Volume CXXXII, Number 3 September 27, 2002 f

USA Basketball, Soccer peers
J.P. BOX
COLUMNIST

Remember when the United States Men's Basketball Team could beat Spain left-handed? Or how about when the U.S. Men's Soccer Team couldn't run with a J.V. team from a Brazilian high school?

Those were the good old days when no one really cared about a sport in which you couldn't use your hands unless you had special gloves. Instead, we turned all of our attention to basketball, a game that demands its players to use their hands in harmonious motions of absolute dexterity.

But then the unthinkable happened-U.S. Soccer earned international respect after outplaying a stacked German team led by the world's stingiest goalie, Oliver Kahn, in the quarterfinals of the World Cup 2002. Although the men in blue lost by a score of one to nil and failed to advance to the semifinals, they asserted themselves as legitimate contenders in the international arena.

Landon Donovan, Clint Mathis, and Eddie Lewis may not be household names in the U.S., but you better bet that the average Brazilian, Spaniard, or Brit knows about them after their inspirational performances in the World Cup.

In the most important sporting competition on the planet, the United States finally shrugged the title of perennial losers. Suddenly, it was cool to like soccer, and we woke up at ungodly hours to watch the games live.

Sure, we didn't have the slightest clue what was going on, but we knew that it was important. Sports history was unfolding and we were going to be there for every second of it-including that strangely arbitrary system of bonus time in which the referee lets the athletes play a little longer until finally blowing the whistle several minutes after the official time has elapsed.

And yes, we didn't understand why a soccer player would be carted off on a stretcher after tripping over a dandelion, but we cheered when he ran back onto the field five minutes later.

And of course none of us knew why Ronaldo forgot to shave the front part of his scalp, but that didn't matter-we were Cup-crazy and rooting for the biggest upset in the history of world sports.

In short, things were looking up for American athletics. In addition to soccer's strong showing, the U.S. would surely claim another basketball title in the upcoming World Championships.
But then the even more unthinkable happened-the U.S. Men's Basketball Team, considered to be the most dominating collection of ballers in the world, placed sixth. Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Kidd did not compete, but their absence cannot explain the unprecedented flop.

Five other countries fielded better teams than the United States in 2002, including Argentina, Spain, and champion Yugoslavia.
After an 81-75 victory over the United States, Spanish coach Javier Imbroda said, "This is a good experience (for the Americans) to establish what happens when you lose, and to analyze it, because the world is changing.''

A couple of months ago that comment would have seemed smug, arrogant, and laughable. Today, Americans must accept the reality of an embarrassing finish that included three losses in the final four games of international competition.

Just months after the U.S. Soccer played with a passion that their opponents failed to match, the U.S. Basketball Team tentatively took part in the international competition. Said NBA rookie-of-the-year Pau Gasol of Spain: "I think they play harder in the NBA than they did here. These were not the players I know."

George Karl, head coach of the American Reamed Team, was not willing to concede a lack of effort, but rather attributed the stunning losses to better training techniques and coaching abroad that focuses more on the game's fundamentals.

While players, coaches, and analysts disagree about the reasons for Collapse 2002, it is undisputable that the Americans simply could not hang with the Europeans or the Latin Americans in 2002.

However, there is a positive to be drawn from the demise of the ballers and the rise of the kickers: America finally made good on its promise of equality. Our soccer team and basketball team fare about the same in world competition.

The future must be bright.