by Derek—2004.06.16 @ 1404
The recent NBA playoffs have strengthened my feelings about one thing: teamwork wins. One thing I noticed as I watched the playoffs this year was how well the Pistons worked together as a team, from defense to offense. The Lakers, on the other hand, seemed to favor an individual attempting a three-pointer instead of working the ball inside.
The entire episode reminded me of the Disney movie, Miracle, which I recently watched. I was struck from the movie's rendering of the players' growth into a team. The coach knew that unless all these "stars" worked together, they would not be a match for the other competitive teams. According to the movie (based on the historic 1980 Olympics), the US Ice Hockey team won because they played as a team. It reminds me of my favorite concept I learned in graphic design, "the whole is more than the sum of its parts" (Gestalt Psychology/Philosophy).
Today, we have built up "dream teams" which elevates the "best" individual players to diva status. I think most sports fans have played the dream-team game, where you match all the best (or your best) players together in some kind of "unbeatable" squad. Looking at this concept now, it seems prone to failure. Besides the apparent teamwork challenges, most diva players in professional sports today have a difficult time playing with their peers, let alone pairing themselves as a team.
This kind of self promotion is damaging to a team and can lead to its downfall. I was struck by Frantz's article "Shame Team" and think the ego's (read: fear) of certain players is the real reason for the 2004 Olympic scare in Athens:
Why do you think we still get goose bumps when we think of the 1980 USA hockey team? Why did they make a movie about it? Because our group of inexperienced kids won a gold medal? No! Ninety percent of Americans today don't even realize we actually beat Finland to win the gold! But we do remember that those Olympics were US against THEM! It was the USA against Russia! Capitalism vs. communism! The political undertones were monumental, and that's why our national pride swells whenever we remember the Miracle on Ice.
And that's why it's so shameful that our best basketball players are refusing to go to Athens. We are a nation at war, and the political statements that will be made in Athens are enormous. We aren't the most popular kids on the block right now, and the whole world is watching to see how we react on the international stage.
So far, the reactions of Shaq, Garnett, Kidd, Carter and McGrady among others, have been to quit. They want nothing to do with Athens, and their absence will speak volumes.
The Americans are afraid, the world will say. They're too scared to represent their flag.
And we'll have no one there to argue.
Bob Frantz, San Francisco Examiner