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When we think of sports stories, we tend

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to think of tales of epic on-the-field

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glory or incredible against-all-odds comebacks.

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But on the new podcast Sports Explains

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the World, you'll hear some of the wildest

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and most surprising sports stories you've never

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heard, mostly because they've never made

0:16

the front page. Like how a Grateful

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Dead-style t-shirt became a powerful

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symbol of one country's independence.

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When Lithuania broke off from the Soviet

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Union, they wanted revenge. Their

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basketball team had led the USSR

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to gold medal glory, and now ahead

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of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona,

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they finally had the chance to win for their own

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country. This is a story of a long,

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strange trip around the world, and how

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a tie-dye t-shirt and psychedelic superstars

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the Grateful Dead had a hand in empowering

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the Lithuanian basketball team to

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stand up for their country's independence from the

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Soviet Union on the world stage. From

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award-winning journalists across the globe, Sports

0:56

Explains the World goes beyond leagues

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and stats to share stories like this one

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and many more, all that will redefine

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your understanding of sports and their impact

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on the world. You're about to hear a clip from

1:07

Sports Explains the World. To hear

1:09

this and other incredible stories from the wide world

1:11

of sports, listen to Sports Explains

1:14

the World on the Wondery app or wherever you

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get your podcasts. You can listen to Sports

1:18

Explains the World early and ad-free on

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Wondery+. Join Wondery in the

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Wondery app or on Apple podcasts today.

1:31

In a brief news item from 2018, Esquire

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magazine published a photograph of the

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actor Jonah Hill walking in New York City.

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The magazine gushed over Hill's outfit.

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Wide-legged pants, white loafers with

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a black sole, and a gold Rolex.

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But the piece was primarily focused on

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Hill's shirt. A tie-dye

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tee in vivid green, yellow,

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and red, with an image of a skeleton

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dunking a basketball. and the word

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Lithuania in giant block

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letters. The shirt, Esquire

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wrote, was amazing, but,

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quote, the story behind it is pretty

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amazing as well. The design was

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created for the 1992 Lithuanian

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Olympic basketball team by none

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other than the Grateful Dead, end quote.

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That would indeed be an

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amazing story. But

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it turns out it's not quite the real

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story. Barcelona,

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Spain, that was where the next

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Olympic games were scheduled. Lithuania

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started campaigning for the Olympic committee to

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be recognized. And the Soviet Union,

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they don't want to know, to recognize

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and to play us like independent

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country in Olympic games.

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The Soviet Union's entire economic

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and political systems were on the verge of collapse,

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but Russia was actively trying to thwart

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Lithuania's independence, including

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through warnings on TV.

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Last night's warning on Soviet TV

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was given again today. Specifically,

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Lithuania was sharply warned against

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issuing its own currency, setting

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up its own custom service against

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declaring an international border.

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And their methods grew violent. In

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January of 1991, the Soviet

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Union launched a military crackdown to

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take over key sites, climaxing

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with an attack on the broadcast center for

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all of Lithuania, the television tower

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in the capital city of Vilnius. After

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a televised broadcast from the president saying

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they would probably lose their station that night,

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an estimated 10,000 Lithuanians surrounded

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the tower in solidarity. But

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the Soviet paratroopers had tanks

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and guns. Tanks crushed

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cars like flimsy toys. Several

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fouls and unarmed Lithuanians had

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camped out at the installations in the

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belief that Moscow would not take the

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political risk of killing or wounding.

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They were wrong.

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Two

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players on the Olympic team were at the TV

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tower that day. They were among the many

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Lithuanians holding hands to stop the

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tanks.

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Countries all over the world denounced the attacks,

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and that solidified Lithuanians resolve for

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independence.

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Remnants of this attack on unarmed civilians

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could be found all over Lithuanian cities.

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It was very obvious that they had recently

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gained their independence, that it was fragile,

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they knew it was fragile, and

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they had to stay vigilant. One

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way to solidify their autonomy was through

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sport, and basketball was

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the obvious choice. Lithuania's

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petition to be recognized as an independent

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country for the Olympics was slow-going,

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likely because of the Soviet Union's disapproval.

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But on September 6,

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1991, the Soviet government finally recognized

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the independence of the Baltic states. Vitaly

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Churkin from the Soviet Foreign Ministry said

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this in a news report.

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What has happened today is very serious

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and historic, without any exaggeration

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or decision, which means that

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those three countries, the Baltic countries, are

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from now on independent. So we regard them as

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independent countries, and we intend from

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now on to conduct our relations with

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them on that basis.

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Later that month, Lithuania became a member

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of the United Nations. And the very

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next day, the Lithuanian national

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team got the okay from the Olympic Committee.

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The recognition from the Olympics came as

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a string of wins for the country, but

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Lithuanians felt like they couldn't really begin

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celebrating until Soviet troops left

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Lithuanian soil.

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So when the team passed the qualifiers,

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they were eager to prove their country's independence,

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but they had just one problem.

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From that moment, when they say we can

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go to Olympic Games, we start

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to prepare, because no

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money, no clothes,

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no nothing. That's right. No

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money, no clothes, no resources.

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Lithuania was trying to establish a new

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economy from the ground up. And for

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this new country, sending its athletes to

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compete at the Olympic Games wouldn't be cheap.

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According to Vilmich and Guiana,

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there were more pressing concerns. We

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needed to restore other areas

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of our lives, you know, production,

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manufacturing, and agriculture, and

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all other industries.

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And what made the financial situation particularly

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dire was that back in 1990, the

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Kremlin imposed an economic blockade

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on the country.

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Moscow making it clear that it can, by

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economic means alone, crush Lithuania's

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dream of independence. As the

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factories run short of fuel supplies, the

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human anguish is already being felt. The

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prospect of mass unemployment is rising

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with real fear of hardship ahead.

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Though the blockade was short, its economic

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effects lasted. Faced with

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such huge obstacles, the team

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knew it needed to raise cash, and fast.

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So the players and coaching

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staff of the 1992 Lithuanian

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national team took on the fundraising

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themselves, kind of like a rec league

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team selling candy bars for uniforms.

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The money came from likely sources like

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an Adidas sponsorship,

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and from less likely ones like the Spanish

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city of Malia, which gave upwards

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of 150,000. But

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Volodymares and his Lithuanian teammates

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didn't stop. Remember, taking an

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entire basketball team to the Olympics

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is really expensive. Hotel

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rooms, trainers, food, flights.

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So they kept searching,

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including their best player, who was at the

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Palace of Auburn Hills, looking at

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one potential donor, albeit

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through a cloud of pot smoke.

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A Grateful Dead concert is a fairly

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overwhelming sensory overload experience.

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This is a long way from life in Lithuania

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under the Soviets. Dennis was

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familiar with Sharunas.

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Sharunas was, you know, sort of a Bay

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Area hero. This is fairly

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early in the infusion of European players

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into the NBA. This is 1992. And

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at the time, there was this stereotype

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that European players were soft, took

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outside shots and they did not drive, and they

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didn't get in there with the big boys and throw

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elbows and all that good stuff. Sharunas,

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on the other hand, was nicknamed the human karate

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chop, which is to say he was

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not shy.

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But a Grateful Dead concert

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was no basketball court. It was

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clear that he was not familiar with rock and roll

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particularly, but he was, you know,

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just sort of generally fascinated with the scene.

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In the fumes of marijuana smoke, Sharunas

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saw the networking potential of this moment, an

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opportunity to embark on a long, strange

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trip.