Olympic Spirit and Millionaire Basketball Players

I know this has probably been discussed many times before but, as we approach the summer Olympic Games this issue becomes more relevant again.

Is there someone out there who can explain how in the hell the Olympic basketball team is comprised of professional athletes making millions and millions of dollars for playing the sport when the Olympics are specifically geared towards amateur athletes? The only argument I've seen is that other countries were having their NBA players join their teams and that was making it harder for the US to dominate the sport and win it every time.

If that's the only argument then there is no argument. Just because other countries cheat doesn't mean that we should cheat because the winning just isn't that important and it galls the fucking hell out of me to see assholes who make more money in a season than most amateur athletes will see in their entire lives.

It cheapens the Olympics, it cheapens this country and it makes me hate that stupid sport all the more. Fielding a Dream Team of the top college players would be far more interesting and one hell of a lot closer to what the spirit of the Olympics is all about.

As it is, fuck the US Olympic Basketball team. I refuse to watch them, I refuse to consider them part of the games and if/when they win, I would hope that at least some of them would feel ashamed for having cheated to win at an amateur competition but they won't because they're so wrapped in their own greatness that they couldn't care less about the details so long as they get to be winners some more. Bleh!