1992 and Dreaming

The announcement that Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen along with the 1992 Dream Team (in the team category) were finalists for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame stirred up some memories. Good ones I might add.

I still have those old betamax and VHS videocassettes where I taped all the games of the Dream Team. They've probably corroded and will not play should I pop them into a player. But then again, I don't have any of those old machines left. They're all digital now. But I still do vividly remember the excitement I felt when the the line-up was announced and the furor that came afterwards when Michael Jordan at first declined. Magic Johnson said that give it some time and MJ would come around to the idea. Also noticeably missing were Dominique Wilkins and Isaiah Thomas. And there was the protest from the US college coaches about the inclusion of amateur players. Both Christian Laettner and Shaquille O'Neal were named but ultimately Diesel was left out with Clyde Drexler coming in. I didn't agree with Laettner but that was more so because he was a Dookie.

There were so many other subplots heading into Barcelona. Can the US regain its supremacy in hoops? Can all these guys play together? Who was going to take the last shot if and when it came down to it (there was a feature on this believe it or not) and will there be an international incident if a match came to blows (well, Charles Barkley did elbow an Angolan player and caused a howl of protest)? How will the rest of the world feel about them?

We did find out early on when Angola was blown out by what -- 72 points if my memory doesn't fail me -- and their Cuban coach (Cuba used to train Angola's military) criticized the Americans about their lack of defense.

The Redeem Team also faced similar trials more so since some of them played on the losing squad in Athens. At this time around, the world had more than caught in hoops. They were much much better with many making names for themselves in the NBA and the world stage.

The teams that the Dream Team faced were good as well. This was pre-internet so hyping up players wasn't as prevalent as it is today. But from teams like Lithuania to Brazil to Puerto Rico and Croatia, there were a lot of outstanding players and they faced the Americans with a lot of determination and of the mind that they were just as good if not better. It made for great theater and when the blowouts and gold medal came, the naysayers sat back and said, well, the competition wasn't very good except for a few teams. The funny thing is, we heard the same after Beijing 2008. Please don't get me started about Spain. As good as they are they had the benefit of too many bad calls against the Redeem Team in the end to make a game of it. As we Filipinos learned in international competition, you must blow away the opponent by an avalanche of points if you want to win because if it's close, don't expect to win what with all these dumb, blind, corrupt, inept, and stupid, and inept FIBA refs.

When the souvenir shirt first came out, I eagerly and patiently patrolled the shops at Virra Mall for their going on sale. This was the pre-tiangge era and there used to be several shops that would sell authentic NBA gear. I got a Michael Jordan jersey and the Dream Team shirt here. Back then, things with no Fed Ex or Amazon, items like these were considered hard to find so sellers could afford to jack up the price. I began to work around this time and could afford to shell out the moolah for it but ouch!

Then I followed the team on television from the Tournament of the Americas to Monte Carlo and Barcelona. They were big news so they were always on. I tried taping every single news feature I came across and amassed quite a bunch of tapes. I wish I was able to convert them along with my copies of some of the very first broadcasts of MTV (video cassette lenders used to tape them 24/7 and rent them out) and early Wrestlemania stuff.

Later on, I came across some Dream Team memorabilia but as they were back then, they were too pricey. Some I got, most I didn't. But they sure have a place in my collection.

And this takes me back to Malone, Pip, and the Dream Team. There's Chris Mullin too, a returning finalist (don't get me started on Mullin; his Golden State Warriors #17 jersey was the first one I ever had). They all deserve their places in the Hall and after a gold medal and changing the way the game was played -- isn't this their ultimate accolade? We'll find out on April 5 when it's announced.