Jottings from the Granite Studio

I consider myself one of the least jingoistic of sports fans. In the NBA, I tend to root for teams, like the Suns, who have a large number of internationals on the squad. I have even been so appalled by the sight of American fans chanting U-S-A! U-S-A! while we dismantle Eastern Slobodovecia (pop. 453) in Olympic sports that I actively root against my home country. Nevertheless, the recent resurgence of the USA Men’s Senior Basketball Squad has been a thing of beauty to behold. USA basektball banned the posses and the posers and fielded a team based on a 3-year commitment. The result? A real squad and not just the richest pick-up team ever. I like Chinese basketball but…wow!…the USA just took them apart. Given our long-running struggles on the football pitch and baseball diamond(let us not mention the battlefield), it’s nice to see that America in decline still has something that we can win.