Maccabi Tel Aviv's Third Basketball Title

by David Bivin

Despite the terrorist attacks that some Israeli Jews (and Arabs!) have experienced over the last seven months, there was reason this week to smile and celebrate. Israel's most famous basketball club, Maccabi Tel Aviv, defeated the Greek team Panathiniakos in Paris on Sunday night 81-67, winning the European championship.

This was Maccabi's third title, having won its first European championship in 1977 and its second in 1981. In addition, Maccabi made it to the European finals in 1982, 1987, 1988, 1989, and last season when it lost to the same Greek team. In no other sport does Israel excel in European competition to the degree it does in basketball. Maccabi's accomplishments are a source of great pride to the whole country.

No less than 8,000 Maccabi fans flew to France for the game. (There were only 2,000 Greek fans in attendance, which may only say something about the relative affluence of the two countries.)

When the game ended, Israeli fans surprised the French ushers and security personnel by pouring onto the court, hoisting their heroes onto their shoulders, as is common in Israel after an important win. Then the fans took to the streets of Paris, seizing the Champs Elysees throughout the rest of the night.

Meanwhile, in Israel, the 6,000 Maccabi fans who gathered at Maccabi's home court to watch the game on a giant screen, poured out of the arena and joined another 130,000 ecstatic Maccabi supporters in a spontaneous celebration in the center of Tel Aviv.

But that was nothing! The next night 250,000 people thronged to Rabin Square for the organized (official) celebration that was held upon the team's return from France. What an event! -- speeches by team members, their coaches and trainers; performances by Israeli's top entertainers; fireworks lighting the sky overhead.

Celebrations and receptions for the team will continue for several days. The Israel Postal Authority put on sale, for one week only, a special European Championship envelope with a picture and cancellation. Price: 6.00 shekels each. Thousands of envelopes were printed a week before the game. If Maccabi had lost, all the envelopes would have been destroyed.