1972 Cold War Shenanigans

1972 Cold War Shenanigans

Throughout history, people have always played sports. In the 1930s, James Naismith invented the game of basketball, and ever since, it has grown in popularity, not only in the United States but also in other countries. In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, basketball was added as an Olympic sport. Entering the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, the United States had only lost three games and had won all the gold medals. Then they were defeated by the Soviet Union in the finals, who was their rival during the Cold War. The match was controversial and the loss was significant within Cold War history for both countries and the sport in general. The Games were intruded upon by the Black September terrorists in what has been called the Munich Massacre, which overshadowed all sporting events, including the gold medal basketball game.

The Cold War went from 1947-1991 and referred to the tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. The two countries were on the same side during World War II but eventually became enemies, which each is trying to gain information about other countries and influence them. The United States and its allies were the Western European countries, such as England and France. The Soviet Union and its allies in Eastern Europe were called the Eastern Bloc. We didn’t fight on the battlefield, we fought on the sporting “battlefield,” with the most critical arena was the Olympic Games. This Cold War sporting battle was big on getting the most medals, mostly the gold medals. Every sport in the Olympics was outstanding, from gymnastics to power clean lifting.

The USSR dominated in events such as powerlifting while the U.S. had most talented sprinters, hurdlers, and jumpers in the track and field competition, athletes such as the great Jesse Owens who won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics but it was on the court were the U.S. teams showed relentless toughness abilities. Heading into 1972 Olympic final, the U.S. had won 63 games straight, including a 68-38 horror show over Italy in the semifinal. The Americans had won all seven Olympic gold medals and expected to win although they knew they were going to face a tough fundamental team that has been playing together for seven years.

In this final game, it was a close evenly matched game, which the thoughts were the U.S. overall winning the game, the USSR leaped out with an early lead of 17-9 because an on fire cannonball ran the court for the first six to eight minutes in the game. Sergei Belov was unstoppable around the perimeter; it was like he was shooting with his eyes closed. He was a working machine, and he hit a jumper from the corner close to halfway through the first half that put them up ahead a 10-point lead. It was looking like the USSR was going to run away with the gold, but noo Doug Collins and Kevin Joyce wasn’t playing any games or going out sad. They tore it up! The bottom of the net was on fire! Burning holes in the bottom of their shoes, making them fall and get bucketed on around the rim to make the U.S. make an unbelievable comeback to bring them back within one. Why!? Collins, who would go on to coach the Chicago Bulls and former NBA star Micheal Jordan, ripped the ball from the opponent, causing Collins to rush down like the current NBA superstar Lebron James. Running straight, a USSR defender that was waiting to intentionally foul and probably injured him because he was going full speed to the rack, causing him to be thrown to the basketball support.

Collins lays there struggling of pain I didn’t think he was going to get back up nor still be standing on this court. Then he strongly gets up and crushes them two free throws as smooth as a baby’s bottom with no pressure from the crowd. The U.S. team had the lead by one with three seconds left, USSRs ball. Oh, I’m sorry i left out the best part of how the U.S. was created by the head coach who called a timeout when Collins was already in the form of shooting the free basket at the free-throw line. So the USSR get the ball on two tries to score because of scoreboard issues that the U.S. refused to receive the silver medals. Sick! Because they were created. Creds to Alexander Belov on the moss! Deep pass catch over two of own American defenders looking like NFL receivers Randy Moss and Mike Thomas, Belov dropped an easy bucket bullying the U.S.from the looks of it. A very allusive historic 51-50 victory and downfall loss to the USSR. Even today, 41 years later for a fan that wasn’t born in that era feels as if I was there in the game playing for the U.S. men’s basketball team. The unfairness of the foul calling, the scoreboard situation, and the second chance given to the Soviets with three seconds left are still plain to see today how the U.S. was acted upon dishonestly by the Soviet Union and the referee’s working the game.

However, we should not be surprised at this; this game was played during the Cold War. In his article, “The Cold War in the Olympic Movement,” Christopher R. Hill talks about the Olympic Games in the Cold War era. “Both sides in the Cold War engaged in the most extraordinary deceptions, mostly unfair, many akin to schoolboys’ japes, and all sanctified by state necessity. The Olympics provide splendid examples of the use made of the sport by politicians in this period”. (Hill 1)

The win was a huge propaganda victory for the USSR, showing that their communist system was better than capitalism. The game was one of the critical moments in the Cold War rivalry between the U.S. and the USSR. Allen Guttmann writes in his article, “The Cold War and the Olympics,” that “Propagandists on both sides of the Iron Curtain have presented the competition between Russian and American athletes as a portentous symbolic struggle between two ideological systems.” Guttmann goes on to explain that from the 1952 Helsinki Games to the 1988 Seoul Olympics, “One of the most dramatic aspects of the modern Olympics has been the sports rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union.” ( Guttmann 1) This basketball game certainly was dramatic and a “portentous symbolic struggle,” but in the end, it was a game, and both teams were able to walk off the court happy or sad. That was not the case for the 11 Israeli athletes, coaches, and a West German police officer, who was killed by the Black September Organization.

It started at an Olympic village in West German. There, the Munich Massacre caused chaos across the country. 11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage; all hostages were murdered by a group of Palestinian terrorist group called Black September.

5. Why was it controversial(a public disagreement)?

It is worth indicating that the Soviet Union victory over the United States of America in the 1972 Olympic games raised numerous controversies. The games that were held in Munich help to propagate thoughts among the United States supporters that felt that they had been denied victory. The game that saw the U.S. clinch an incredible comeback and emerges, winners, after Collins had a chance to make throws saw the U.S. being denied the glory of winning. The public disagreement results from the fact that FIBA, the federation that was in charge of ruling over basketball order, that the Soviets be awarded a third chance. It had come from the fact that the players had made a failure to make use of two possibilities of throws. The U.S. players that already had to seem the win come through were astonished by the controversial opportunity that was awarded to the Soviets during the cold war. Hence, it can be indicated that feel connected to the basketball game of the 1872 game started increasingly developing among the players. It is significant to show that the public disagreement was based on the unfair means used by FIBA to propel the Soviets to win the game that Collins and his colleagues felt they won. The thoughts of the stolen glory further instigated negativity based on the officials of the Olympic games.

The disagreements arise from the fact that the Soviets were awarded free throws for reasons that cannot be disputed after Collins had put the Americans 50-49 ahead (Macmillan 360). The third inbounds play that made the Soviets gold medalists resulted in massive excitement and rush to the court by their supporters. The U.S. was disappointed as it had just seemed that the game was in their favor after the Soviets failed to make baskets in tow attempts. It is right to establish that controversies can still be indicated up to the recent times based on the awarding of the gold medals to the soviets in a game that the US were winners. Furthermore, the move of Collins and his colleagues to plot a plan to avert from the awarding of the gold medals intensified disagreements and tensions connected to the cold war. The public felt that the Olympic games in West Germany, Munich had denied the U.S. a chance to be awarded the 8^th Olympic medal in the games. It is worth indicating that the Americans felt that the FIBA had controversially ordered for the thirds inbounds play to the Soviets even after the journalist had announced victory their victory in a heroic comeback (Thomas 358). It can be developed that the height of the public disagreements is based on the controversial and disputed awarding of chances to the soviets that saw the victory of the Americans short-lived. All the first, second, and third inbounds play can be associated with success denied to the Americans in what seemed to the most significant violation of the basketball rules. The officials of the game had made the U.S. controversially lose their 8^th medal within the last three seconds of the game. Hence, it can be depicted that the game was exceedingly controversial as a result of the stolen glory from the Americans through reasons that can be disputed in the third inbounds play to the soviets that were ordered by FIBA.

6.Why the loss was significant within the Cold War History for both countries

The loss of the United States to the Soviets was significant through creation of the tensions between the two world powers that controlled the cold war. The two countries had battled each other towards controlling the world during the cold war period. For instance, it can be developed that cold war had resulted to the division of Germany into West and East. The Olympic games were held on the western side that was backed by the U.S. The extreme case of the loss resulted in the Soviets being crowned gold medalist for the first time. It is apparent that the Americans had not been defeated in the Olympics since, the games were first introduced. Therefore, the defeat that they felt was victory that had been stolen from them was consequential towards intensifying the relations between the two states. For United States, the defeat increased hatred and tensions with the soviets. Moreover, the Americans felt that the federation in charge of the basketball games had increased the rivalry between the two countries after controversially ruling the game on the side of the Soviets. The loss propagated the U.S. players to avert from receiving the silver medals. It was therefore, a sign that the Americans were disappointed in a loss they felt they had won. It dealt them a heavy blow during the cold war period as the countries sought to attain supremacy in the events that took place in the universe. The fact that the cold war had been inspired by the thoughts and feelings of superiority in controlling the world, both U.S. and Soviet Union had stakes in the controversial game of 1972. The loss by the United States made them seem weaker and allow the Soviets to be crowned medalists. It further had contributed to the increased intensity among the soviets to propagate the feelings of negativity and increase tensions during the cold war.

On the other hand, the Soviets crowning as gold medalists after the U.S. loss help to increase their supremacy in the world. The fight for supremacy that was evident during the period had been brought into the basketball game during the Olympics in Munich. Despite the controversies that were connected to the game, the Soviets felt that there win over the United States had just sparkled the thoughts among the public on their supremacy over the Americans. The two superpowers that saw competitions to control the world increased tensions and rivalry during the game. The game was further significant to the Soviets as it enabled them to be awarded gold medals in the American side. Cold war had divided Germany into the East and West. The Western side that was involved in hosting the activities of the Olympic games belonged to the U.S. (Hunt 19). Therefore, the Soviets were proud to stage a win in a land that was controlled by the Americans.

The loss of the Americans to the Soviets can further be termed to be significant as it increased the rivalry that existed between the two superpowers. It can be developed that; Collins and his colleagues went to the extent of refusing to accept the silver medals. According to the Americans, they felt that the three seconds of additional time had contributed to their loss in a very controversial manner (Billings et al. 387). The game hence, help to defined the battle for supremacy between the countries and further instigated the tension. It helped to define public disagreement among the Soviet and American supporters. For the Soviets, the loss of the U.S. was a massive win to them, especially in declaring their world superiority. However, on the side of the Americans, it was more than a loss. The fact that they felt they had been denied victory, which they deserved helped in intensifying their rivalry against the Soviet Union during the cold war period.