I collegiate hockey programs in the U.S., an increase of 25 percent since 1980. Women's hockey became an Olympic event in 1998. The U.S. team won the gold medal. It capped one of the finest moments in Olympic history, and not just because it happened for America's benefit. It wasn't even for the gold medal, but beating Finland 4-2 wasn't the same thing.
Nobody remembers the Finland game, which is why nobody asks about the Finland game.
The Russians were the hot button only because they were Russians, at a time when that was all we needed to know. They only became real people when they joined the National Hockey League. They were the dominant national team in the sport at a time when few people bothered to care about such things. They almost never lost, and as winners they won by large margins. They were the perfect foe, and the perfect foil.