Miss Hill really outdid herself this time..thanks ESPN..thanks for the gift...

She (awkwardly) raised some salient points. However, she didn't deliver in the clutch. And she cut the lead to 13-2.

 

The entire team is black? I didn't notice, nor did I care. We'll know we've really come along in race relations when nobody cares that a team is all white, all black or whatever. Now that it's been pointed out that the team is all black, it does make me smile thinking how upset bigots must be by this.

I enjoy classy performances at the Olympics and don't care if the athlete is American or not. I certainly couldn't care less how much pigment they have in their skin.

 

Well, for one, there's no Starbury. That alone changes the culture.
Also, no Iverson, who at the very least is a polarizing figure. (I'm a fan; you might have noticed not everyone is).
And what else has changed? Well, since you've apparently got no television and read nothing but this board on the internet, you apparently are not aware that this team has been together for 3 years, not 3 weeks. You are not aware that the members of the team have been out at numerous Olympic venues, including beach volleyball and women's basketball, whereas the 2004 team mostly hid in the hotel. This team has talked about the absolute importance of Olympic gold; they may or may not believe it, but they're not clowning around. You apparently aren't aware that they've been WINNING. That's a pretty big difference, as well, and you aren't hearing any radio talk shows bemoaning how the Americans are disgracing the game.
Seems like a fairly big change to me.
If Ms. Hill and some of her African American friends see that as a victory for U.S. basketball players of her race, who the heck am I to argue.

 

Thank you for making my point for me. There are plenty of differences that go far beyond race in the way this team is being received, yet Hill insists on making it a racial issue.

And one quote from anybody other than Hill saying this would have made a hell of a difference. She talked to all of these people, but none of them would go on the record for her? It was either a bad choice by her not to quote any of them or damn lousy reporting by her to fail to get a single quote.

 

Sam, I may be wrong, but based on how I read it, I think Arnold's second comment was directed at Ms. Hill and not you.

EDIT: Upon review, I see pallister also has pointed that out. Nice job, pally.

 

You are both correct. I eschew the blue font, but erred in not using it there. Sorry, Sam.

 

Re: Miss Hill really outdid herself this time..thanks ESPN..thanks for the gift.

I am not suggesting Hill has produced a column of great import, just that she makes some solid points about the black community's deeper attachment to the NBA and its players and thus an emotional investment in their successes/failures. I don't think she's suggesting white people are not/cannot be as interested/invested. I also don't happen to think she is making this all about race, but instead making an observation about how race plays into our sports allegiances. I don't get the feeling here that she is trying to be revolutionary but instead that she's offering a perspective readers might not previously have considered. She wrote a column. It wasn't bad. I don't get the fuss.

 

Because everything she writes seems to be about race.

The vast majority of people just do not care. It's beyond stale.

 

I do not disagree. She's a one-trick pony and it's not even a good trick. I guess I try to judge each piece on its own merit.

 

AB, thanks for the clarification. It's all good.

Pall and OT, good work by both of you. Thanks for stepping in.

 

My view: There is nothing wrong with this column.
Maybe the vast majority of WHITE people don't care. And if you don't care, then don't read it.
That was all I was going to say, but what the heck: Who appointed you as the spokesman for the vast majority of people?

 

Perhaps the same individual who appointed Hill to speak for the entire black community?

I'm white, therefore I've sinned.

I want the US to win the Gold because it's my country. I hate Krzyzewski and I still want the US to win Gold.

The team could be made up of all white stiffs and coached by John Wooden I wouldn't feel any more pride than I will with this Gold.