1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team at the VGK game Saturday night.

Fans Split Over 1980 Miracle On Ice U.S. Olympic Hockey Team Joining President Trump At Campaign Rally In Las Vegas Last Week

February 24, 2020 Alan Snel Donald Trump, Gerard Gallant, Robin Lehner

By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com

The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that has captured the hearts of all Americans for 40 years had a busy week in Las Vegas last week.

The Miracle On Ice players now in their 60s met Vegas Golden Knights season ticket holders at a private event. They were also at the VGK vs. Florida Panthers game on Saturday. And on Sunday, they made a cameo at the NASCAR Pennzoil 400 car race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Oh, the players also donned red “Keep America Great” ballcaps and appeared at President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Las Vegas.

Politics and sports are a volatile brew and LVSportsBiz.com asked fans on Twitter to chime in about the former hockey Olympians appearing at the Trump rally Friday. Here are some responses:

Here is a Yahoo story on the topic with a photo of the 1980 players with Trump.

Former Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant, fired by the VGK Jan. 15, is working for TSN and check out his comments here.

The Golden Knights have acquired veteran goaltender Robin Lehner from the Chicago Blackhawks, and Lehner had an amusing tweet about requesting the VGK drummers not greet him at McCarran International Airport.

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Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.

July 5, 2021

LVSPORTSBIZ.COM, launched June 2017: We are a digital magazine providing market-leading news, intelligence, enterprise and breaking info on Las Vegas’ sports/stadium industry. Our stories are quoted nationally and we set the sportsbiz news agenda in Las Vegas. Publisher Alan Snel has reported on the business of sports and stadiums in Denver, South Florida, Seattle and Tampa besides Las Vegas and is considered a national authority on the topic.

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Hirings and Firings:

Las Vegas Aces President Nikki Fargas said the Aces are not renewing the contract of General Manager Natalie Williams. The Aces hired Williams as the team’s general manager in April 2022.

Vegas Golden Knights said the NHL club has signed defenseman Shea Theodore to a seven-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $7,425,000.

Our coverage of the Athletics stadium project in Las Vegas.

Mark Rosentraub on A’s stadium site on Strip.

Big League Sports With Small Town Politics

Man of Many Hats

Athletics’ long, strange journey for new ballpark

Athletics consultant Jeremy Aguero is eye of Las Vegas’ sports hurricane

How Deal Was Made For A’s Ballpark On Strip

Bally’s Corp, Gaming & Leisure Properties team up with A’s for ballpark on Strip

Bally’s Corp Chairman Wants Hotel Open When A’s Stadium Is Ready In 2028

To contact LVSportsBiz.com Publisher Alan Snel or buy his book, Bicycle Man: Life of Journeys, email him at asnel@LVSportsBiz.com

LVSportsBiz number for 2024: $1,178,161,041. That’s the amount of debt Las Vegas (actually, Clark County) owes for its public share of building the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium.