The American men's basketball team in Athens was the heavy favourite to win gold heading into the summer Olympics. This team hadn't lost a game in the Olympics since 1988 and was stacked with NBA stars. Who was going to beat the Dream Team?
As it turns out, beating the Dream Team wasn't that difficult. In fact, Puerto Rico, Lithuania and Argentina accomplished the feat as the USA fell three times and won't be competing for the gold. I've heard several theories as to why the Americans failed in Athens, and they usually focus on advancements made in other countries and the fact that the USA didn't have a chance to become a true team. I'm not convinced.
The American team consisted of Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, LeBron James and Stephon Marbury amongst others. These are world class players...all stars in fact. They should have won the gold but didn't for one reason and one reason only. They didn't want it bad enough. Quite simply, they weren't hungry and lacked that win-at-all-cost attitude. With a little fire in the belly, the USA doesn't lose three games out of seven. I'm sure of it.
