International sporting events during the Cold War clearly showed the world that the people of these occupied Eastern European countries were not happy in the communist state in which they were forced to live. In 1955, the world's second international soccer team played what was supposed to be a meaningless friendly match against the Soviets. However, during the match, the Hungarians were rude and played a dangerously physical game with the Soviets. After the match, the players left the field without shaking hands with their Soviet counterparts. In Poland, sporting events became a sort of tool of protest against Soviet policies in the region. “Soviet athletes playing or competing in Poland were increasingly greeted with anti-Soviet whistles and shouts,”9 and athletes who beat Soviet teams were greeted as national heroes. The events that occurred at most sporting events between the Soviets and members of the "Eastern Bloc" during the Cold War period, from the World Cup to the Olympics, relayed to the world the attitudes peoples within countries whose governments appeared to be allied with the Soviets. "There was a pattern in place: the more ecstatic and complacent the official leadership's attitude toward its Soviet 'friends,' the more hostile the positions." 9During the 1967 Ice Hockey World Championship in Vienna, the atmosphere grew between the two teams as Czechoslovak fans booed, whistled and threw trash on the ice during the Soviet national anthem. During the match, a fight broke out between the Czechoslovak team and the Soviet team, and the Czechs refused. The newspapers delighted in the unpleasant details of the match and rejoiced in the 'hockey war' being waged between the socialist states.” 9 Western media were