,” which is an athlete’s failure to accept the existence or severity of an injury. Shortly after O’Callahan gets injured, he tries to convince Coach Brooks that he is fine to play in attempt to preserve his spot on the Olympic team. Specifically, O’Callahan says, “Coach, I can fight through it.” This conversation takes place before the doctor has provided any diagnosis and establishes O’Callahan’s state of denial. The third and final stage of the affective cycle theory model is “determined coping,” which is when athletes accept the reality of their injury and understand the recovery process. The “determined coping” stage is not necessarily depicted in Miracle, but O’Callahan recovers from his injury and is able to play in the U.S. hockey team’s first-round Olympic game against the Soviets. From this, we can infer that O’Callahan coped with the injury and committed to the recovery process.
In Miracle, we see three distinct ideas of sports psychology, which are social identity theory, the linear model of cohesion, and affective cycle theory. These concepts are accurately portrayed by the film and further demonstrate common situations teams and players face. Furthermore, the movie provides concrete examples of how sports psychology is relevant and impactful in sports.
Nick Tighe
4/23/20
Sports Psych
Professor Sanderson