A quarter century after they helped lead the United States women's basketball team to an Olympic gold rush, Dawn and Tara sat on a stage and razzed each other about their chess games. In Manhattan to watch the world premiere of the documentary "Dream On" last week, they saw their past selves come to life and were reminded of how important the 1996 Atlanta Olympics were. The launch of two women's pro leagues was discussed by the coaches of the past two NCAA women's basketball champion teams. Wednesday is the premiere of the three-part documentary. All that they didn't fully understand then is now known by both of them. Time is a factor in that perspective. When the NBA and USA Basketball sponsored the women's version of the Dream Team to prepare for the 1996 Olympics, they changed the course of women's sports. After the Americans had come up short in two previous major competitions, there was more at stake. The viability of women's professional basketball in the US was tested by the 1996 team. "When you're working really hard, you don't have time to be worried as much," said VanDerveer, who took a leave of absence from the Cardinal in 1995-96 to lead the U.S. squad. The players had to focus on getting through each day's work out, not what would happen in the future. The US won their seventh consecutive gold medal at last year's Olympics in Japan, thanks in part to the coaching of South Carolina's Dawn Staley. The 1996 team didn't get overwhelmed by the mission. "We didn't have a lot of deep discussions," she said. It was okay to not feel the weight of the world. We were focused on the task at hand. You do have those conversations now that you have grown and removed yourself from that time. It is cool to have been a part of the evolution of a sport and take the time to appreciate it and think about how to keep it going. A history lesson from @dawnstaley 🤩 #DreamOn pic.twitter.com/9H4XqKd2fu The current members and coaches of the 1996 U.S. team are indicative of how great that team was. There are two teams in the top three in the most recent rankings for the 2022-23 college season, and they are both from South Carolina. Lobo is an analyst for the women's basketball. The majority of the 1996 players are still involved in sports. Lobo was one of the first three signees of the WNBA. I didn't have a good idea of the significance of the team when I was 22. I wonder if there would be a women's league without the Olympic team in the first place. It's certainly not in that time frame. After the U.S. team's monthslong global tour in 1995-96, in which the Americans played collegiate and professional teams to get ready for the Atlanta Olympics, the WNBA started. The US women's team was disappointed in the 1992 Olympics. The Americans won gold in 1984 and 1988 after boycotting the 1980 Moscow Games. There was a lot of talent for the U.S. women's program. The Dream Team dominated headlines when they won the men's basketball gold medal at the 1992 Olympics. The U.S. women's team got a bronze medal in Barcelona. USA Basketball knew something needed to be done when the women's team won a bronze at the 1994 World Championship. The Women's Dream Team brought home a gold medal and won over America. "Dream On," the newest @30for30, tells their story Wednesday at 8 PM ET on ESPN and streaming on @ESPNPlus 📺 #DreamOn pic.twitter.com/NAB0CqPZxG
The bronze-medal disappointment was the best thing to happen to the US women's basketball team.
"Dream On" includes extensive behind- the-scenes footage that chronicles everything from the national team tryout camp in 1995 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with more than 200 hopefuls, to a frigid winter trip to Russia in 1996 for exhibition games in smoke-filled gymnasiums, to that They've won seven straight Olympic golds since.
The right time was found. The women's college game at that time was more watched than usual because of Lobo's perfect 1994-95 season and the fact that the Huskies had won the first NCAA title in school history. Lobo was the youngest member of the U.S. team.
One of the best women's players in the world at the time, Swoopes scored an NCAA-record 47 points for Texas Tech in the 1993 national championship game. She disliked playing overseas and was forced to work at a bank while trying to stay in basketball shape. In 1994, LisaLeslie finished her career at USC but didn't want to play abroad.
After her college career ended in 1992, she was told that she wasn't good enough to be an Olympian. She was left off the 1992 Olympic team because she was gay, but now she thinks it had to do with her being gay.
The two women who won gold together in the 1988 Olympics were determined to get back at each other. Despite being the most experienced international players, they felt that they were being put out to pasture. They promised to show they were good enough to keep their jobs.
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It was not possible for McGhee to return to the court or become an Olympian because of her injuries from the car accident. After the Olympics, she would be hurt in a serious car accident, but she was the perfect addition with her size and strength.
Even though she was hiding the nightmare of domestic violence that she feared would end her life, RuthieBolton was still modeling strength for her teammates.
The team came together during the intense workouts. They didn't have smart phones or internet on their travels. Watching television and having discussions about life were some of the ways in which the players bond. They only had one person to talk to.
Lobo said that the group of people had the physical and mental strength to make it through the year. It was a group of people.
The gold-medal success of the U.S. women's basketball, soccer, and softball teams at the Atlanta Games gave sponsors a reason to join that wave of sports development. The ABL, the first women's basketball league to launch in the US after the Olympics, folded in December 1998 after three seasons.
"We've moved the chains, but we're not as successful as we could be if we were invested in more." Despite the bare minimum investment, women's basketball has been successful. We're trying to find more opportunities.
Women's sports have more representation on television and media platforms than they did in the mid 1990s, but they still want more mainstream visibility. The NCAA's Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments were the subject of an external review after it was exposed that they were not equal.
The league celebrated its silver anniversary last season and is still looking to expand.
When the powers that be dive into our game give it the space and resources that it deserves, it will become a full-circle moment for me. Everybody can benefit if that happens. I want the people who invested in our game to make a lot of money.
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