La Shana Tova! Since we're in the middle of the Jewish High Holy Days, I figured this would be an ideal time to post my column from last month's Basketball Times...
In July, I took my first trip to Israel for the 18th Maccabiah Games, which featured top Jewish collegiate and professional athletes from around the world.
On the subject of Jewish athletes, I must open with the obligatory joke from the movie, Airplane!:
Passenger: “Do you have any light reading?” Stewardess: “How about this leaflet, “Famous Jewish Sports Legends?” This exchange always gets a laugh. Yes, there is a perceived dearth of Jewish athletes, but it’s just like the movie title slash racial stereotype “White Men Can’t Jump.” There are plenty of white men who can jump and many Jewish sports legends. There are currently two Jews in the NBA, Jordan Farmar and Omri Casspi. Omri was a first-round pick of the Sacramento Kings and this Fall will become the first-ever Israeli-born NBA player. There’s also a record 14 Jewish baseball players in Major League Baseball.
The Maccabiah Games were founded in 1932 and are held every four years. The 18th Maccabiah Games included over 7,000 competitors from 65 countries. 30,000 spectators showed up for the Games’ opening ceremony. Basketball is a big deal in Israel. By my count, I saw four outdoor basketball courts in the very compact Old City of Jerusalem alone, the holiest real estate on earth. The basketball gods must be smiling! Bruce Pearl, head coach of the University of Tennessee, coached Team USA. This was an important goal for Pearl, who said, “For years, I sent tapes and letters to the Maccabiah’s basketball committee before they finally started considering me seriously. Then the members needed to assess that I was seriously committed, since July is height of recruiting season for college ball.”
As much as I was hoping to see great basketball competition, most of the USA games were blowouts. There were four fairly-evenly matched teams: USA, Argentina, Russia, and Israel. After that, there was a big dropoff in talent. USA’s opening-round game against Mexico: USA 112, Mexico 13. (Not sure if the 100-point rule was in effect.) I had hoped players like Duke’s Jon Sheyer and ASU’s Derek Glasser would participate. However, I cannot say I blame them for skipping the Games, even if my Jewish pride wanted them to be there. Just like the Olympics, as the worldwide Maccabiah competition gets better, it should attract better Jewish American players.
In the Gold medal game against Israel, USA was down 8 points to Israel with just 2:30 to go. Tied at the end of regulation, USA beat Israel 95-86 in overtime to win the gold medal.
After returning home, Dan Grunfeld, former Stanford standout and current professional player, emailed me, “Competing in the Maccabiah games is an incredible honor. My father [Ernie Grunfeld] represented USA in the 1973 Maccabiah games, so it was great to share this experience with my parents and sister. The opportunity to represent my country is something all of us will always cherish.” Coach Pearl was equally ecstatic about the whole Maccabiah experience: “Winning the Gold medal was an important goal, which we were fortunate to achieve. But the Maccabiah Games goes beyond sports. Every member of our team will return to United States as better Jews, as better men and, one day, as better husbands and fathers. It doesn't get any better than that.” I take Coach Pearl’s comments to heart. I would not describe myself as a particularly religious Jew, although I hope my trip to Israel will strengthen my religious identity.
Baseball, Basketball and Matzah Balls
When I returned to the U.S., I read Baseball, Basketball and Matzah Balls: What Sports Can Teach Us About The Jewish Holidays...And Vice Versa by Rabbi Mitchell Smith. As my friend and mentor Richard Lapchick wrote, “You don’t have to be Jewish to love this book.” My favorite anecdote from the book: Chris Webber talking about a Jewish high school teammate he became friendly with. Chris was invited over to celebrate Chanukah, which later led to discussions with his friend and his family about religion, race and the different struggles of mankind—and how valuable it was to not just read about the Holocaust, but to talk to people personally affected. That’s what’s great about sports, especially basketball. Whatever deep divide exists in our world, sports tends to bring people together without regard for race, religion and or even politics. Well, maybe not in the stands, but definitely among those who play the game. (Baseball, Basketball and Matzah Balls is available on amazon.com.)
--Marc Isenberg
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