American athletes have been beaten badly on the world stage in recent months This year's Wimbledon had no Americans past the quarterfinals. U.S. soccer was beaten by Ghana. The first World Baseball Classic competition saw the U.S. outlasted by Canada. The Olympic hockey team finished 1-4-1. According to a growing number of fans, the reason is that Americans have grown spoiled, and they have expected to dominate. The lack of challenge has led to failure.
USA Today columnist Jon Saraceno nailed the issue last week:
"We can't seem to beat the world at anything in sports. In some ways, we have lost our way, our drive, our desire. Because of economics and other reasons, it was inevitable that we would be caught and passed. We have too many fat cats, too many distractions. We have too little focus on continuity and on the mission of restoring patriotic pride during international play."
In essence, Saraceno's point is that many American athletes see little challenge or opportunity in international competitions. They have huge, guaranteed salaries and million-dollar McMansions. Why push themselves further on the world stage? What can no pay and off-season workouts offer these guys?
Well, a growing number of sports figures see America's recent failures as an inspirational challenge. And they are going back to the drawing board to find a new ways to succeed. The first group to adopt this new attitude is USA Basketball. After a 6th place finish in the 2002 World Championships and a miserable bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics, the group decided on a fundamental overhaul of the operation.
Chicago Bulls GM Jerry Colangelo was put in charge. College legend Mike Krzyzewski was brought in to replace NBA coach Larry Brown. And the two have been working all summer to build a true team of role players rather than individual stars. They interviewed dozens of players and selected 24 who could accept their roles. Ball-hogs with bad attitudes, like Allen "Practice?" Iverson, are out. No names with small egos and a desire to rise to challenge are in (ever heard of Bruce Bown or Luke Rednour?). They've been working out together for weeks, running plays, learning roles, and bonding as a T-E-A-M (note lack of "I"). They will stay whole for the next three years, from the upcoming World Championships through the 2008 Olympics. Coach K summed up his philosophy like this:
"I think it would be good for every guy on the team to look at himself as a role player because this is not the Lakers or the Cavs or the Heat. This is the United States basketball team, so they are going to have to share the ball and share responsibilities with everybody else on the team."
Expectations are still going to be sky high for this team, and anything less than a gold will be considered failure. But the challenge of previous losses, combined with a new attitude and smaller egos, just might help them turn the tide. And whether they win or lose, Americans will have something to be more proud of.
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