Popular Front of Judea
7th October 2013, 22:34
I place The Other Dream Team in that category of sports movies that are nearly universally enjoyable, even to those with no interest or knowledge of any sport. What appears to a simple documentary about Lithuanians playing basketball quickly delves into the Cold War, Soviet colonialism, national identity, and inexplicably, The Grateful Dead.
While the movie culminates in the 1992 Olympic games, it starts at the very beginning, with Lithuanian independence and its near immediate occupation by the Soviet Union. While the subsequent Nazi occupation is what catches the ears of most Americans, the oppression of Lithuanians actually started with the Soviets, most notably with mass deportations to Siberia. There’s an interview with a survivor, who speaks movingly of the regulation basketball court prisoners built in the Siberian gulag.
When the Soviets regained control of Lithuania, basketball continued to be the most popular sport, if not the most popular pastime This meant that the Soviet basketball team was always disproportionately dominated by Lithuanian athletes forced to play under the flag of their occupiers. In the 1985, Arvydas Sabonis became the first Lithuanian drafted onto an American team. A mob of boos erupted from the crowd, believing him to be a “Russian” player. The irony was not lost on Lithuanians, who resented Russian Soviets more than anyone, and were understandably angered at being the subject of historically ignorant anti-Soviet sentiment. And of course, the Iron Curtain prevented Sabonis from playing for the NBA until 1989 anyway, after the glasnost policies paved the way for more political openness
The strangest turn of events occurred after Lithuanian independence was declared, which left the country newly free, yet very poor. Lithuanian basketball was poised to be a major competitor for the next Olympics, but Olympic participation is extremely expensive. After reading a small piece in a local Bay Area newspaper, unexpected basketball fans The Grateful Dead were moved by the plight of the Lithuanians, and decided to fund their team. There was surreal meeting between some Lithuanian players, who spoke no English, and the band, wherein Jerry Garcia smoked a cigar-sized blunt, and suddenly the Lithuanian basketball team was an Olympic contender.
I really can’t recommend The Other Dream Team enough. Even if you’re not into sports, it’s an amazing history lesson and an incredibly moving story that hits you right in the pathos. Plus, you get to see the 1992 Lithuanian Olympic basketball team in Grateful Dead-supplied tie-dye uniforms in colors of the Lithuanian flag, natch!
‘The Other Dream Team’: How The Grateful Dead Sent Lithuanian Basketball To The Olympics | Dangerous Minds
(http://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_other_dream_team_how_the_grateful_dead_sent_li thuanian_basketball)
While the movie culminates in the 1992 Olympic games, it starts at the very beginning, with Lithuanian independence and its near immediate occupation by the Soviet Union. While the subsequent Nazi occupation is what catches the ears of most Americans, the oppression of Lithuanians actually started with the Soviets, most notably with mass deportations to Siberia. There’s an interview with a survivor, who speaks movingly of the regulation basketball court prisoners built in the Siberian gulag.
When the Soviets regained control of Lithuania, basketball continued to be the most popular sport, if not the most popular pastime This meant that the Soviet basketball team was always disproportionately dominated by Lithuanian athletes forced to play under the flag of their occupiers. In the 1985, Arvydas Sabonis became the first Lithuanian drafted onto an American team. A mob of boos erupted from the crowd, believing him to be a “Russian” player. The irony was not lost on Lithuanians, who resented Russian Soviets more than anyone, and were understandably angered at being the subject of historically ignorant anti-Soviet sentiment. And of course, the Iron Curtain prevented Sabonis from playing for the NBA until 1989 anyway, after the glasnost policies paved the way for more political openness
The strangest turn of events occurred after Lithuanian independence was declared, which left the country newly free, yet very poor. Lithuanian basketball was poised to be a major competitor for the next Olympics, but Olympic participation is extremely expensive. After reading a small piece in a local Bay Area newspaper, unexpected basketball fans The Grateful Dead were moved by the plight of the Lithuanians, and decided to fund their team. There was surreal meeting between some Lithuanian players, who spoke no English, and the band, wherein Jerry Garcia smoked a cigar-sized blunt, and suddenly the Lithuanian basketball team was an Olympic contender.
I really can’t recommend The Other Dream Team enough. Even if you’re not into sports, it’s an amazing history lesson and an incredibly moving story that hits you right in the pathos. Plus, you get to see the 1992 Lithuanian Olympic basketball team in Grateful Dead-supplied tie-dye uniforms in colors of the Lithuanian flag, natch!
‘The Other Dream Team’: How The Grateful Dead Sent Lithuanian Basketball To The Olympics | Dangerous Minds
(http://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_other_dream_team_how_the_grateful_dead_sent_li thuanian_basketball)