basketball, for example, are pretty much all pros as far as our team is concerned. but i read somewhere that you can't be a professional in other sports, how does that work?

 

from wikipedia:

"It gradually became clear to many that the amateurism rules had become outdated, not least because the self-financed amateurs of Western countries often were no match for the state-sponsored "full-time amateurs" of Eastern bloc countries. Nevertheless, the IOC, led by President Avery Brundage, held to the traditional rules regarding amateurism. In the 1970s, after Brundage left, amateurism requirements were dropped from the Olympic Charter, leaving decisions on professional participation to the international federation for each sport. This switch was perhaps best exemplified by the American Dream Team, composed of well-paid NBA stars, which won the Olympic gold medal in basketball in 1992. As of 2004, the only sports in which no professionals compete is boxing and baseball (though even this requires a definition of amateurism based on fight rules rather than on payment, as some boxers receive cash prizes from their National Olympic Committees); in men's football (soccer), the number of players over 23 years of age is limited to three per team."

 

That's what I've been wondering too.

 

It was a slow trickle effect but the US mens basketball team of 1992 (the original 'dream team') is the posterchild for the movement from amateur to pro. You may rememeber that the US was run off the court in the 1988 games with a team made up of college players.

 

That's why the 1980 Miracle On Ice win was such a big deal - not only was it the US beating the USSR on home ice, it was a bunch of amateur level college kids beating one of the strongest national teams at the time. They were, essentially, playing against NHL-level "amateurs."

 

FIBA governs and defines rules for international basketball, including games played at the Olympics. In 1989 they decided to lift the ban on professional players..

 

Olympic Tennis = Pro's

Does baseball have any pro's?

hijack - How about those 12-13 year old chinese gymnysts who are supposed to be 16.....still losing their baby teeth..... doh!!!

linky

 

Tennis is a joke, its just like another stop on the ATP tour. Don't think baseball has any pros, at least not MLB. But I remember a few years ago at the winter olympics, the NHL had a 2-week midseason break so the players could participate with their national teams.

Some of those chinese gymnysts don't even look 12.

 

It's like an episode of To Catch A Predator. I expect some guy to walk in with a backpack with wine-coolers and condoms.