A look at how rising ethnic tensions in Europe are not new, after the jump …..
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We have seen numerous ethnic clashes in various countries the past few decades. Some have split more-or-less amicably (such as Czechoslovakia into two countries back in 1993) but others remain flashpoints (such as Catalonia, the Kurdish people amidst their neighbors and even Brexit between Britain and the European Union).
In my last Top Comments diary, I referenced the film series from ESPN entitled 30-for-30 … sports stories that transcend sports. And one of the best I ever saw was this one from several years ago entitled Once Brothers— about the successful national basketball team in Yugoslavia… that fell apart in the early 1990’s not only due to the dissolution of that confederation (intermittently into seven separate nations) , but also personally (on ethnic lines) among their players.
There is much disagreement about the legacy of Yugoslavia’s ruler Marshal Tito— indeed, two months ago the capital city of Zagreb, Croatia decided to remove his name from a prominent square (even though he was an ethnic Croat) — but one thing everyone agrees upon is that from 1945 until his death in 1980, Tito kept Yugoslavia together despite its many fault lines. Not for nothing has the region of The Balkans long been described as a flashpoint— the source of the phrase Balkanization— and it was in the present-day capital of Bosnia (Sarajevo) that saw the opening salvo leading to WW-I — the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. The dissolution of a basketball team may be trivial, yet it was but one paragraph in a long history.
The sport of basketball (invented by a Canadian emigré in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891) came about because of a need for an indoor sport during the winter months. The sport grew slowly across the globe, but more quickly in the cold-weather countries of eastern Europe — and as one correspondent wrote, “The tradition and passion for the game (in Yugoslavia) matches anything to be seen on the football terraces”.
Before we come to the turning point, a look at the central players:
Vlade Divac was a 7’ 1” center from Serbia, is now age 49 and (in addition to his professional career in Europe) spent 16 seasons in the NBA — several with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is presently the general manager of the Sacramento Kings, one of the several NBA teams that he played for.
Vlade Divac in recent timesA 6’5” shooting guard (who was on his way to being considered one of the best shooters at that position), Drazen Petrovic had a short NBA career, which began to accelerate with a trade from Portland to the New Jersey Nets in 1991. He returned to Europe in the summer of 1993, contemplating whether to accept an offer from a team in Greece (as contract negotiations with the Nets were stalled) when he decided to accept a ride back to his native Croatia. He died (at the age of only 28) when the vehicle he was riding in was hit by a truck on the Autobahn in Bavaria, Germany.
Drazen Petrovic (1964-1993)While not a central figure to the film, another Yugoslav team member (hailing from Split, Croatia) — was the 6’ 10” forward Toni Kukoc— who went on to a 15-year NBA career, winning three NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls (and whose front office he works in today at age 49). Such was the talent on that team.
Toni Kukoc (born 1968)The Yugoslav team won the silver medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea … and two years later, they won the world championships in Argentina. Yes, this was before the advent of the US star-studded Dream Team (with active NBA players) — but that change became necessary with the progress that other nations had made in catching-up to the American college team players. While the caliber of European basketball has grown ever since — with the NBA draft regularly seeing players from Europe drafted who did not attend American universities — it was the Yugoslavian team that led the way.
Divac & Petrovic: teammatesAnd then ……...……..…..…..
Since the reunification of Germany, the Croats had been angling for independence (though the players had been advised to avoid any political statements in that 1990 championship game in Buenos Aires against the Soviet Union). Several Croatian flags were seen in the arena, and after the victory a fan came onto the floor with one. Vlade Divac (saying he wanted the victory to be a pan-Yugoslavian one) took the flag away and pushed the fan away from the team.
This led to his being vilified in Crotia, and Croatia soon withdrew from the Yugoslav national team. By the time of the European championships in 1995, the “Yugoslavian” team consisted only of Serbia and Montenegro (who split later that decade) and when they won the gold medal … the bronze medal-winning Croatia team (which they did not face in the tournament) walked off the medal stand and out of the arena just before their former countrymen, the Yugoslavs, were about to receive their gold medals.
Once Brothers focuses on the relationship between Divac and Petrovic and the aforementioned flag incident — depending upon whom you believe— was either the main reason why Divac and Petrovic became estranged (or was merely the opening salvo, as others believe a collision they had in an NBA game was more important). Either way, Divac said their personal friendship was shattered:
“To build a friendship takes years … but to destroy it, it takes one second”.
The film ends with Divac travelling to Zagreb, Croatia in 2009, meeting with Petrovic’s family and then visiting his gravesite.
"In my mind, I always thought the war one day would end and Drazen and I would talk," Divac said in the film. "But that day never came."
Though it is nearly 90 minutes long: if you are so inclined, you can watch this film here (it is in English, just with Serbo-Croatian subtitles).
x xYouTube Video------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, on to Top Comments:
From jayden:
In the diary by ursulafaw about the Florida GOP member who sees a coup in-the-works if Robert Mueller is not fired — I nominate this apt comment coming from Champurrado.From noweasels:
In my diary recapping the major statistics from the elections in Virginia— there were a lot of lovely comments, but this one from Toro Blanco is one I wish I had written.From highacidity:
In the front-page-story about the GOP senatorial candidate from Alabama: I gotta post this comment coming from ontheleftcoast.Highlighted by thickasabrick:
In the front-page-story about a wealthy Democratic voter who has certain demands …. I liked this comment by igualdad.And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the diary by News Corpse about the distress felt by the Fox & Friends hosts over the country music awards show featuring a duet poking fun at the Trumpster — both anastasia p as well as SouthernLeveller also remind us that country musicians are not all lockstep wingers.And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:
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