{"product_id":"three-seconds-in-munich-the-controversial-1972-olympic-basketball-final-9780803299962","title":"Three Seconds in Munich: The Controversial 1972 Olympic Basketball Final","description":"One. Two. Three. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e That's as long as it took to sear the souls of a dozen young American men, thanks to the craziest, most controversial finish in the history of the Olympics--the 1972 gold-medal basketball contest between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the world's two superpowers at the time. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The U.S. team, whose unbeaten Olympic streak dated back to when Adolf Hitler reigned over the Berlin Games, believed it had won the gold medal that September in Munich--not once, but twice. But it was the third time the final seconds were played that counted. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e What happened? The head of international basketball--flouting rules he himself had created--trotted onto the court and demanded twice that time be put back on the clock. A referee allowed an illegal substitution and an illegal free-throw shooter for the Soviets while calling a slew of late fouls on the U.S. players. The American players became the only Olympic athletes in the history of the games to refuse their medals. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Of course, the 1972 Olympics are remembered primarily for a far graver matter, when eleven Israeli team members were killed by Palestinian terrorists, stunning the world and temporarily stopping the games. One American player, Tommy Burleson, had a gun to his head as the hostages were marched past him before their deaths. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Through interviews with many of the American players and others, the author relates the horror of terrorism, the pain of losing the most controversial championship game in sports history to a hated rival, and the consequences of the players' decision to shun their Olympic medals to this day. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDavid A. F. Sweet\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eLamar Hunt: The Gentle Giant Who Revolutionized Professional Sports\u003c\/i\u003e. He launched columns for WSJ.com and NBCSports.com and has written articles for the \u003ci\u003eChicago Sun-Times\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e, and other publications. He lives outside Chicago with his wife and three children. He can be followed on Twitter @davidafsweet.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Nebraska Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50492075901202,"sku":"9780803299962","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f514f459-545d-4611-aaf4-01b70ed3f120.jpg?v=1730569948","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/three-seconds-in-munich-the-controversial-1972-olympic-basketball-final-9780803299962","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}