Not all off-days look alike. I usually go to the grocery store. For the US men’s basketball team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, an off-day meant watching the best athletes in the world compete at the highest level for a chance at their lifelong dream.
One of the focal points in The Redeem Team — the new documentary focused on US basketball’s fight for redemption after a dejecting, identity-shaking loss in the 2004 Olympics — was getting players to buy back in. When Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski took control of the team, he stressed the importance of building pride in participating in the Olympics as countrymen — not just as basketball players. That included supporting other American athletes at the games. “They get to see greatness,” Coach K says in the documentary, “I think it made our guys even better prepared for their competition.”
The players embraced being in the stands. “Because we were sheltered in ’04, we didn’t get the real Olympic experience,” says LeBron James in The Redeem Team. So, the team went to as many events as they could, and the 2008 Beijing Olympics was a remarkable one to witness.
The US won 112 medals, a national record for games not held on home soil, and had the highest total medal count of all participating countries. The women’s basketball team, women’s soccer, men’s volleyball, men’s and women’s beach volleyball, women’s eight in rowing, and the men’s and women’s 4 x 400-meter relay teams all took home gold. Swimmer Natalie Coughlin herself won six total medals.
“It was cool to be able to have a schedule, too, on your off-day,” said Dwyane Wade, adding delightedly: “Oh, man, I’m going to see Michael Phelps swim.”
Check out photos of the Redeem Team in the stands cheering on their fellow athletes’ wins.
