The self esteem of USA basketball shot a big air ball Sunday when a handful of multi-millionaires were humiliated by a handful of Puerto Rican no-names.
As a fan of basketball I think a random butt-kicking is healthy for the swollen egos of our professional athletes. Considering the pedestal we Americans put our athletes on, it's nice to see a squad of humble, but fierce competitors rise to the occasion and challenge our notion of complete world domination.
Puerto Rico effectively sent the world a message: The U.S. is no longer the dominate bully on the basketball block. For every $20,000 (give or take) Allen Iverson gets paid per basket in the U.S., there's a determined competitor in an almost third world country getting paid pennies on the dollar to do the same thing better. I'm afraid my basketball rant is going to turn into an outsourcing analogy so I'll just stop here.
Bottomline, the shame of U.S. basketball reminds us ego-freak Americans why there is value in international competition. Just when we think America cannot get any more dominate, BOOM! some unknown Puerto Rican is dunking all over our trillion dollar, Nike-endorsed, Gatorade-swilling, super God.
I don't know how to say "humble pie" in Spanish, but consider us served.
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