By Rigas Dardalis/ dardalis@eurohoops.net
He is the athlete that changed the history of an entire country. Without him, Greece will just have accepted its fate as a glorified has been. Thanks to him, Greece got again the winner’s mentality and (at least in basketball) still has it. According to Nick Galis, thought, that could translate even in politics… “if the politicians could work like a basketball team, without ego as a unit”.
The top Greek athlete in history talked to Eurohoops.net, after being invited to Athens in order to be the guest of honor in the junior tournaments of Ikaros Kallitheas. He was once more hailed by thousands of fans from all age, something usual for him. “I feel proud, it’s a great honor for me to be remembered by kids, even though I stopped playing 17 years ago”, he said and started to explain his feelings: “I still feel like a I did in the past. I am a simple person and the people knows that I like simple things. In any case, I believe that is good for the kids specially now to have athletes as a role models and have a motive to achieve the best they can in their lives”.
– What satisfies you more? The recognition that you have even now, or your titles and your records?
“The love of the people. Then comes everything else. When they see you on the street and they have the thirst to talk to you, that’s the greatest honor an athlete can have”.
– When you see Spanoulis, Diamantidis and the other Greek players winning titles and medals, do you feel proud, because all those players are essentially your “kids”, they started playing basketball after the Eurobasket gold medal of the national team in 1987?
“Yes, that’s satisfies me very much. The sport of basketball is still holding, is still in the highest level in a very difficult age for our country. Only sports produce good news for the country outside its borders and keeps us united. It’s good for kids to involve in sports, not just basketball, because I think that through them, they can be decent persons in their life”.
– How do you explains the international success of Greek basketball for the last 25 years?
«It’s simple. After all those successes basketball is under our skin. All those kids that you saw before, they spend their time playing and watching basketball a lot more that the people in general did in our time. If there is a large number of people involved in anything, then it’s logical to produce talents. The same thing happens in the US, the best talents are produced through the playgrounds. There weren’t any playgrounds in Greece, but now the country is full of basketball courts”.
– You watched the Euroleague Final Four. Did you expected what Olympiacos did;
“It was a great achievement. A team that was trailing by 19 points, finally got the win and that’s shows what the Greek soul can do. We are always thirsty and if we play as a team, we can succeed”.
– You have been asked many times if you would like to be involve in basketball. Maybe as the president of the Greek league, a position that require business knowledge, that you have. Will you be interested in that?
“At this moment, this is something that it’s not in my mind. I am enjoying my family and my life. Of course, you never can say never, because you don’t know that the future holds for you. But I am satisfied with what I do, I don’t have any other agenda”.
– Will there be an other Galis?
“This… I don’t know. Only God can answer it. For sure there will be many talents, everybody has its own character and will leave his mark. It’s hard, though, to say if there will be someone like me”.
– But there are talents…
“Yes, of course. As I said basketball is under the skin of Greeks, it’s a sport that suites them and it’s something proven. I believe that many more talents will be produced”.
– You are an inspiration for million of people. What is your own message for the situation that we live. Can Greece exit the crisis?
«If the politicians work like basketball players, meaning as a unit, then we can achieve anything. We can’t see egos and we must work together in order to see the country out of the crisis. This is something that can be done”.