A newly added sports documentary is currently crushing it in the Netflix Top 10, and it’s the best movie you can watch this week.
Miracle: The Boys of ’80 debuted on the platform on January 3o and instantly became one of the streamer’s most popular movies. The doc chronicles the underdog U.S. Olympic hockey team, which clinched an iconic upset against the Soviet team back in 1980.
The feel-good story is not only enduring and iconic, but it’s actually quite remarkable.
Watch With Us breaks down why this week is the perfect time to watch Miracle: The Boys of ’80.
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It’s a Genuinely Inspiring Underdog Story
The story of the 1980 Winter Olympics U.S. hockey team was so incredibly compelling that it was dramatized in the 2004 film, Miracle, starring Kurt Russell. And the true story really is one worthy of the big screen treatment for a sentimental, inspiring movie. At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet hockey team was favored to win at the Winter Olympics, being a four-time defending gold medalist. Yet the U.S. team came out on top with an incredible upset, winning 4-3 and being dubbed the “Miracle on Ice.”
In contrast to the Soviet Union’s professional-level players who had significant international experience, coach Herb Brooks‘ United States team was comprised of amateur players, with only four armed with a small amount of minor-league experience. But those weren’t the only odds stacked against them, because they were also the youngest team in the tournament and the youngest in U.S. national team history. The winning moment is still considered one of the most iconic sports moments of all time, further immortalized by ABC’s Al Michaels exclaiming, “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!,” during the game’s final seconds.
The 2026 Winter Olympics Make ‘Miracle’ Relevant Right Now
There isn’t really any secret as to why Miracle: The Boys of ’80 is so hot on Netflix right now: the 2026 Winter Olympics are just around the corner. Hosted by Milan, Italy, this year’s Winter Olympics started on Friday, February 6. If you’re craving the thrills of the impending feats of winter-based athleticism, it might behoove you to check out the real-life heated rivalry chronicled in Miracle: The Boys of ’80.
Before Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams explored each other’s bodies, curdling animosity between the East and the West manifested on the ice rink, and directors Max Gershberg and Jacob Rogal invite you back in time to this tense Cold War-era. And like a great TV melodrama, there is plenty of real-life drama detailed in the documentary as well, like tensions between teammates, romance in the Olympic village and the toughness of their coach that lingered past the historic win.
‘Miracle: The Boys of ’80’ Provides Fascinating Historical Context
In addition to being a riveting story of beating the odds, Miracle: The Boys of ’80 also provides some much-needed historical context for this particular era of history. Through archival footage, emotional testimonials and interviews with journalists, a portrait is painted of one of the most fraught periods in American history. It was a tumultuous time, marked by massive lines at gas stations, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, skyrocketing inflation, the Iran hostage crisis and a particularly frigid period of the Cold War.
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The U.S. hockey team’s win against the Soviets in 1980 offered Americans a rags-to-riches story for their own country during a moment when faith in it was wavering drastically. Thus, the win can be placed in the context of not only sports history but also political history as well, as the hockey team became a symbol of American resilience while fostering national pride. Miracle: The Boys of ’80 isn’t only a great sports documentary, but also a compelling exploration of the social, economic and political climate of the era that the monumental game took place in.
Stream Miracle: The Boys of ’80 on Netflix.
