While watching a documentary on the fiasco of the 1972 Olympics involving the now-defunct USSR and USA basketball teams, I wondered why does politics somehow get intertwined with sports and why the two just do not work together?

It was more than enough that these games are remembered for the most horrific thing to ever happen in the history of the Olympics – the event forever known as the "Munich Massacre" – when Palestinian terrorists seized hostages in the Olympic Village, eventually killing all eleven.

However, the event I am writing about is the gold medal basketball game, which concluded with what strongly appeared to be political motivation that was just obscene.

To summarize the situation at the end of the game, the United States' team had apparently won the gold medal game on two free throws by Illinois St. All-American Doug Collins. This was significant because the USA had never lost a basketball game in Olympic history, beginning with 1936. But, the free throws that gave the Americans a 50-49 lead, despite the horn going off in the middle of Collins' second shot, didn't win the game.

The Soviet squad did not score on the last possession, but the clock was stopped at 0:01 after an official claimed to have heard the earlier horn. In addition, the Russian team was simultaneously trying to call a  time-out. The most bizarre aspect of the situation was that international rules state that a timeout must be called before a free throw shooter attempts the second shot. But, the Russians were calling for a timeout the way we are accustomed to seeing them called, after both free throws were attempted and made.

To add to the fun, the Russian timeout was acknowledged and the clock was reset to three seconds after having displayed 0:50 when play resumed.

What? My thoughts exactly. The Soviets again failed to score and with time apparently expired, the USA began celebrating.

Game over? Hardly the case, as Games' officials ordered three seconds back on the clock because of an apparent error in re-starting the clock. The official making this move, R. William Jones of Great Britain, the secretary general of FIBA, the international basketball federation that governs Olympic basketball, did not have such authority, but his wishes were granted. The Soviets made the game-winning shot, and America's winning streak ended as Russia took home the Gold.

As any red-blooded American would do, the USA team voted unanimously to refuse the Silver medal. To this day, players from that team will not accept those medals and that includes a clause in the will of  team captain Kenny Davis that his family is never to accept a silver medal from the '72 Games.

Unfortunately, this event was just the precursor to the USA boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics held in the USSR, as enforced by then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter. As a graduating high school senior, I looked forward to seeing the Games that year and found it so confusing  and un-necessary that politics should have anything to do with sports. But, after having watched the '72 Munich Games with its terror and fiascos (not only the basketball game, but the miscommunications between one of the track coaches and a runner, forcing one of our top sprinters out of the competition), I shouldn't have been surprised. But, I was disappointed nonetheless. 

Of course, the Soviets returned the favor by boycotting the '84 Games hosted by the United States in Los Angeles and that seemed to lend credence to my theory that the Games represented an opportunity of revenge for those in the political arena who weren't able to get their way on that stage. Furthermore, the phrase "politics is war without bloodshed, while war is politics with bloodshed," as stated by well-known communist Mao Tse-Tung (relax, I am not a communist), seems to only validate this theory.

So what now? Which bratty world leader will step up next and threaten to undermine a country hosting the most prestigious world event known to man?

Since we can't forecast the next Olympic boycott by simply following the headlines and cross-referencing which country has caused yet another international incident that has have absolutely nothing to do with throwing a javelin, shooting a basketball, or mastering the balance beam, let's try to enjoy each Olympics as they come along.