VOLLEYBALL : Brazil, Forum Crowd Are Out of This World

They chanted, whistled, and pumped their fists, anything to deride the U.S. men’s volleyball team.

And they did their job well, these Brazilian fans, seemingly transforming the Forum into a noisy neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil, the 1992 Olympic champions, defeated the United States, 15-7, 15-5, 15-3, Friday night in the $3-million World League in front of 3,409, about 800 of whom wore the green and yellow of Brazil.

They waved flags, banged drums and sang in unison such un-American tunes as “Go away U.S.A.”

To hear the U.S. players tell it, however, the fans had no effect on the game’s outcome.

“We just choked,” setter Dan Greenbaum said. “This was not a good indication of how we can play.”

Said 6-foot-7 middle blocker Bryan Ivie: “We’ve played much, much better in Brazil when they had 20,000 screaming people. We just have to play more consistently.”

For Team USA, it was the third loss in a row to Brazil this season. and it eliminated the United States (6-9) from World League playoff contention.

“Our goal was to get to the playoffs, get to the final four,” Greenbaum said. “I thought we had a good shot. But as a team, we just don’t have the experience right now.”

Brazil (10-5) has the experience. The team returns all six starters from the Barcelona Olympics, and five reserves.

“It takes a lot to break them,” Greenbaum said. “Right now, we are not even close.”

And they have those rabid fans, which Greenbaum said “just come out of the woodwork.”

“When you travel the world, there are Brazil fans everywhere,” U.S. Coach Fred Sturm said.

But the fans didn’t mis-hit the ball, spike it out of bounds or serve into the net.

The U.S. did.

“In no way will I blame (the crowd) for the way we played,” Ivie said. “We just beat ourselves.”

Still, the crowd-induced frustration was evident. This was supposed to be a home game, and it didn’t much look like one.

“It bothers me that we can’t get more fans than them, especially at our home place,” Greenbaum said. “I guess they deserve the fans they get because they’re the best in the world.”

Team USA will play a rematch against Brazil at 7:30 tonight at UC Santa Barbara.