Lithuania's Primary Religion Is Basketball

If there's one area in which the Lithuanians let their wild side come out, it's in their insane love for basketball. Even in the deportation camps in Siberian, Lithuanians built regulation-size basketball courts & played when permitted. It was a statement of resilience & resistance.

               They carefully measured everything to create professional courts

                                         They played against themselves

                               These players were in a camp in 1954

When Lithuanians were part of the Soviet Union, they played on the Russian team; after Independence, on their own team, they played against the Russians. This created some interesting political dyamics, which the newspapers used as a marketing ploy.

                 This is a clip from a commercial, emphasizing historical tensions

                            This is from a Lithuania vs Russia game

In 1992 they went to the Olympics for the first time & were dubbed "The Other Dream Team."

               They really, really wanted to make sure no one missed their presence!

They were & are huge.

These pics are all from the web.