American chicks dig the long ball; European chicks dig championships

For years, the United States of America has always been at the forefront of international competition. Whether it was Carl Lewis sprinting, Michelle Kwan skating, or Michael Jordan shooting free throws, a podium finish was always a guarantee.

The sport of basketball has always been the epitome of American dominance. Everyone remembers the "Dream Team", the 1992 Olympic Champions, which was quickly dubbed as the most talented collaboration of basketball talent of all time.

15 years later, times have changed. USA basketball finished 6th in the 2003 World Basketball Championships. They had three losses, more than all of the previous Olympic teams combined. This year, the American basketball team lost to a Greek National team that did not have a single player from the National Basketball Association (NBA). Greece was not even present in the 1992 Barcelona Games!
The same trend is spreading toward what was once "America’s Pastime". In this summer’s World Baseball Classic, the United States shipped off their baseball version of the "Dream Team." Unfortunately, after losses to Canada, Mexico and Korea, they were eliminated and failed to make it past the second round of the tournament.

The most likely explanation for this decline, aside from the rest of the world catching up and breeding their own talent, is the fact that American athletes are becoming more selfish because they concentrate on only themselves. The rest of the world has yet to fall into the trap of American superstars as they are still playing for the love of the game and for their country. Athletes in the United States have been engulfed by a culture littered with highlights of homeruns, ice-cracking fights, slam-dunks, and helmet-jarring football tackles.
This year, Adidas, a German based company, has launched an ad campaign to rival that of the American shoe giant Nike. Nike’s ad campaign for as long as basketball shoes were a coveted entity was based around an individual player. Most notably this player was Michael Jordan and his Air Jordan line of sneakers; now Lebron "King" James’s shoe line which has now made the Beaverton, Oregon company a basketball shoe giant who currently sells over 80 percent of basketball shoes is the focus.

After signing an 11 year deal with the NBA to be its official sponsor, Adidas will now use a marketing strategy that will be based on the concept of a team to lure in its basketball consumers. Their campaign is based on the concept of team basketball; their slogan is "It Takes 5IVE" and they ultimately hope to become the dominant shoemaker for basketball. The German-based company’s campaign is symbolic to how Germany and the rest of the international world are slowly catching up to America and its symbolic company, Nike.
So while American’s are waiting for the next And One mix tape to "drop", or juicing up on steroids so they can be that monster homerun hitter, international athletes are working on that mid-range jumper, learning how to field the infield groundball, or making the perfect cross ice pass.

So my fellow Americans, even if chicks do dig the long ball, the rest of the world will soon surpass us, and as the great Babe Ruth said, "The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won’t be worth a dime."