Men’s Water Polo Team Defies Early Expectations
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
It should come as no surprise that the U.S. men’s water polo team came into these Beijing Games with less than lofty expectations — considering that Las Vegas is putting the odds at 80:1 for the team to win an Olympic gold medal, and 15:1 to just make the podium. The long-shot odds made sense, given the American men didn’t even qualify for the elimination rounds of the 2004 Athens Games.
But after yesterday’s 12-11 win over Italy, the team has now won two straight games to begin this year’s competition, matching its win total from four years ago, and it looks poised to exceed its modest pre-competition goals. Before the water polo bandwagon gets too crowded, though, it’s important to note that the Americans must climb some major hurdles to even think about getting on the podium.
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