HIS DREAM IS THEIR NIGHTMARE

Dave Popejoy, American hammer thrower from San Francisco and Stanford University, is rooting against the Dream Team.

“I think it’d be great if someone beat them,” Popejoy said. “I would love to see them lose.

“Remember how great it was in ’80 when the U.S. hockey team beat the Soviets? I’d like to see something similar happen here in basketball. That would be truer to the Olympic spirit than the Dream Team blowing everybody out of the water.”

The U.S. basketball players are not living in the athletes’ village at Georgia Tech and Popejoy said, “They’re not a part of [the Olympic experience]. They weren’t a part of the opening ceremonies. They didn’t stay with us [in the Fulton-County Stadium holding area] before the ceremonies, they arrived just in time to march.

“After the ceremonies, I waited over two hours for a bus and got the last one back to the village. I don’t think they had to put up with that. Then, they go out and play like they’re bored.

“You can tell it doesn’t mean as much to them. For them, it’s like a little vacation or something.”