The Olympic basketball final between France and the United States is not the first opposition between the two teams, in this sport historically dominated by the Americans. After the victory of the French at the start of the tournament, the Washington Post evoked a rivalry in the making… but a “positive” rivalry, which was built at the same time as the sport itself.
This Saturday, August 7, the Tokyo courts welcome French and American players in the final of the men’s Olympic basketball tournament. If the members of the American team, triple reigning Olympic champions, present themselves as huge favorites, the French had marked the spirits by winning during the preliminary round on July 25 against the teammates of Kevin Durant. In an article published the day after the match, the Washington Post announced “The next big rivalry in the world of basketball at the Olympics” and retraced the history of this very special opposition.
France’s ability to stand up to the United States in men’s and women’s basketball in Tokyo […] is particularly in line with basketball diplomacy between the two countries, a long tradition which shows the power of sport in cultural exchanges. ”
Staging of Franco-American friendship
If the geopolitical tensions of the Cold War sometimes found an echo on the basketball courts – as evidenced by the fiery opposition between the United States and the Soviet Union -, “The matches between the USthe United States and France at the Olympic Games have never taken on the same ideological stakes ”, warns the journalist. The latter sees these oppositions rather as the staging of good Franco-American relations. Basketball would have been the perfect illustration of cultural, technical and intellectual exchanges between the two countries.
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