We’re waving around the American flag, just going crazy here in A Dime Back headquarters. While our readers might be everything wrong with this country, that can’t dull our patriotism as we ready for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Please direct all of your obscure sport questions to Big Meach.
Remember: If your question wasn’t answered or you’ve been living under a rock and are just hearing about this, you can submit your questions here or on Twitter (@ADimeBack).
Matt asks via email: what percentage of Women’s basketball gold medalists have come from UCONN?
The Olympics first added women’s basketball in 1976. The Soviet Union won the first two gold medals until freedom, liberty and America began their string of dominance beginning in 1984. The US has won gold in every Olympics since, with the exception of a semifinal loss to the unified team of former Soviet countries in 1992, resulting in a bronze. The tournament as you likely know it — with 12 teams competing — really took form in 1996. The US hasn’t lost an Olympic game since.
Conveniently — if not coincidentally — that timetable coincides with UConn’s rise to national dominance. While 84 women have competed for the US in the Olympics, including such legendary figures as Cheryl Miller and Nancy Lieberman, 1996 was the year in which women’s basketball truly entered the global mainstream. The WNBA began play, UConn and Tennessee were in the early stages of the most important rivalry in the sport, and women’s basketball players on the Olympic team were becoming internationally known. Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes and Dawn Staley each made their Olympic debuts that year.
Of the 38 players to wear the red, white and blue over the past 20 years, nine of them are UConn alumnae. To answer your inevitable follow-up, six were from Tennessee.
Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi will each begin their fourth Olympics this weekend. Tina Charles and Maya Moore, their second. And Breanna Stewart will make her debut. Swin Cash won gold in 2004 and 2012. Rebecca Lobo won in 1996, Kara Wolters in 2000 and Asjha Jones in 2012.
To formally answer your question, of the 84 individual gold medals that Americans have won for women’s basketball since the sport was added to the Olympics, 13 (15.5%) of them belong to UConn players (not counting the inevitable gold medals coming later this month), the most of any university.
[Bonus: read this great piece about Bird & Taurasi by Gabriella Levine.]
Elan asks: Traveler’s got me thinking. With no same sport appearances, top golf foursome of UConn characters?
UCONN BIG TWELVE!
Sorry, that’s mandatory when talking about golf now. It would be easier to select a same-sport foursome, because I’m ready to caddy for Geno, Taurasi, Dolson and Lobo right now. Literally, I’m at the practice green just chilling.
Playing by Elan’s merciless rules, however, I’m going: Khalid El-Amin, Taurasi, Susan Herbst and Bunkey.
– Tyler again
Joe asks: What’s your all-time favorite halftime act?
Ok, look. There are tiers of halftime acts. There are the “phoned-in, who cares” acts — think elementary school kids from Tolland scrimmaging on the court. There’s the “perfectly fine these are the only people willing to do halftime for UConn/Maine” acts — think nondescript traveling dance team, the one guy attached to five Village People marionettes, etc.
Up from there is the tier of quasi-enjoyable time-killers. Guys dunking on trampolines, for instance. There’s nothing particularly memorable or noteworthy about it, but it’s a fine way to spend 15 minutes while you try to drink yourself free of the memory that the UConn/Tulsa contest you’re attending is actually a conference game.
Then there’s the top level, which as far as I can tell consists of three events and three events only.
The first: frisbee dogs. They are good dogs. They enjoy catching frisbees and running around with little dog shoes on. Frisbee dogs running around for 10 minutes is more entertaining than anything that’s happened at Boston College in the past decade.
The second: ceremonies. The cool thing about UConn is that they win a lot and sometimes those winners come back to be recognized. This past season, Caron Butler gave a halftime speech as his name and number were added to the Huskies of Honor. Two seasons prior, the entire 1999 national championship team was honored at halftime. This is good.
The third: the champ, Red Panda.
The Champ is back. pic.twitter.com/vV0wWYuECc
— A Dime Back (@ADimeBack) March 6, 2016
– Still Tyler, wtf?
