Lithuania at EuroBasket 2011

"Our special correspondent visited green people planet and after gaining some knowledge from the aliens returned to Earth."

"I haven't seen anything similar to this. It seemed that I was in other planet. Even theoretically I have no clue where it is possible to observe such sight. Probably many things should coincide together that sport branch would become a real religion in one country."

"In Lithuania, in every advertisement board there is a basketball ball or a basketball net. It doesn't matter what item is advertised - bank, mobile operator or a vegetable cutter. Everybody wants to advertise this way. You will not even eat a chocolate bar without encountering Simas Jasaitis face on it."

"England is going crazy for football? But also for rugby, cricket, academic rowing... In England, it is far from the perspective when every boy wants to become a John Terry, who is strongly outperformed by Šarūnas Jasikevičius in Lithuania."

"Brazil is going crazy for football? But I never heard that they have decided to dress up Jesus Christ statue in Rio de Janeiro with a yellow champions jersey. While in Klaipėda, during the European championship, the monuments looked different, despite the fact that the national team played their games in Panevėžys."

"Lithuanians hanged 40 meter height basket decorated with 545 lights on Vilnius TV Tower. It is interesting whenever Russia has plans how to decorate Ostakino Tower during 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi or the 2018 World Football Championship? Are you able to imagine such installments in our country like football gates instead of the mausoleum, video projection on Saint Basil's Cathedral? Me either."

"Even when Darius Songaila made that stupid assist in his side of the court, which resulted in lethal Macedonians three-pointer during the last seconds, Lithuanians still had a theoretical chance in the quarterfinals game, however the Lithuanians, who discuss national basketball team roster in flowerbed, parliaments and in homes, family councils, intuitively feel the game, was already crying, some were leaving Žalgiris Arena rostrums.

Without a doubt, they were leaving to devastate the city in next couple hours. Not the richest championship country invested such amount of money and everything sorted out just like that. I would say, I started to feel the smell of site of a fire.

I started to worry less about the wrath of the nation only during the after game press conference when one of the main lose culprit - Kęstutis Kemzūra was given only one extra question. In our country, he would have been torn into shreds, but there, they spared and understood. In a nation where every housewife is a Kęstutis Kemzūra and every taxi driver knows that number 11 is not the number of football players in the team, but the number of Jonas Valančiūnas."

"Of course, the fans understood that Olympic interest game is waiting for them after next couple of hours and losing it would result in farewell of the 2012 London Olympics. Because of this, when Darius Songaila boarded the bus after the game and threw water bottle with a large force into the floor and completely disappointed hit the window, not a single fan cursed him. The crowd was quiet, the crowd sympathized.

Kaunas withstood, there was no pogroms. Kaunas was sinking the sorrow. Firstly - quietly in homes, bars, soon - in Laisvės alėja, the longest pedestrian street in Europe. After a long day, about midnight, when we were having a dinner with my colleagues in a local pizzeria, legendary Sabas came in.

A little bit fluctuating, which looked quite dangerous, keeping in mind his height, but not a single Lithuanian fan was brave enough to come near him or shout something. Everybody understood that everybody, even him, was permeated with sorrow. Of course we, cynical media strain, stopped the quiet by saying: "Arvydas, how?". Upon his answering he only helplessly spread wide his huge hands..."

"That night the police haven't recorded a single crime, despite the fact that the city was sighing until the morning, until losing of memory and until forgetting why the toot started."

"When in our country the best national team player is scolded from the rostrums, in Lithuania it is not even possible to dream about that in any cases."

"In Lithuania it is not possible to become a basketball fan, they don't support the national team. They just love it. And we all know that everybody forgives everything to their beloveds. Because of this, the next day after Lithuania fiasco, I noticed that the shopping center Kaunas "AKROPOLIS" is dead, including the shopkeepers. Then I understood that it is the final minutes of the Lithuania and Slovenia game.

Everybody - old, young, children were near a huge TV in the lobby. It was possible to steal any jewels from shops without much effort because all the shopkeepers left their workplaces, but there also was no thieves. Everybody was stiff and was waiting for the news who will get the ticket to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament."

"The host team won. Many future victories are waiting for her. Such team will win without any doubts. Because every boy dreams of becoming a Šarūnas Jasikevičius not for the money, but they just want to be loved just LIKE THAT by the whole nation."