It is somehow always the best of times and the worst of times; but the winter of 1980 in America felt like it had more than its share of the worst. Unemployment was high; inflation was raging. An energy crisis produced gas rationing. Iran was holding 50 Americans hostage. President Carter said the nation seemed to be in a “moral and spiritual crisis.” Then, from a most unexpected place, America and the free world received a bit of good cheer. It came in the form of a young hockey team.