Many people were surprised to see basketball surpass the bill in various countries after recent photos were talked about on Reddit, a map of the world’s most popular sports.Even if you are a regular reader Sports enthusiastYou will have a hard time believing that football was not the dominant sport in every country.
China and the Philippines in particular average height In these countries, they are significantly smaller than in the United States. But that doesn’t hinder everyone’s passion for games. Nor does it mean that you don’t know how to throw it away.
Not so surprising, it was the inclusion of the Baltic states that could not encapsulate the rich history. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are all big basketball fans. More than any other sport.
1930s
Not only are these the problem of being a country that eats extreme heights of dairy products, they are also very good at games. In 1935, Latvia won the first European Championship in Switzerland. Given the friendly competition between Latvia and Lithuania, the latter recruits some of their talented Lithuanian American players (ie Frank Lubin) and issues passports in response to Latvian victory. I made it.
Not surprisingly, two years later, Lithuania won the European Championship in 1937 and again in 1939. This will be the second time it will be held at the Kaunas Sports Hall. Over the last decade, Estonia has also realized that it is a sport they are good at, and was ranked 9th at the 1936 Olympics, which was impressive for a country with a small population. He finished fifth in the 1937 and 1939 EuroBasket Championships.
This success of the 1930s began a long love for games, especially for Latvia and Lithuania. This is a bit like Uruguay or soccer. The country won the first ever World Cup in 1930 and again in 1950. Since then, they have been completely absorbed in sports and are a big part of the national identity. ..
Nazi and Soviet era: 1940 – 1990
Against the backdrop of such a proud national identity and the success of the sport, the Baltic states have all been victims of long and tough generations of occupation and oppression. In the 1940s, a large number of deportations were carried out by the Soviet Union after the collapse of Nazi Germany. Despite such a devastating profession, basketball remained the center of leisure in the country and was part of their identity, which survived throughout the Soviet era.
Unfortunately, such basketball efforts would have to take place under the Soviet government. In short, the Baltic states have a period of about 50 years in their history of not participating in technically unique basketball events. Instead, he reluctantly represents the Soviet Union on the sports arena.
Technically, during this period, the Soviet Union had many successes in basketball. It’s no surprise that the team consisted of great Baltic players like Stepas Betautas and Arvydas Sabonis. They won EuroBasket twice in the 50’s, 6 in the 60’s, 4 in the 70’s and 4 in the 80’s.
Since the 90’s – Success close to the Olympics
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and regaining national independence, the love for basketball began to shine again, but this time in a way they could really lag behind. This is where Lithuania finished ahead of the three countries in terms of basketball talent.
Lithuania continued to make a big impact on the world stage in 1992, when it won the bronze medal at the Barcelona Olympics. Coming shortly after independence, the event was the catalyst for the film titled “The Other Dream Team” due to its small population and lack of resources. The film records the story of the 1992 Lithuanian Olympics after gaining independence.
If that wasn’t enough, Lithuania won the bronze medal at the next two Olympics in 1996 and 2000. During this glorious period, Lithuania took second place in EuroBasket in 1995 and won the championship in 2003. Due to the growing resources and popularity behind basketball throughout Europe, Lithuania also won silver medals at EuroBasket in 2013 and 2015.
After 2022
Basketball continues to be by far the number one sport in Lithuania, and although close, it could also be the number one sport in Estonia and Latvia. It’s true that football is widespread and played, but countries lag behind basketball teams above all because there is no real international competitive presence.
Latvia did not qualify, but both Estonia and Lithuania are eligible to play in the 2022 EuroBasket scheduled for September. Estonia scraped 2-4 during qualifying, while Lithuania was 4-2. It may be a friendly local rival between the Baltic states, but when it comes to national events, we definitely support each other with basketball. A common problematic history with a common passion for games.
