Dream On: 30 for 30 on the '96 Olympic team

[Green Chile]

Came out in 2022, so many have probably seen it, but if you haven't, you'll be glad you watched.

I was in high school at the time. Had watched Swoopes, Leslie, Staley, and Lobo. Remember the marketing, and that they won.

But what they went through, and what it meant? I did not know that.

USA lost in 1992, then in the world championships in '94. US decided to do a true national team with a year-round commitment. NBA had started to suspect there was money to be made in women's basketball.

The marketability and success of the '96 Olympic team was going to determine whether or not the NBA would invest in the WNBA.

These women went through hell on the hopes that it could give more opportunities in women's basketball. 50-something game international road trip for no money when they could have been making real money overseas.

Tara VanDerVeer left Stanford for a year to do this. Just imagine that in any other sport. And of course she was hell to play for these ladies. She did the classic "make them hate me so much that they come together on their own" routine, which of course worked.

And of course, so many more stories.

But the pressure they were under and the sacrifice is just breathtaking.