Ben Gordon Likes Him Some Tea And Crumpets

If this upcoming Olympics is any indication, apparently there are a bunch of quality players in the NBA who are British.  

Yeah, I didn't believe it either when I read it. 

 Besides John Amaechi, who almost no one had heard of before he came out as the first openly gay basketball player, I had no idea British people even knew what a basketball was.  I envisioned them changing the channel from NBA games to the live coverage of British Parliament while they ate various jams on toast and plotted nefarious ways to put a stamp tax on America once again.

 

Turns out I was wrong.  Right about now is when Paul Revere hops on his horse and starts yelling, "THE BRITISH ARE COMING!"  Word is that Ben Gordon will join Bulls teammate Luol Deng on the British national team for the 2012 Olympics.  Yes...the same Ben Gordon and Luol Deng who have absolutely no accents and probably have never even heard of cricket.  Turns out Ben Gordon was born in England and then taken to America at a very young age.  Meanwhile, Deng moved to England as a youngster to escape conflict in his homeland of Sudan. I like these sort of fun loopholes that allow NBA players who wouldn't play for US

A basketball to compete in the Olympics.  Next up: Mike Miller to play for the French national team simply because his hair looks dirty and he probably smells like cigarettes!

Almost all of the other players on the British Olympic Basketball Team are kids in American universities, but we wouldn't be surprised to see another NBA player hop in there while there is time left.  Heck, if I wasn't so damn patriotic I'd try out for them myself.  I can't lie: I would be doing it entirely for the off chance of getting close enough to Hugh Grant to kick him in the balls.