Monster: What were your expectations entering the Olympics?

Mike Eruzione: If they gave out pink medals that's the one we were expected to win. We were in no way favorites, we weren't expected to medal at all, we weren't expected to win anything. Personally, I was hoping to use the Olympics as an opportunity to show what I could do on the ice and hopefully get a tryout and hook on to play professionally somewhere. If that didn't work out, I had gotten a physical education degree from Boston University so I was hoping to teach and coach hockey somewhere. I didn't have any coaching experience, so I was hoping I could get something at a good high school or college. I figured the Olympics would help me get my foot in the door.

Mc: That's not exactly how it worked out, did it?

ME: After we won the gold medal I knew that I had experienced my greatest moment as an athlete, so I immediately decided to retire and end my playing days. Once we got home from the Olympics I couldn't believe all the offers that were pouring in. We didn't realize how many people were watching us, or the impact we had, it caught me by total surprise. I had an advisor from Boston University, Bob Murray, who is still an advisor to me today, and we went over the offers. The two most significant were from IBM, which wanted to hire me to speak at meetings, and from the USA Network and Madison Square Garden, to do color commentary for hockey.

Mc: Why were these particular offers so important?

ME: IBM asked me to do some speaking at their meetings, just 3 to 8 minutes. I'd talk about teamwork, achievement, overcoming the odds, the things that we had experienced at the Olympics. It really opened the door to a speaking career.

And the USA Network offer led to jobs as a color commentator doing the (New York) Rangers and (New Jersey) Devils games, and as work with the networks covering the "84, '88, '92, and '94 Olympic games. I also do color commentary for the Beanpot hockey tournament in Boston and for Boston University hockey games. All that work came directly from that first opportunity with USA Network.

Mc: How long did you think your speaking and commentating career would last?

ME: I just wanted to stay busy until the next Olympics. I figured once the next Olympics rolled around there would be someone else to replace me. But one Olympics passed, and then another and I was still busy.

Mc: Can you make a lot of money as a public speaker?

ME: Not as much as some people think. Remember in 1980 the economy wasn't very good and companies weren't really scrambling to spend money on a speaker. And in 1980 athletes weren't doing endorsements. If it had happened today, if would have been a lot different financially.

Mc: Why did you decide to cut back on your commentating and speaking career to settle at the job at Boston University?

ME: It came down to wanting to have a family life. There's a lot of travel involved in speaking at companies and events and it gets hard. Also, I had to make a decision about whether to move to New York if I was going to continue doing the Rangers and Devils games. We decided to stay in the Boston area.

Mc: What exactly are you doing now?

ME: As director of development for athletics at Boston University I do fund raising for the athletic program and I also help out with the hockey program. I still do some speaking and hockey color work on television. I'm also involved with the business development of a Washington, D.C.-based health and fitness site, GymAm.com. It's pretty cool. It gives people individualized tips to build their own workout routine and diet.

Mc: Could someone who wasn't a famous athlete do these things?

ME: I think they could, but it would be difficult to get the initial foot in the door without a name. I often joke to people, if you win a gold medal, you could have a job like mine. But really, the Olympics obviously opened a lot of doors and gave me an opportunity, but what counts is what I did with the opportunity. I don't do what I do today because of 1980, but because I did a good job at what opportunities 1980 game me.