By now, you have obviously seen some sort of highlights concerning the U.S. Men’s Basketball Team winning the gold medal. Before the Olympics began, the players dubbed themselves the Redeem Team.

They had to redeem themselves for not winning the gold since the 2000 Sydney Games, and, in dominating fashion, they accomplished this feat.

They beat defending gold medalist Argentina by 20 to reach the championship game.

Dirk Nowitzki and Germany should not have been on the court with the U.S. after being beat by almost 50 points. In its first meeting with Spain, the Redeem Team won by almost 40 points.

For the longest time, the United States has always had the best individual players in the game but that did not necessarily mean they were the best team players.

As I sat back and watched this team dominate every facet of the competition, it became evident that it took some trial and error for us to find the right mix of players to prove we are still the best. We had to lose constantly before our pride was checked at the door.

Let’s be honest here. Allen Iverson and Vince Carter are two great players. However, if you want to win something as precious as a gold medal, they are not the two players to have on your team if you want people to sacrifice a certain part of their game.

I will take LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade any day over those guys. Wade was asked to come off the bench and he was NBA Finals Most Valuable Player only two years ago. The best scorer in the game, Bryant was asked to be a defensive stopper.

These players realized what it would take to win the only thing more important than an NBA titleThese players realized what it would take to win the only thing more important than an NBA title and they did it well. Wade was a great sixth man as evidenced in the gold medal game against Spain when he came on to relieve James and Bryant who were in early foul trouble.

Not only did this team put the Americans back on top of the global sport, they raised country morale (or at least mine) and made me proud to be an American all over again.

Therefore, America, rejoice and be glad we are at the top for now. In two years the World Championships will pick up and that No. 1 ranking will be put to the test again.