Thursday, May 23, 1996
Does U.S. pursuit of victory in hoops ruin Olympic ideal?
How many people will be 100 percent behind Dream Team III this
summer? How many will be able to root against all of the underdogs
Dream Team III stomps on, and will care if the U.S. wins by 40 or
by 50? There are sure to be many Dream Team III fans among us. We
have an exciting summer ahead of us.
"Alright! Take it to those weak Tibetans!" we will yell as
Shaquille O’Neal dunks over Tibet’s 6-foot-4 center, and glares at
him as they run back down the court.
It was getting to be no fun for us back in the 80s, when college
players made up our Olympic men’s basketball team. In 1988, the
U.S. basketball team lost in the semifinals. They finished third.
We don’t like finishing third. We like finishing first. Sometimes
we like finishing first by a lot.
True, maybe it wasn’t suspenseful, but we liked the first Dream
Team. We did not change the channel once the games got out of hand
(after two minutes of play). We cheered when Charles Barkley
elbowed the skinny Angolan player, and we booed when Chuck Daly
took out the Dream Team’s starters and brought in reserves Clyde
Drexler, Scottie Pippen and Karl Malone. "Run up the score!" we
yelled. "Embarrass these Armenians!"
The second dream team wasn’t quite as great, but we still
enjoyed it. We cheered for Reggie Miller when he hit ten
three-pointers every game from the shorter international
three-point line. But we tried to act embarrassed when some of our
younger players taunted some of the other teams. "How
unsportsmanlike!" we all said.
But how could we really be upset? After all, we still take
pleasure in rubbing other peoples’ faces in the fact that we are
better than them at basketball. And so Dream Team III returns this
summer. "U…S…A. U…S…A," we will chant as Grant Hill hits a
three-pointer to punctuate a 34-0 run against Madagascar. "In your
face!" we will shout as we point in the face of our Madagascaran
friends.
There are things we overlook as we relish every moment of our
complete dominance. For instance, there are American players who
might never go to the Olympics, as we send the same players twice
or three times to ensure nothing less than 30-point slaughters.
This year, 8 of 12 American players are repeat performers. But
those who’ve never played before might not win by 30. And that’s a
risk we’re not willing to take.
We also overlook a certain charm of the Olympics. Most Olympians
are amateur athletes, and those that have played professional
sports usually do not support themselves with their athletic
winnings. Other athletes like swimmers, ping pong players, gymnasts
and ballroom dancers come to the Olympics with little fanfare and
stay in the quaint Olympic village, where they bond with amateur
athletes from other countries.
That’s a change from the American sports scene, where most of
our favorite players are millionaires many times over. When we
spend money to see them play, we know that money is going into some
of the fattest wallets in the world. But in following Olympic
athletes, money is once again not involved — we are just watching
young people playing sports. The Olympians do not have 18 cars.
They do not have Swiss bank accounts.
Our men’s Olympic basketball team is now the exception. They
saunter into town with celebrity status and expensive sunglasses,
and they bring their families to the Hilton, a block away from the
airport. But what can we do?
It’s nice to see kids get their first national exposure, but
those kids have shown that they can’t win. Well, they can win, but
they can’t win every single game they play by an average of 72
points. And that is what is really important.
In 1992, the medal ceremony was marked by controversy over
whether the players would wear Nike or Reebok paraphernalia. This
year Nike and Reebok will have paid money to have a flag with their
company’s logo replace the U.S. flag at the ceremony. The Dream
Team will raise their heads up in the air to admire that flag, and
they will chant, "I pledge allegiance, to the shoe company, that
pays me five million dollars."
But who cares about awe for the medal ceremony? That is probably
what makes those darned college players lose in the first place.
Everything will be worth it once it is all over and our basketball
players have earned another gold medal for our country. Once again
we will have embarrassed the competition, and we can all spend $10
right then on long distance phone calls to heckle our international
friends.