Macedonia’s men’s basketball team was not supposed to be much of a
factor in the recent EuroBasket Championship. After defeating Croatia, Finland, and Bosnia, the victory over the country’s thorn to the south, Greece, sent this nation of two million into a frenzy. Just when Macedonians thought they had seen it all, its team defeated basketball giant
Lithuania in one of the biggest upsets European basketball had ever seen.
The inspirational run eventually
ended, with the team losing to Russia and concluding with a fourth place run in the tournament.
Macedonia already has much to be proud of: a history that dates back several millennia; stunning natural beauty; and twenty years of
independence. Life has not been kind to many Macedonians the past twenty years, and Greece’s absurd opposition to Macedonia using its historic name to name its country has in part stalled full integration into Europe. Like many countries in
the Balkans, independence has come with struggles.
But the country and its people deserve a
celebration, and to that end we congratulate this amazing country.
