Rolak, who also played college baseball, tried out for the 1980 U. S. Olympic ice hockey team in 1979. Herb Brooks was the coach and they became lifelong friends. Disney released a film about the 1980 Olympic team in 2004 called Miracle featuring Kurt Russell playing the part of Brooks (Karl Malden had previously played Brooks in a 1981 television film called Miracle on Ice). Brooks served as a consultant during principal photography, which was completed shortly before his death. At the end of the movie there is a dedication to Brooks. It states, "He never saw it. He lived it.".