Eyes On the Prize

I'm admitting that my Olympic fanfare is slacking on a whole new level this year. In the past, I was glued to my moving picture box for 2 solid weeks because... well, it's the Olympics. However, I have been trying to read AP stories and updates on the events and of course, anytime swimmer Michael Phelps breathes, wins gold, farts or blinks... he's instantly a headline (rightfully so, he is the winningest Olympian EVER).

I actually crossed some drama with the men's basketball competition today as a picture crossed my path that i'm not really sure how to take. Take a look for yourself:

It's the Spainish national team, posing for a full-page ad in a Madrid newspaper prior to the Olympics. Apparently the ad represented a sponsor of the team and their bid for the Olympics. Notice how they're all making "chinese eyes" with their hands. It might not seem like a big deal on a world scale because maybe this picture was taken out of context... or maybe it was part of a campaign that is an inside joke within the borders of Spain? However, I do know that players in the photo such as Paul Gasol and Jose Calderon, who each play in the NBA and make millions of dollars, representing one of the richest sports leagues on the planet, are part of this instance.

"It was supposed to be a picture that inspired the Olympic spirit," Gasol said. How that was supposed to inspire, is beyond me. I mean, it could have been a situation where the this team sponsor was like "Strike a pose for us, because we pay to have the uniforms on your backs." Regardless, there was some definite lines crossed here and the irony lies in that it's the USA team players, not the Chinese, that are making the biggest noise.

"We would’ve been already thrown out of the Olympics,” USA guard Jason Kidd told Yahoo! Sports. “At least, we wouldn’t have been able to come back to the U.S.…There would be suspensions.”

Bottom line is that players like Gasol and Calderon should know better to act in such a manner, especially since they're part of an international basketball association that represents Spain just as much as China in their league's diversity. The NBA hands out millions of dollars in fines every season due to owners or players calling out referees, fighting on the court or even missing schedule games due to hissy fits. The FIBA (the European governing body of professional basketball) dismissed the situation already, as apparently China's well-being has nothing to do with them. Kinda sad to see the buck passed during the most coveted sporting tournament in any century.

In the end, I believe that class and sophistication follows any team that emulates being a true champion, because... well, they're the best and represent the sport in such a manner, pridefully. Can you even picture this team posing in the same way because Nike told them to?

Yeah, me neither.