Joy's Last Day- Redemption Team my BEEP!

Last Day- Redemption Team my BEEP!
by Joy Dickson, Sunday August 24, 2008 at 4:20am

Ok, I just finished watching the last ten minutes of the fourth quarter of the Men's Basketball Final-USA vs. Spain and I am not a happy camper. Don't get me wrong I looooooove men's basketball. And like most Americans, I was hoping that we could redeem ourselves after the humiliation we suffered in the previous Olympics. After all, our entire team is comprised of all NBA players, the so called best in the world, so redemption should have been in the bag.

NOT! We won the gold only by eleven points and three of them were from foul shots. When I started watching the game, there was only a four point difference between the two teams. Four points in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. All I could think of was am I dreaming?

With all of their bragging and trash talking, there should have been more than an eleven point difference and we were playing against Spain of all teams. Spain, the now infamous team that participated in a racist advertisement* for a Spanish delivery company while being sponsored by Li-Ning**. We should have prevented them from breaking 100 for that foul up alone.

But no, the men's US team allowed them to rebound at least 36 times compared to the 29 we did ( I did not see the final stats on rebounds), to have opportunities to make successful three point shots and get slammed dunked on. And it was a SLAM let me swing on the rim a little and gloat type of dunk.

It was brutal to watch because the redemption team was supposed to REDEEM our reputation for being the best of the best but instead they barely got by. As much as I am pissed off at the Spanish team for their participation in that racist ad, I do have to give them their props for playing one heck of a game and pushing Dwayne Wade so hard that he slipped and fell ( yes this professional baller not only lost control of the ball but his footing as well) on the court with seconds to go. Viva Espana.

My friends and I are supposed to go out tonight to celebrate the ending of the Olympics, I hope I don't run into any of these players because I have an earful for them. Redemption team my butt.

I am looking forward to seeing how the closing ceremony turns out.

*The entire Spanish men's basketball team poised in a picture that showed them pulling their eyes to "imitate" an Asian person's eyes.

** Li-Ning is a Chinese owned sports and athletic wear company. It was started by Li-Ning the guy that ran around the stadium and later lit the torch at the opening ceremonies. This company sponsored the men's basketball team from Spain.