'Miracle' men of a lifetime

When Mike Eruzione stepped off the medal stand in Lake Placid, he figured life wouldn't be much different from before. He told teammate Jack O'Callahan about his plans to apply for a job teaching physical education and coaching hockey at his hometown Winthrop High School.

''He said to me, 'I'm kind of getting a lot of offers here. I think I'll just let this run its course and then apply next year,' " O'Callahan remembers.

That was in 1980, and Eruzione has yet to apply for that job.

Twenty-five years later, the Boys of Winter are still just that in the American psyche. And every few years, it seems, we have to let them know. Although they have all grown up, raised families, and walked away from hockey, Eruzione, O'Callahan, Jim Craig, and Dave Silk don't mind being reminded that they were part of something great.

''I don't think there's ever been a day that I don't consider it a good fortune to have been a part of," Silk said.

The four guys from Boston University will receive a lifetime achievement award tonight at the FleetCenter during the Sports Museum's fourth Tradition ceremony. Other recipients have been Ted Williams, Red Auerbach, and the Kraft family. This kind of award, O'Callahan said, is the most precious of all.

When O'Callahan heard they were chosen, nostalgia set in. But not for Lake Placid. Rather, O'Callahan thought back to his childhood days in Charlestown. He thought about the great teams he had adored, the Bruins, Red Sox, and Celtics. He thought, as he has so many times in the last quarter-century, that there must be others more deserving.

''The way this whole area has thrown their arms around teams, it's part of my life," he said. ''There are so many other special things in the city of Boston, other great Olympic athletes. Like the guys from the '60 [US hockey team], I'd love to see them involved in this and get their day as well."

Maybe that's why America loves these guys. Amid all the autographs and speeches, appearances and accolades, they never fell to arrogance, never lost sight of what they knew they were: hockey players.

Many things have put the team into the spotlight over the years, perhaps none more than Disney's 2004 movie, ''Miracle," which exposed a whole new generation to Lake Placid.

''In the year 2002, everybody had kind of heard about the Miracle on Ice, and then they'd see all these older guys," said O'Callahan. ''The young kids would say, 'Miracle on Ice, what, by those guys?' " he said. ''It basically froze us in time as good-looking, young guys that were full of life. So now they aren't looking at these 40-year-old men, they are seeing it in real time. It really brought it to life."

As much as the team enjoys the memories and the stories, most have simply had to move on.

''I don't look back," said Craig. ''I'm very comfortable being 48. I don't want to be 16. You were a kid then, and you were just playing for the love of the game, which is why people still enjoy our team."

Eruzione, though, has made the 1980 Olympics his job, traveling around the country as a motivational speaker. He never thought a few days would shape the rest of his life.

''You kind of laugh about it," he said. ''For me, the satisfaction I have that I'm doing it 25 years later is that I think I'm good at what I do. I think Jack said it: 'We're on a 25-year tailwind.' "

Craig said receiving awards now is special because it brings the guys together. Silk said even if they finished fifth, they would still be close. The relationships run much deeper than Lake Placid, the memories reach far beyond the ice.

''When you're lucky enough, you have friends for life," Craig said. ''It doesn't mean that you're the same, it just means that something in your life will keep you together."

''It's something I never get tired of reliving, but at the same time it's something that happened 20-something years ago," said Silk. ''I think almost everyone has gone on and lived a pretty successful life after hockey. It would be an awful long adult life if that was the greatest things that ever happened to you.

''There's been an awful lot of life to live after 1980."

The Tradition
What: Fourth annual event to honor New England sports figures.

When: 5:30-8:30 tonight.

Where: FleetCenter.

Who: Mike Eruzione, Jim Craig, Jack O'Callahan, and Dave Silk from the 1980 US Olympic hockey team (Lifetime Achievement Award); Red Sox ownership group; former Celtic Bob Cousy; former welterweight champion Tony DeMarco; former Bruin Terry O'Reilly; former Patriot Andre Tippett; and sports broadcaster Lesley Visser (Legacy Awards).

Tickets: $150 and $250 at FleetCenter box office; by phone at 617-624-1236, and on the Web at www.sportsmuseum.org.