Amid an air of heightened concern over security after the TWA crash, President Clinton officially opened the 1996 Olympic Games Friday night after urging American athletes “to mop up and do great” in competition.
Clinton came as ceremonial leader to do his duty in opening the Games as a cheerleader for the 764 U.S. athletes, and–though he never mentioned politics–as an incumbent president seeking re-election.
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The issue of security in the wake of the TWA crash provided a sobering subtext for his visit, though there has been no direct evidence of sabotage in the explosion that killed 230 passengers and crew members.
In his talk to the U.S. team, Clinton said “just as surely as those of us who work in the diplomatic area, or the fine people who wear the uniform of the United States military, you will become a symbol.”
Not all the U.S. athletes were there to hear his inspirational message. Notably absent were members of the Dream Team, the U.S. basketball team composed of highly paid NBA stars.
Like father, like son: There always has been an aura of, well, combativeness about Andre Agassi during his tennis career. Maybe this is the reason why. In 1948 and 1952, his father, Mike, boxed for Iran in the Olympics.
“There are a lot of reasons why the Olympics are special,” says Agassi, who will be playing for the U.S. here. “But to be a second-generation Olympian is certainly a touching accomplishment.
“My father is as proud or prouder of my being here as he is of anything else I’ve accomplished.”
A second family affair: Then there’s Agassi’s tennis teammate Lindsay Davenport, whose dad, Wink, was on the U.S. volleyball team in 1968.
“When I was young,” she says, “we always talked about how special it was for him. Now he’s just like Andre’s dad.”
Another poster board: No. Not the commercial kind that are as prevalent in Atlanta as the oppressive heat. This one is the body of U.S. volleyball player Lloy Ball, who is decorated with six tatoos that go from calf to biceps.
That’s the right calf, which features a skeleton spiking a volleyball. And the right biceps, where it says, “Anger is a gift.”
B-Ball? The 6-foot-8-inch Ball is from Woodburn, Ind., where he merely dabbled in volleyball while seriously playing basketball for Woodlan High. That is a country school that wasn’t noticed much by college recruiters so he was ignored totally until he blossomed late in his senior season.
Indiana coach Bob Knight grew interested enough in Ball to request a private workout and offered him a scholarship.
“I was taken aback,” says Ball. “I went from being nothing to being good enough for one of the most prestigious programs in the country. It was a big decision but in my heart I had to go with volleyball.”
The reason for that? His dad, Arnie, coached that sport at Indiana-Purdue/Ft. Wayne, which Ball would lead to NCAA Final Four appearances in 1991, 1992 and 1994.
Tipoff: The U.S. men’s basketball team opens competition Saturday against Argentina. The Argentinians finished ninth in the 1994 World Championships in Toronto, but won the 1995 Pan Am Games. Although they don’t have an NBA-quality player on the team, they do have a top three-point shooter in 6-foot-4-inch Juan Espil. He hit 49 percent on three pointers in the 1995 Pan Am Games.
For Olympic competition, international rules are used and the three-point line is 20 feet 6 inches compared with 23 feet 9 inches in the NBA.
U.S. players admitted they don’t know much about the competition, but David Robinson was playing straight man anyway about Argentina.
“They have good shooters,” said Robinson. “They pass the ball well and have been together a long time. We’ll have to execute well and make up for their (international) experience with our intensity and defense.”
Anyone want Argentina and 60?
A different game: Here are some other differences between the NBA and international rules that will be used in the Olympics.
There are two 20-minute halves instead of four 12-minute quarters.
The court is somewhat smaller. It’s 94 by 50 feet in the NBA and 91 feet 10 inches by 49 feet 2 1/2 inches for the Olympics.
The lane is shaped like a trapezoid insted of a rectangle as in the NBA.
The shot clock is 30 seconds instead of the NBA’s 24.
Free throws are shot on the eighth foul per half; in the NBA it’s on the fifth per quarter.
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Timeouts can be called only by the coach in international competition and are two per half.
In the NBA, timeouts are called by a player in the game and are seven per game.
Only jersey numbers 4 through 15 are legal in international play. There are two referees and a turnover can be called, like in college, when a player is guarded closely for five seconds.
Hop ’til he drops: Yugoslavian high jumper Stevan Zoric doesn’t have to compete until next Friday, so he leapt where few athletes dare to tread: onto Atlanta’s mass transit system, MARTA. Zoric plotted a subway route from the Olympic Village to the bohemian Five Points neighborhood Thursday and Friday and said he’ll continue to relax and explore the city rather than use his credentials to watch other track and field events.
“It’s not good to watch competition before your own,” said Zoric, who carried an adidas shoe box under one arm. “It’s better to shop or get your mind off it. Besides, I have seen too many competitions in my life.”
At a reed-thin 6 feet 7 inches, Zoric attracted a lot of unsolicited attention during his ride, but he didn’t mind.
“In Europe, it’s not possible to talk to people like this,” he said.
Happy birthday: Gurnee’s Jenny Spangler, winner of the U.S. women’s marathon trials, turns 33 Saturday.