http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...36.html?sub=AR
International Spurs Outsource the NBA le
By Mike Wise
Saturday, June 25, 2005; Page E05
SAN ANTONIO
Long after midnight, the basketball court still covered with black and silver confetti, a pack of loud, slightly inebriated Frenchmen in No. 9 jerseys began jumping up and down and chanting in sing-song voices -- the way people chant for their favorite European soccer team.
" Nous sommes les cham-pi-on! Nous sommes les cham-pi-on !"
"We are the champion! We are the champion!"
"They are Tony Parker's people," explained a French journalist. "His brother. Boys he played with when he was 13. His friends."
Would you call that Tony's crew? "Yes, you could say that," the man said.
Along the city's Riverwalk on Wednesday afternoon, a hard-featured Mexican woman of maybe 70 wore a tight-fitting, hot-pink T-shirt. Read the front, in gaudy sequined letters: "Ginobili's Girl."
In simpler NBA times, foreign players such as Toni Kukoc or Dino Radja would bring their games overseas, take on subservient roles to Michael Jordan and be thankful they were not playing in Milan or Istanbul for a living.
Now they bring their posses. They make aging beauties coo and coax young ones to go out with them. Among the pack of loud men chanting was Eva Longoria, television drama's new It Girl and Parker's dating interest.
These uppity foreigners do not just ask for the ball in the crucible of a tight game; they now domesticate our desperate housewives. They win NBA les.
Parker, the young French point guard for San Antonio, and Manu Ginobili, the Argentine shooting guard, his flowing jet-black mane trailing behind him on the break, helped Tim Duncan -- he of the Virgin Islands -- repel the Detroit Pistons in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night at SBC Center. Three players born outside the continental United States -- the best three players on the Spurs -- led their team past born-and-bred American players to the championship. The Olympic debacle in Athens aside, international expansion never took on greater meaning.
When David Stern, the NBA commissioner, presented the Spurs' players, owner and coach with the Lawrence O'Brien championship trophy, he proudly characterized the Spurs as "truly an international team of stars." Having seen and heard Stern export America's game at the same time the foundation of the product crumbled domestically, a collective groan could be heard from the press room.
There goes Mr. Globalization again, -bent on selling television rights to Madagascar while a league of players at home gets away with palming the basketball.
The backlash goes much deeper than the media. At least three players not playing in the Finals spoken to this week on condition their names not be used -- black players whose NBA jobs are being outsourced -- desperately wanted the Pistons to beat the Spurs. For no other reason than, as one of them candidly said, "We gotta put some of these guys back in their place."
It may be too late, especially after Ginobili became the first foreign player to complete a historic double -- winning a gold medal for his country and an NBA championship for his team. Ginobili led Argentina to victory in Athens and had one of the more impressive fourth quarters of a close-out game in the Finals. He scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth, penetrating the heart of the league's most physically imposing defense in the final minutes to ice the game and the le. He made both three-point shots he attempted, including a 26-footer with 2 minutes 57 seconds left, a shot that pushed the Spurs' lead to 72-65.
At one juncture Thursday night, Ginobili began a hard dribble from the left wing and elevated a few feet from the basket in the middle of the key. By the time he reached the rim with the ball, defenders were closing in. He switched the ball in mid-air from his left hand, his shooting hand, to his right, dunking stylishly. More than 18,000 people in the arena stood and roared for several minutes afterward.
Rasheed Wallace was asked why Ginobili was so tough to guard earlier in the series. Wallace refused to give Ginobili his due, stopping just short of putting him down as a player while making it clear he did not think Ginobili was a special talent. Sean Elliott, the former NBA forward who now works as a radio and TV analyst for the Spurs, has seen this dismissive behavior before by NBA players when it comes to Ginobili. He believes it goes much further than merely professional jealousy.
"When you have a Dirk Nowitzki or Larry Bird-type players, big guys who play their positions well, there's not a lot of backlash," Elliott said. "But when you have a 6-6 white guy beating the black player at his own game, then it's a little different. Every series he's been in, guys have been slow to give him respect. It's an amazing phenomenon.
Added Elliott, "If he was an inner-city kid, if Manu Ginobili was from Chicago or New York, and he was bringing the game like he's bringing it now, all the players in the league would say, 'Manu is the truth.' Instead they say, 'He throws his arms, he flails.' Every series in the playoffs this year, it's been that way. Denver did not want to give him credit in the first round. Seattle, same thing. Now Detroit."
Going on 1 a.m. Friday, Parker wore a French flag draped over him as he spoke at the podium after the game, talking about how proud he was to represent his homeland. He eventually joined his chanting friends underneath the rim.
Brent Barry, his teammate, surveyed the scene. Barry is the American-born son of Rick Barry, who led the Golden State Warriors to the NBA le in 1975 -- 30 years before his son earned a championship ring and long before players from Caribbean islands, South America and France began to earn them, too.
" Nous sommes les cham-pi-on! Nous sommes les cham-pi-on! "
"The French," Brent Barry said, walking off the floor as he shook his head. "What is it with the French?"
This could have easily been a quote in 1960's Alabama."We gotta put some of these guys back in their place."
I hope the Spurs bring in more foreigners. Luis Scola and hopefully Oberto. I don't care if the Spurs have 7 or 8 players from overseas, as long as they win the le.
It's sad that players from around the league are hoping that the Spurs loose just because they have several foreigners.
Well, it's tough to be at the top.
Anyone speaking on the terms of anonymousity is a pussy.
Speak up boys, tell us how you really feel instead of hiding behind your words.
True and very sad.
I can understand the fact that the Spurs are being hated for all sort of reasons (trophy envy being probably the prime reason). But to hate a team or even some of its members just because they come from another country (that most of those haters probably don't know much about anyway) is sad.
I have travelled to the US quite a few time and most of my experiences have been good ones. In all fairness I usually annoy everybody back home with stories of how great some of the things I saw or experienced in the US are. That goes double for the American people.
That is why it is even sadder that the opinion of a small (and stupid) minority even makes it into the mainstream news, it's an unjust tarnish on the character of a great nation.
You do realize that you don't have the monopoly on assholes, do you? You know some stupid foreign media is going to make this into a story and the opinion of a few morons will become news. At the same time we are all hard pressed to find decent articles about a team that won the championship without any drive by shooting accident, coach chocking, players taking time-off during the season to pursue music careers or players being expulsed from strip bars with tazers.
The Spurs are a classy organization, but that's probably too boring to be mentioned in news stories (God forbid that somebody would actually give them props for it).
Excellent thoughts, Slomo.
Someone asked for a different all-star game?? so you had it!!!
Detroit against SPURS
Learn to play team basketball instead of "me" basketball.The backlash goes much deeper than the media. At least three players not playing in the Finals spoken to this week on condition their names not be used -- black players whose NBA jobs are being outsourced -- desperately wanted the Pistons to beat the Spurs. For no other reason than, as one of them candidly said, "We gotta put some of these guys back in their place."
Is this why the Greg Anthony's and Steven A. Smith's not so secretly hope that the Pistons cream the Spurs? Is it about race?
I wonder how many of those idiots realize that the no one from "America's Team", the Pistons, wanted to represent their country in the Olympics...a tournament designed to put those guys in their place...I believe their excuses were being lazy, being a pussy, and being a coward. Excepting their 60+ years old coach who is in ill health...
I wonder how many of those idiots realize that, that "lesser American"(because he wasn't born on the continent), Tim Duncan....was the guy that was representing America in the Olympics...at a time when it was one of the most unpopular countries in the entire world, and that flag was a target.
I wonder how many of those idiots realize that "feriner lovin" Popovich is a veteran of the US military who would give his left nut to represent his country in the Olympics...
That quote just goes to show...stupidy isn't limited to one skin color...luckily stupidity is a "minority" in this country.
Athletics is the great unifier...it's the biggest weapon against discrimination...because if Manu is on your team? I gurantee you don't care what color or nationality he is...if you are a real basketball player who wants to win...just like all those guys in the 60's that played for the Celtics...didn't care what color Bill Russell was.
They'll never be able to stop Manu...he didn't become a basketball player to be rich and famous..he had no clue that was going to happen to him...he's a basketball player to the core...and he will always ultimately beat those that aren't, those that are doing it for money...and those that are doing it for hate.
Last edited by whottt; 06-25-2005 at 04:15 PM.
I DO respect the honor and pride of being yourself.
I DO respect TD, AI, and USA Team, because they were there playing "against" the world, not acting like the SUPERSTARS giving excuses ... asking for STAR’s treatment.
I DO respect MANU, Tony and the rest of international Spurs, because they play for their countries for no money.
I DO respect any sportsman who plays with his/her heart.
Didn't these guys see the first game where ABC showed the Manu Argentina special halftime show??? Manu is an Argentine gangsta ya'll! He's from the hoods of Bahia Blanca.Seriously Manu same as these other black players, he didn't grow up rich or anything. They just hate him because he's a Latin white guy making it big in the league and beating them at their own game.
By the way guys...we pronounce Manu's name like:
"Mahn-u Shinobili"
And Bahía Blanca is something like:
"Baia Blanka"
Wow! Sean, don't beat around the bush man. Say what you really think.
That is pretty much how Spurs Radio Broadcaster Bill Schoening pronounces it.
Mahn'-u Szhin-o'-blee with syllable of emphasis accented '
"Barry is the American-born son of Rick Barry"
... ??? They have to specify the country of birth for Americans now?
It would be more like Mahn'-u Szhin-o'-billy for us
You want to put them in their place? Learn how to do something besides dunk, shoot 34% from three, play matador defense, and father children out of wedlock.For no other reason than, as one of them candidly said, "We gotta put some of these guys back in their place."
i bet one of those 3 players was ray allen
If I had to guess about the three players:
Ray Allen
Carmelo Anthony
Kenyon Martin
who can guess who these 3 fools are???
I say, Melo, Shaq and Ray Allen. IN YA FACE SUCKAAASSSS!!
Oh, damn I didn't even read your guesses above ^
That was just as bad as their statement, if not worse.
I feel that I need to agree SOME of them wear condoms when they cheat on their wives.
Cool. You do know that Larry Bird fathered a child out of wedlock?
All this does is back up my theory on the real reason why some Americans wanted the US team to lose in the Olympics.
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