THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 3, 1996 TAG: 9607030620
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Guy Friddell
LENGTH: 56 lines
How strange to find oneself pulling for another country's team to beat the entry from the United States in the Summer Olympic Games.
My wish is that 12 players from some little nation will knock off our Dream Team of professional all-star basketball players.
When it comes to sportsmanship, that Dream Team is a nightmare, its players swaggering around bragging, a band of bullies threatening to pulverize opponents.
Up until 1992, our Olympic teams, made up of amateurs from America's colleges, lost a game once in a while. It lent some suspense.
But in 1992, bowing to hysterical fans bent on overkill, we abandoned the amateur standing and went professional in choosing our team.
When it defeated the Cuban entry 136 to 57, Cuban Coach Miguel Calderon Gomez called it the almost-perfect basketball machine.
``As we say in Cuba,'' Calderon Gomez observed, ``you cannot cover the sun with your finger.''
The 1992 team won by an average 43.8 points. Third World players asked, shyly, like kids on a playground, for our players' autographs.
Listen to how our players talked Monday at practice.
``If we have a chance to beat a team by 40 or 50, I promise you we'll try to do that,'' said Karl Malone. ``We've already talked about it, and we know 10 points won't do it. It's got to be a bigger double-digit thing.''
It matters not whether you win or lose, it's by how many points you smear the foe. Asked if any other team might offer competition, Charles Barkley said, ``The women's national team - that's about it.''
He is called ``Sir Charles'' more for his sometimes overpowering presence on the court, certainly not for any sense of noblesse oblige or respect for the foe.
In 1992, the world's best basketball player, Michael Jordan, didn't care to go to the games in Barcelona. He had experienced Olympic play and he wished to give others a chance to shine. He also had carried the Chicago Bulls to another NBA championship, and he wanted to rest and play golf.
Answering the fans' demand, he relented, but it was a relaxed Jordan who let other players, notably Barkley, put on a show.
Jordan, who walks on air instead of water, won't be in Atlanta. His mind is focused on the next NBA season, which is where Scottie Pippen's thoughts should be after his spotty play last season. Only so many games are left in Jordan's legs - and fewer in Pippen's.
Here's a dare that might tempt Jordan, who can't resist a challenge: Let the other countries draw lots to see which one could claim Jordan as a temporary citizen for a berth on its Olympic team. Now there would be something worth watching and cheering. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
Karl Malone
Michael Jordan by CNB