Dream Team vs. Angola

By Jack Bonden
Love of Sports Correspondent

Talk of the Summer Olympics will only increase as the magical date of 08-08-08 slowly creeps up on us.

Depending on which side of the fence you’re standing on, that’s either good news or really annoying, because there’s really no middle ground when it comes to the Olympics. There’s plenty to look forward to for those of us who enjoy the summer installment, and basketball’s undoubtedly at the forefront for many.

It’s with that in mind I started to think back through all of the special moments that’ve taken place during the Olympics. And it was during that stroll down memory land I happened to remember the year 1992, which to me, was easily the most memorable Olympics of my lifetime.

In case you don’t immediately know why, it only takes a few words to explain, and those words are the “Dream Team.”

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen; I’m giving up some love for the single-greatest team ever assembled, and while it’d be easy to go on-and-on about their greatness, I’m going to take you back to one particular moment where the team everyone loved temporarily suffered a set-back in fan perception.

Their first game gave new meaning to the “David and Goliath” clichés, because they were pitted against Angola, a team that would’ve lost to pretty much all Division I NCAA teams. In Olympic terms, this upset would’ve made the “Miracle on Ice” look like just another game.

Regardless of the sport, the original Dream Team’s the greatest team ever, and that’s a title that requires zero statistical support, because the roster says it all.

Think back to the tee shirt everyone had and you’ll immediately see the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Sir Charles, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Clyde “the Glyde” Drexler, and there was even an appearance from one of the greatest college players ever, Christian Laettner.

Unlike the struggles of the more recent Team USA’s, the 1992 squad took home the gold without any problems or even a moment of doubt. Yet, for as great as they were, I can’t help but wonder how they’d fair in today’s age, where other countries have improved by tremendous leaps and bounds, but I digress.

Now that we’re passed all the praise, it seems like the right time to remember the game against Angola.

Truth be told, Angola’s basketball team shouldn’t have been in the 1992 Olympics. They were in the midst of becoming a basketball-playing nation and only had a handful of basketball teams throughout the country. Their top player was a 6-foot-6 playmaker named Jean-Jacques Conceicao, who’d made a name for himself in the Portuguese professional league.

While the Angolans idolized the Americans, it’s safe to assume the opposite wasn’t true. This much was admitted by a U.S. scout, who admitted “all we know is that they qualified for the Olympics and they are from Africa.”

In the end, the Americans demolished the Angolans by a final score of 116-48, and for as bad as that sounds, the game was actually more of a blowout than the score indicates. To be precise, there was actually an insane 13-minute run where they outscored Angola 46-1, but it’s that one point that created a whole lot of temporary trouble for the Dream Team.

More over, the point wasn’t as important to the game as was the play that caused it. For anyone that’s forgotten, it was a free throw that came after a flagrant foul on Charles Barkley, who decided to deliver a message to Herlander Coimbra in the form of a right elbow.

Naturally, there was mild outrage from the fans in attendance. In addition to that, the international media covering the event immediately began referring to the Dream Team as “Ugly Americans” and “bullies,” which got a fair amount of play in the ensuing coverage. The American media was also embarrassed, and even Karl Malone took a shot at Sir Charles, saying “I don’t think we need to go out and do anything that would degrade anybody.”

As for Barkley, his response was quick and to the point, as he simply said “You hit me, I’ll hit you; even if it doesn’t look like he’s eaten in a while.”

Among other occupations, I work as a middle school basketball coach. My teams are usually pretty good, and we’ve had more than a few occasions when we’ve significantly overmatched our opponents. I’ve always hated coaching games like that because they come with an inherent dilemma: killing the clock would be insulting to the other team, but at the same time, it’s also insulting to take all the good shots available because the margin of victory would become embarrassing.

In the end, it comes down to respecting the opponent. They took the court against your team, and in basketball there’s always a winner and a loser. Blowouts are a part of life. So, as a sign of respect for the other team’s ability, you continue to play defense (though maybe not as aggressively), and you take any conspicuously open shot. The last thing you want to do is to treat the other team condescendingly—for a person with any kind of pride, there is little more infuriating than that.

In the grand scheme of things, Barkley’s elbow wasn’t a big deal. What was a big deal was the fact that the big and bad Americans came to Barcelona, and even in basketball were asserting their (super)power over a skinny underdog nation.

But in reality, it was Barkley saying the Angolans were not poor, wretched little African children who were trying to play on the big stage. The elbow was Barkley telling the rest of the world that Angola did indeed have business being on the same court as the Americans. It may have been angry and aggressive, but still, it was a sign of respect nonetheless.

Coimbra found Barkley after the game, and the two posed for a picture. In a postgame press conference, Angola coach Victorino Cunha said “We know Charles Barkley. No problem. He does this 10 times a year in the NBA.”

In the end, what all of the Barkley-haters seemed to miss was the fact that the elbow wasn’t delivered with malice, but was simply a statement of pride. So, while everyone’s talking about the greatness of the Dream Team, we’re going to give up some OLD SCHOOL LOVE for a moment in 1992 where they were loved and hated by the world at the same time.

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