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!