Yes i know it's Basketball .... but it's American.. and we are the brazilans of basketball. Tonight the Argentinians beat us after going 58-0 over the last 10 years. But in terms of soccer : 1950 - USA (1) v England (0) ---- pretty big 1995 USA (4) v Argentina (1) ----- O.K. Shocker 1998 USA (1) v Brazil (0) ---- Oh *************** 2002 USA (3) v Portugal (2) ----- Whoa !!!! But anyone in the world beating the United States of America at Basketball is unheard of. I dont believe it actually happend, someone call a death squad --- george karl should not be living tomorrow!! someone put a bomb in his wig. But on a brighter note... with us now sucking at basketball we can concentrate more on soccer and be the best at that soon.
get a grip. It was bound to happen sometime. This game was meaningless and it showed. Sure, the team didn't want to lose, but the laziness still showed strong. The Argies played well, hit alot of big buckets and were tough on D. I will take notice if we lose the tourny, not one completely meaningless game. On the good side I guess one could claim that this is a sign that the rest of the world is catching up. But that hasn't really been evident either. We have creamed everyone else so far. A couple of tense moments I guess, but c'mon. It's one game out of 59, no biggie.
. . . and now the soccer angle . . . I can't wait for the Americans to take a cue from the Portugese and complain about how they didn't have any time to train together as a unit.
Also the US is playing pretty much their D team. It will be like Argentina going to their 5th starters vs the USA's best in soccer. You think it they even wouldve gotten with in 30 points if Shaq, Bryant, Duncan, Webber, etc.. would all be playing?
nah man our atheletes aren't raised like that. Right after the game Baron Davis said that we got beat by a better team. There were 2 huge very jaded calls that went against us in the last 3 minutes that could have complelty turned the outcome. No mention of that either. Just like our soccer players, our basketball players will own up to their mistakes when losing. Besides it would be a valid reason, for both cases.
Don't credit that to our "society." We sue folks at the drop of a hat for any perceived injustice. That just means Baron Davis rocks. You'll find athletes like that everywhere you go, just like you'll find the whining crybabies.
I kinda hope they get knocked out. Maybe if they start losing regularly, public demand will start to shame the big guns like Shaq and Kobe into getting involved in this sort of thing. Unfortunately, they'll probably still get the gold with the extra motivation this loss should instill.
I'd like to know what the Argentinian take on this is, and whether Argentinian basketball fans felt the joy I felt when the final whisted sounded v. Portugal.
Contrary to the way I feel about international soccer, I have long since stopped feeling that NBA zillionaires somehow represent "us" in international hoops. Maybe they represent whoever their shoe contract is with. You may find this perverse but... I'm kinda hoping for the US to have their jocks handed to them. Maybe then the average sports fan will have a little more respect for international competition, eg, soccer.
you'd rather americans follow the even richer international soccer players? Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo, Beckham...all AT LEAST as rich and even more powerful than Michael Jordan, Shaq, Allen Iverson
Yeah I root against the US too -- as an abject lesson to our Eurosnobs that what happens on the playing field/court matters -- not reputation. And the Argies cared alot about this.
Do you know the relative salaries that these players earn? Unless they have invested exceptionally well, top soccer players do not approach the wealth of Jordan and Shaq. Or Shawn Kemp and Kevin Garnett, for that matter. And Iverson's annual salary is higher than all of those players, as well.
Los ches can los shot Heck ya this matters to the soles...they are insane about their flag and sports! They have passion for sports that can only be rivaled here in the U.S. I've played ball against argies in hoops and soccer, they can play both and I was not surprised at how well they performed last night. Hats off to them!
Am I the only one that remembers that during all the hyperventilating before the World Cup someone said something along the lines of the how the US "H" team (let alone the D team) would beat Brazil's A team in basketball without any trouble? Are the Argies that much better at basketball than the Brazilians? These guys may not have been the best that the US could suit up, but they were not a bunch of stiffs either and they never had the lead at any point in this game. Baron Davis owned up to it because it was true. They just got beat. Having said that, like many others I think that it is a good thing in the long run because it makes it a lot more interesting if you don't know who the winner is going to be.
the A, B, C, D, etc... excuse is so f -ing lame. I get sick of hearing it from Euros when we win a soccer game, and now an American (though being from NewYork explains a lot) spews the same excuse. They LOST. Period.
It's all a matter of relativity. Governments in Europe give out much more to their citizens than they do here. you need more money America than Europe. The stars there are on even par with the stars here. I doubt they live any differently.
ok, flame me for this one but I'm gonna throw an idea out there. At the next World B-Ball championships held on the east coast, we should all get together and support the team. We could stand behind the net and get nuts, i.e. Duke, Michigan State...I'm watching the U.S. v Yugo game and it's like a USMNT game, the visiting fans are makin all the noise. Anyone see where I'm comin from and/or agree with me?
Count me in as one of those who feel like the US getting knocked out of this tourney would be a good thing. If you are a fan of US soccer it shouldn't be hard to empathize with basketball teams from other nations.
Don't bother me. I'm having fun being bitter There, I knew I wasn't the only one! Seriously, after all the crap US soccer fans have endured from the likes of Sportscenter since '98, I could give a rat's ass about how the US/NBA team does against the underdogs of the world. If the US gets beat by Yugoslavia, I'm gonna call the local sports radio show and complain when they cover basketball -- a sport that's for South Americans and Europeans. Now, if only we could get Mexico to beat us in hoop...
I already moved 2 basketball threads to the "Other Sports" forum, so I'm just closing this one. Any further discussion about basketball belongs in "Other Sports" JMac