Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
September 15, 2000, Washington Post

The U.S. men's Olympic basketball team is called the Dream Team, but I think it is a nightmare.

It is stacked with star players from the NBA, guys who are so big, so fast and so overpowering that they can crush any team from any country.

The Dream Team is nothing more than a bunch of playground bullies. You know, the kind of kids who keep all the best players on one team so they can run up the score and brag about it.

Teams like the Dream Team take all the suspense, excitement and fun out of the game.

Take a look at the scores from the Dream Team's warm-up games.

U.S. 95, Spain 66.

(Ho hum.)

U.S. 105, Japan 49.

(Yawn.)

U.S. 89, Australia 64.

(Zzzzzzzzzzzz.)

Everybody knows that the Dream Team is going to win the gold medal. The only question is by how much.

Eight years ago, the Dream Team seemed like a great idea. In 1992, the United States opened its Olympic team to professional players and recruited NBA superstars.

Michael Jordan was on it. Magic Johnson. Larry Bird. Charles Barkley. Karl "The Mailman" Malone. Scottie Pippen. Clyde "The Glide" Drexler. And John Stockton.

They were truly extraordinary players and they were all on the same court. Playing for the USA. They were the greatest basketball team ever assembled and were instantly called the Dream Team.

People would have paid just to see this team practice. Players from other countries were honored to be on the same court with these guys. They even asked the Dream Teamers for their autographs.

The 1992 team was a once-in-a-lifetime sport experience and it should have stayed that way.

We made our point--we've got the best basketball players in world. But in 1996, the United States once again packed its team with NBA players. The 1996 team didn't have the same star power as the original Dream Team, but it still dominated the Olympics.

This year will be a repeat of 1996. We have basketball stars Vince Carter, Ray Allen, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and a bunch of other NBA millionaires, but they are nothing like the legendary Michael, Magic and Larry.

I think it's time to stop sending our professionals players to the Olympics and go back to sending a team of college all-stars. Sure, the kids might lose (they did in 1988), but the games would be closer and more fun to watch. And the United States would have a team worth rooting for. Not a bunch of basketball bullies.

FRED BOWEN is the author of sports novels for kids. Write to him at KidsPost, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071. Or e-mail: kidspost@washpost.com.

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