From Dream to Redeem

The history of the U.S. Men's Basketball team at the modern Olympics began with perfect domination, a 63-0 record and 7 consecutive gold medals earned heading into the 1972 games in Munich, Germany. Although I was just 8 years old at the time, the memory of the final moments of that game is etched in my mind as if it happened yesterday.

When the dust settled on a highly controversial finish, the Americans had tasted defeat for the first time at the hands of the Soviets, 51-50. To this day, the silver medals that were designated for the American team lay unclaimed in a Swiss vault.

1972 USA v. USSR Gold Medal Game

Twenty years later, following a rule change allowing professional players to compete, the U.S. assembled the fabled "Dream Team". Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and crew demolished the field in cruising to the gold medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

Since that victory, the record of men's basketball in international competition has been mixed. Despite winning Olympic gold in 1996 and 2000, it became clear that the Americans were no longer dominating the sport. Teams from several European countries had their own NBA players, and they generally came together better as teams than the Americans.

This trend came to a head in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, as the U.S. fought and scraped their way to the Bronze medal. Not winning Gold was one thing; this team didn't even have the chance to play for it.

Enter the "Redeem Team", our 2008 Olympic team. Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade and Coach K. A team of starts brought together in 2006 with the express purpose of restoring the U.S. to the top of the international basketball world.

So when it was announced that the Gold Medal game was to be shown live on NBC beginning at 2:30 am Eastern time, I knew I had to watch. And the "Redeemers" did not disappoint:

U.S. Reclaims Olympic Gold

Back where we belong!