13 December 2009

Is it better to not have a national team?

After reading an article about Nepal's national basketball team, I was pondering - is it better not to have a national team in some sports and just play the game domestically?

For example - Basketball is already Nepal's most popular school sport and has a positive image. Why then do we need a national team? It's not as though our players will get scouted for foreign leagues and we won't be beating a decent team any time soon. On the contrary being active internationally invites a lot of politics and freeloaders hoping for a few free vacations and buffets into the basketball sphere . Getting pasted in international tournaments risks the sport being ridiculed at home and Nepal's basketball fraternity having low morale. Maybe it is better to keep the sport simple and pure.

As an American basketball fan, I love watching American college basketball and the NBA. I don't really care what the USA national basketball team does, nor do I wish for college and NBA teams to play international sides. It is not because I am inward looking or xenophobic. If you have a great thing going, why mess with it?