The Dream is Dead
http://www.atomicsportsmedia.com/articles/635/1/The-Dream-is-Dead/The-Dream-is-Dead.html
Peter Doyle
By Peter Doyle
Published on 11/2/2006
Much has changed since 1992. Fourteen years ago America as a nation was at the pinnacle of sports, culminating in the dominance of Team USA in competitions across the board. From the Dream Team to the America's Cup, the US was the dominant sporting nation on the planet, and it was going to stay that way forever. Peter Doyle takes a look at just how much things can change.
Much has changed since 1992. Fourteen years ago America as a nation was at the pinnacle of sports, culminating in the dominance of Team USA in competitions across the board. From the Dream Team to the America's Cup, the US was the dominant sporting nation on the planet, and it was going to stay that way forever. Peter Doyle takes a look at just how much things can change.
The Dream is Dead
Growing up as a sports fan in America during the 60’s and 70’s, victories by American teams in certain events were a given. I took pride in knowing that when these contests came around, I could count on victories. In the Ryder Cup, the America’s Cup, and Olympic basketball, US victories were foregone conclusions.
Just like Russian figure skaters winning the pairs competitions at the Winter Olympics, American wins at these three events were facts of life that never changed. Over the last twenty years however, these cornerstones of my American sporting pride have crumbled and my sports world has been thrown into chaos.
For the first 129 years of the America’s Cup sailing competition, the United States pitched a shutout; 24 competitions, 24 American wins. Every four years, the captain of the American boat bore the burden of keeping the winning streak alive.
In 1983, the impossible finally happened. The team from Australia shocked the Americans by winning the seventh and deciding race. Once the veneer of invincibility was cracked, it was only a matter of time until the Americans lost again, which they did in 1995. American sailing prowess has since hit rock bottom. Over the last two events in 2000 and 2003, the American entry has failed to even win the right to challenge for the Cup. Currently, the America’s Cup doesn’t reside in America, but in Switzerland. For the geography majors scoring at home, yes, Switzerland is a land-locked country.
In Ryder Cup Competition from 1959 through 1983, my formative sports fan years, the American team went 12-0-1 against their European counterparts. Since the defending team retains the Ryder Cup in the event of a tie, the trophy resided in America for those 26 years.
Up through 1977, the Ryder Cup was contested between teams from America and the United Kingdom. In an effort to make the event more widely marketable, the UK team was expanded in 1979 to include players from all of Europe. Everything changed in 1985 as Europe won for the first time in a generation. Since then, the European side has won six of the last ten events including four out the last five. The last two haven’t even been close as the European side routed their American competitors, 18 ˝- 9 ˝ both times.
Just like Russian figure skaters winning the pairs competitions at the Winter Olympics, American wins at these three events were facts of life that never changed. Over the last twenty years however, these cornerstones of my American sporting pride have crumbled and my sports world has been thrown into chaos.
For the first 129 years of the America’s Cup sailing competition, the United States pitched a shutout; 24 competitions, 24 American wins. Every four years, the captain of the American boat bore the burden of keeping the winning streak alive.
In 1983, the impossible finally happened. The team from Australia shocked the Americans by winning the seventh and deciding race. Once the veneer of invincibility was cracked, it was only a matter of time until the Americans lost again, which they did in 1995. American sailing prowess has since hit rock bottom. Over the last two events in 2000 and 2003, the American entry has failed to even win the right to challenge for the Cup. Currently, the America’s Cup doesn’t reside in America, but in Switzerland. For the geography majors scoring at home, yes, Switzerland is a land-locked country.
In Ryder Cup Competition from 1959 through 1983, my formative sports fan years, the American team went 12-0-1 against their European counterparts. Since the defending team retains the Ryder Cup in the event of a tie, the trophy resided in America for those 26 years.
Up through 1977, the Ryder Cup was contested between teams from America and the United Kingdom. In an effort to make the event more widely marketable, the UK team was expanded in 1979 to include players from all of Europe. Everything changed in 1985 as Europe won for the first time in a generation. Since then, the European side has won six of the last ten events including four out the last five. The last two haven’t even been close as the European side routed their American competitors, 18 ˝- 9 ˝ both times.
The Dream is Dead
Basketball had always been America’s game. Even as other countries had made strides in other sports, the athleticism and size of the American players had always been the trump card when it came to international basket ball competition. The U.S. men’s team won 12 out of the first 14 gold medals in Olympic men’s basketball (excluding 1980, when the U.S. boycotted the Moscow games).
The lone exceptions were 1972, when the Americans were cheated out of the gold medal and 1988, the last year the American team was comprised of amateur players from college. The rest of the world had long been using players from the professional leagues in their countries, most of which were much older and experienced than the American kids.
At the1992 games in Barcelona, order was restored as the “Dream Team,” composed of legends like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, crushed the competition. American hoop fans could rest easy as we reasserted our dominance, albeit by having to resort to NBA players.
The NBA players’ presumed dominance over the rest of the world came to a crashing halt at the 2004 games in Athens as a team comprised of NBA players lost for the first time in Olympic competition. The tiny team from tiny Puerto Rico embarrassed the mighty American squad by 19 points. As I watched the impossible happening, I felt like it must be a fluke, brought on by jet lag or food poisoning or something. Heartened by the knowledge that it was only a preliminary round game, I knew the world would be set right once the NBA’ers stormed through the rest of the tournament to the inevitable gold medal.
In the semi-final round, the sky fell again as the American team lost to …….Argentina?….. it took a minute to register. A team of NBA players would be playing for the Olympic BRONZE medal!
In this age of global uncertainty, I had increasingly looked to sports for comfort and re-assurance that all was right with the world. Over the past year, among other surprises, the American team wasn’t even the favorite in the first World Baseball Classic. The American team, America’s pastime didn’t even make the semi-finals.
Later in the year, I was assured by the sports media that with the addition of new NBA megastars, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Carmelo Anthony, the United States entry into this year’s World Basketball Championships could not possibly lose. Wrong!!!! The BRONZE medal goes to….. The United States.
Now in full panic mode, I searched my 450 channels daily in an attempt to restore my faith in American sports prowess. I sighed in relief as I happened on the Weber Cup, an annual bowling competition between Great Britain and the U.S. NO WAY can we lose in bowling, but there it was as Great Britain won for the second year in a row after losing the first three.
Thinking now about the end of these American winning streaks, I began to realize that while initially upsetting, upon further review, American losses are good for sports on the global stage. Nobody wants to watch when the same team wins every time. So if I have to sacrifice some national pride for the for the sake of competitive balance, so be it. If I want to indulge in a dose of good ‘ol American competitive dominance, I can always watch the Nathan’s hot-dog eating contest……oops!
The lone exceptions were 1972, when the Americans were cheated out of the gold medal and 1988, the last year the American team was comprised of amateur players from college. The rest of the world had long been using players from the professional leagues in their countries, most of which were much older and experienced than the American kids.
At the1992 games in Barcelona, order was restored as the “Dream Team,” composed of legends like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, crushed the competition. American hoop fans could rest easy as we reasserted our dominance, albeit by having to resort to NBA players.
The NBA players’ presumed dominance over the rest of the world came to a crashing halt at the 2004 games in Athens as a team comprised of NBA players lost for the first time in Olympic competition. The tiny team from tiny Puerto Rico embarrassed the mighty American squad by 19 points. As I watched the impossible happening, I felt like it must be a fluke, brought on by jet lag or food poisoning or something. Heartened by the knowledge that it was only a preliminary round game, I knew the world would be set right once the NBA’ers stormed through the rest of the tournament to the inevitable gold medal.
In the semi-final round, the sky fell again as the American team lost to …….Argentina?….. it took a minute to register. A team of NBA players would be playing for the Olympic BRONZE medal!
In this age of global uncertainty, I had increasingly looked to sports for comfort and re-assurance that all was right with the world. Over the past year, among other surprises, the American team wasn’t even the favorite in the first World Baseball Classic. The American team, America’s pastime didn’t even make the semi-finals.
Later in the year, I was assured by the sports media that with the addition of new NBA megastars, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Carmelo Anthony, the United States entry into this year’s World Basketball Championships could not possibly lose. Wrong!!!! The BRONZE medal goes to….. The United States.
Now in full panic mode, I searched my 450 channels daily in an attempt to restore my faith in American sports prowess. I sighed in relief as I happened on the Weber Cup, an annual bowling competition between Great Britain and the U.S. NO WAY can we lose in bowling, but there it was as Great Britain won for the second year in a row after losing the first three.
Thinking now about the end of these American winning streaks, I began to realize that while initially upsetting, upon further review, American losses are good for sports on the global stage. Nobody wants to watch when the same team wins every time. So if I have to sacrifice some national pride for the for the sake of competitive balance, so be it. If I want to indulge in a dose of good ‘ol American competitive dominance, I can always watch the Nathan’s hot-dog eating contest……oops!