After the breakup of the USSR, the Lithuanian basketball team couldn't afford to participate in the 1992 Olympics, so the Grateful Dead funded the team's expenses and sent a box of tie-dyed outfits in Lithuania's national colours. They went on to win bronze.

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image showing After the breakup of the USSR, the Lithuanian basketball team couldn't afford to participate in the 1992 Olympics, so the Grateful Dead funded the team's expenses and sent a box of tie-dyed outfits in Lithuania's national colours. They went on to win bronze.

searcher7nine on July 3rd, 2021 at 18:37 UTC »

That's awesome. Makes me wonder how many Lithuanians are now die hard Deadheads...

stippleworth on July 3rd, 2021 at 19:22 UTC »

At the 1988 olympics where the USSR won gold, 4 of the 5 starters were Lithuanian. For context, the population of Lithuania at the time was 3 million while the USSR was 286 million. The team included a few future NBA stars

There is a documentary about this called The Other Dream Team

Imawildedible on July 3rd, 2021 at 19:55 UTC »

They were everyone’s team to cheer for that year when their own team wasn’t playing. It was like the whole world was cheering for them. When we weren’t being in awe of the Dream Team that is.