At this year's 7x24 Exchange in Boca Raton Mike Eruzione gave the opening keynote.

Going for the Gold

Mike Eruzione shares how to overcome any obstacle and go for the gold. When the 1980 US Olympic Men's hockey team, led by Coach Herb Brooks and captained by Mike Eruzione, defeated the mighty USSR team in the semifinals and went on to beat Finland for the gold medal, it truly shocked the world. This stunning achievement, which was captured in the popular 2004 Disney movie Miracle, is considered by many to be the "greatest sports moment of the 20th century." Drawing from his experiences in the 1980 Olympics, Eruzione reveals to audiences how true commitment is at the heart of super achievements

Mike Eruzione
Capitan of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team and Subject of the Hit Film “Miracle”

The stories Mike told where insightful and entertaining. A big part of the story was how the team was built and developed, the story behind the success. Something that a data center crowd can relate to.

Mike played a video of the 1980 game winning goal vs. Russia as he admits many times the audience has people who were not born yet in 1980.

The impact of Mike's presentation was more than many expected. To give you an idea of how impactful Mike's 1980 game winning goal is consider his 1980 memorabilia sold for $1.3 mil.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The jersey worn by hockey great Mike Eruzione in the U.S. Miracle on Ice victory over the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics was auctioned for almost $660,000 Saturday, though surprising strong interest in the stick he used to score the winning goal and his gold medal game jersey pushed the overall sale to more than $1.3 million.

Spirited bidding drove the value of the hockey stick to $262,900, more than five times the $50,000 it was expected to go for as a 9-year-old boy and his father outbid others, earning a high-five slap and a hug for the youth from Eruzione himself.

Convention Photography are courtesy of Professional Images Photography Joe Rodriguez 2013.