Dan Le Batard made this assertion on his Tuesday afternoon show and I immediately saw red — about the same color red of the mighty Soviet team we had to defeat in Lake Placid to survive and meet Finland for the gold medal.

Do not get me wrong — Monday I cheered for our boys against Ghana and will continue cheering for them for as far as they go in Brazil.

Should the United States win the FIFA World Cup it will no doubt go down in history as one of our notable sports achievements, but it will not even come close to casting a shadow over the accomplishment made by a group of college kids in 1980.

Simply put, the script and the players were different. The political times were different as we were in the middle of perhaps the height of the Cold War and we were dealing with a tense hostage crisis in Iran.

The players were definitely different. The U.S. Hockey Team of 1980 were amateurs, college kids, led by a fiery, yet inspirational coach by the name of Herb Brooks.

Brooks' work ethic is well-documented in both the Disney film Miracle and the documentary Do You Believe in Miracles. He was not an easy coach to play for, his tough practices made his players respect him. He believed this team could play against the far-superior European teams, including the much-despised Soviets.

U.S. Soccer coach Jurgen Klinnsmann went on record saying it's unrealistic to expect our team to win the World Cup. Even in the face of tough competition, Brooks worked to make sure we could claim a gold medal, telling his team, “You were meant to be here.”

Unlike our 1980 hockey team, our soccer team is made up of professionals, another huge difference in the storyline.

The biggest hole in Le Batard's theory, however, simply goes back to the political climate. We hated, or were supposed to hate, the Russians then. Their team was everything our team was not, they were dominate, powerful. We were supposed to lose.

Our team persevered and won. Lost in the hype of that moment was the fact after playing the Soviets we had to win one more game to clinch the gold medal. Had we lost, I believe the win against the Soviets would have still been an accomplishment, but not the accomplishment it became by going all the way.

The U.S. 1980 Hockey team set a standard that will be difficult to match today as professionals are now allowed to compete in the Olympics. There is no way a United States victory in the World Cup will come close to matching the shot heard round in the world in 1980 when a team of college kids and a passionate coach lifted the spirits of a nation embroiled in a sensitive Cold War and a tense hostage situation.

We will continue to pull for our soccer team in Brazil but until we go back to amateur status in these games it will never be the same victory made by our hockey team.

Even the call should we win it all, will never compare to the countdown of the 1980 game against the Soviets by Al Michaels — Do you believe in miracles — and that ultimate gold medal win — Lance Martin