In 1980, amidst the tense political climate of the Cold War, Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) took over as coach of the U.S. Olympic hockey team. With the help of affable assistant coach Craig Patrick (Noah Emmerich), Brooks selected a group of twenty amateur hockey players who faced the daunting task of bringing respectability to their country's floundering program. While Brooks was well aware that his team lacked the talent and experience of the team from Russia, he nonetheless devoted his energy to realizing his lifelong dream: to coach a team to Olympic gold.