I was part of the 'Miracle on Ice,' here's why watching Team USA at the Beijing Olympics matters

1980 U.S. hockey captain Mike Eruzione and Eurasia Group president Ian Bremmer discuss the participation of American athletes in the upcoming Beijing Olympics on 'One Nation.'

In 1980, when my hockey teammates and I took to the ice against the Soviet Union, we were sure of one thing: Americans were watching us and cheering us on.

That doesn’t sound like much, but as an Olympic competitor, it’s often all you have. The thing people frequently forget about the Olympics is that outside of a few high-profile sports, most Olympians are amateur athletes. They pave their own way to compete, including everything from earning sponsor money to carving out the time to train. 

Many Olympians are students. Most work part-time or full-time to pay the bills in addition to training for the world’s toughest competition – which is all to say that when the going gets tough, as it often does in high-level sports, the thing you fall back on is that your nation supports you. It meant a lot to me back in my competitive days, and it means a lot to the Olympians who are about to compete in the Winter Olympics in just a few weeks. 

CHINA'S OLYMPIC HOCKEY HOPES REST ON NORTH AMERICAN TALENTWhich is why I found it puzzling — indeed shocking — that some people in the media and in politics are telling Americans not to watch the Olympics this time around. Speaking as a gold-medal-winning American Olympian, don’t listen to them.Here’s their argument, roughly: The Olympics are being held in China. If you don’t watch Team USA compete, that sends a message to Chinese leaders.That’s it. That’s the sum total of the logic. And it’s wrongheaded in every possible way.

Ignoring Team USA’s upcoming events does nothing more than play right into Chinese hands.

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