Even though I've been loving my time in Spain, I have been nostalgic for Dartmouth for the last two weeks ever since Winter Carnival came and went without me. Finally, after a previously unfulfilling search, I managed today to find a day in Salamanca that rivals the Dartmouth tradition.
Instead of spending the afternoon writing my article, I celebrated "law school faculty day."
Similar to Winter Carnival, every single law student here skips classes on the day. That, however, is the only parallel.
First, nearly every student who skips classes is dressed in some sort of costume. I didn't realize this Thursday was a holiday until I saw a group of college kids dressed as characters from Super Mario Bros when I was walking home from the gym. I couldn't resist the allure of the costumes and drinks. I had found my Winter Carnival.
When I walked through my Spanish housemates' door, I was greeted by Austin Powers, a sumo wrestler and four bumble bees.
Fast forward two hours. I had been outside with this B-side circus sideshow and thoroughly enjoying the day. My column deadline passed, but I wasn't worried because I was engaged in a passionate argument with Austin Powers about the difference between the NBA and the Spanish professional basketball league, the ACB.
After seeing an ACB game live in Barcelona this month, I was convinced that any NBA team (including the LeBron-less Cavaliers) could absolutely manhandle any team in the Spanish league. During my stay in Barcelona, I watched Ricky Rubio lead the ACB champions, Regal Barcelona, to an impressive victory over Power Electronics Valencia.
The telltale sign that the ACB is an inferior counterpart to the NBA is that the teams are all named after their sponsors. Every basketball club in Spain has a sister soccer club with the same name. In order to avoid confusion between the two teams from the same city, the basketball teams take on the name of the company that pays for their jerseys. This means that every basketball team here changes names whenever they broker a deal for a new primary sponsor.
If soccer here is the visually pleasing equivalent of the baby of Jessica Alba and the dude from the Old Spice commercials, then basketball is the couple's adopted son fathered by Carrot Top and the girl ogre from "Shrek" (2001). Everyone knows about the child because of his famous parents but no one actually wants to be associated with the ugly baby.
Despite its stigma, Spaniards love to talk about basketball.
I especially enjoyed today's conversation because Austin Powers provided a fresh new outlook on the difference between the two leagues. Every Spaniard I've talked to fervently boasts of the superiority of European basketball. Whenever I ask for proof, they simply refer to the success of the Los Angeles Lakers' Pau Gasol. This is an easy argument to debunk, however, and I usually easily win the debate.
This person, however, told me that any NBA team would destroy the European league for a while but then the superior European teams such as Barcelona and Real Madrid would adapt to the NBA's style of play and begin to play competitively with each opponent. He confirmed the athletic superiority of NBA ballers but said European coaches are better, and draw up game plans that focus on the team as a whole instead of individual players.
I have to admit, European basketball is almost a different sport. There is not one basketball star in this continent with the raw athleticism of NBA superstars like Blake Griffin. Instead of designing a system where one player snatches every rebound on the floor, the European system has plays where nearly six different players fight for the ball. I'm also pretty sure the travel rule doesn't exist here I counted at least five times where players took five steps on the way to the basket.
The debate was interesting and we didn't reach a conclusion. Can great teamwork beat superior athleticism? Can a club from Europe ball with the star players of the NBA? I think not, but I would love to see the great teams from each continent battle it out.
