Olympic Basketball is Cool

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Textbook

Textbook is back… Just in time for the Olympics.

Yes, after a lengthy holiday in Europe with Zilla, I’m back. I doubt any readers actually knew I was gone, but nonetheless, I’m back and ready to go. Thankfully, the 2012 London Olympic Games have provided me with some entertainment to take my mind off the fact that my amazing trip to Europe (and briefly Dubai) is over.

Despite the regret of my five-week holiday coming to an end, it’s good to be back Down Under. Like I have already mentioned, the holiday-to-work transition has been made much easier thanks to the Olympics. Well, more specifically, the Olympic basketball – the men’s competition even more specifically. (Side note: I did enjoy watching the women’s weightlifting yesterday. That sport is tough, and so are its competitors).

You probably already know this, but I froth over hoops. Seriously, I spend about 90 percent of my day either thinking about it, or talking about it, which makes life so easy here at Primo! Magazine with the likes of Ladies&Gentleman, Zilla and The Milk Man to talk to about the wonderful sport that it is.

Basketball is an endless debate. Whether it’s NBA (it pretty much always is), NBL, international basketball or streetball, it’s always entertaining to discus and debate.

With the NBA done and dusted for the season (congrats, Miami), and most major trades and singings already in the books, the discussion now shifts to Olympic basketball. The competition has just begun and each team has already played a game. Now, I’m not going to go through the results. If you want to know who beat who and who score what, check out it for yourself at the London 2012 website. Rather, I’m here to say that Olympic basketball is cool. You would think after watching the NBA Finals, it wouldn’t come close and wouldn’t at all be amusing. Wrong! It’s very amusing.

I’m Australian, so I’m obviously going for the Boomers and am hoping that San Antonio Spurs’ guard, Patty Mills, can ball out and get us within contention of a medal – bronze would do just fine. That said, I do enjoy watching USA of course. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony… Yeah, you get the picture – Team USA’s roster is stacked. They’re also awesome to watch, especially when they are pulling off plays like this:

Plus, their Nike uniforms are legit.

USA, however, isn’t the only team with an NBA-heavy roster. No, you’ll notice many foreign NBA players representing their respective countries, such as Nene for Brazil, Luol Deng for Great Britain, the Gasol brothers for Spain, Manu Ginobili for Argentina and so on. Thus, making the completion even more thrilling, and… Well, cool.

So, whether Team USA wins gold without having to really try all that much, or a team like Spain or Argentina gives them trouble, basketball at the Olympics is cool. Women’s Olympic basketball is cool, too. Just last night I was watching the Opals against the French, a game that went into overtime after Australian Belinda Snell hit an incredible half-court buzzer-beater. Unfortunately, the Opals lost in overtime, but still.

With that said, be sure to support your country throughout the duration of the London Olympics.

Oh, and for those still not interested in the Olympics, here is a list of reasons why you might want to begin watching them.

Images via London 2012