"This team represents what's good about team sports - the sum of our hearts is much greater than the individual aspects of this team....A bunch of guys playing selflessly - a lot of unity and a lot of strength. ... I don't know if that is of any interest to America, but that's what they're missing." Hugh McCutcheon, Head Coach - Team USA Men's Volleyball after advancing to the Gold Medal match vs. #1 Brazil.
It's now been about 42 hours since I pumped my fists silently into the air, whispered "yes," and shed a few tears for a group of men and women I do not know.
The rest of the house was sleeping, and the next order of business was deciding whether to try to stay awake for the live (in every time zone) broadcast of U.S. basketball in their final game against Spain for the Olympic gold medal. We had heard about this team for four years, ad nauseum; and, they had their own redundant and tiresome name -- The Redeem Team.
But, first things first. I had just "watched" the gold medal match between the USA and Brazil. It wasn't the replay of the women's soccer gold medal match against Brazil. That had already been checked off my list on Thursday morning, an exhausting but fantastic 120 minutes of heart, team work, and resilience. I did not know when I had seen such a hard-fought tournament win.
Until now. I had not seen it, but I had refreshed the page of the NBC Olympics website repeatedly - impatiently - urgently, especially in that fourth and final set. This gold medal match was U.S. Mens volleyball against the number one-ranked team from Brazil. Brazil was supposed to win, just like they had against the U.S. Womens volleyball team the day before.
Since I witnessed this newly indescribable display of heart, team work, and resilience, I have been unable to find the words to characterize my feelings about it. That was, until I found the quote from the head coach. He could have said many things, but chose instead to point out that one of the greatest unscripted tales of bravery at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was being told by his men. More tales of bravery were being written by his women as well -- thousands of miles away.
Nobody reading this post wants to recount the horrific story about how his wife, a former member of the U.S. Women's Volleyball team, watched a random assailant stab her father to death at a Beijing tourist site; then, almost kill her mother while she tried to help him. A mere 12 hours after her husband had marched with his team in the U.S. delegation at the incredible Opening Ceremonies.
I don't know if the last day of NBC programming had been planned this way all along. But, I could hardly wait to see the replay of this match and the medal ceremony. It was set to be the last competition shown after two weeks worth of events and months of build-up about everything but volleyball.
I had never heard of Hugh McCutcheon before August 9. I will never forget him now. He was hired four years ago to take the U.S. Mens team from their fourth place finish in Athens to the gold medal in Beijing. A native of New Zealand, he brought a mission of team collaboration and mental toughness.
In a country where teams are valued primarily for their win-loss column, I wonder if anyone would have cared about this program if they had not been able to get to the medal round, much less take home the gold. The roster was mostly a group of men who had "failed" before at the Olympics. Most of them were well over 30 years of age, and 2008 was their last chance.
But, they played for their country and their coach. I hope that no athlete in the world says that in the future with quite the same meaning.
Simply to play at all in the tournament under these circumstances should have been valued for its bravery. At the end of it all - Phelps, gymnastics, Bolt, U.S. womens soccer and every other incredible report - watching these men take away the gold medal will be the story of the Beijing Games for me.
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