When the Game Was Ours - Larry Bird [132]
When the team broke camp 15 days before reconvening in Monte Carlo, Bird went back to Boston and showed up at Massachusetts General Hospital unannounced. He found Dan Dyrek, his physical therapist, and begged him to accompany him to Barcelona.
"I don't think I can make it without your help," Bird said.
Dyrek opened his daybook. He was teaching a graduate school course and had a full calendar of commitments. But he wasn't about to be the person who prevented Larry Bird from realizing his Olympic dream. Dyrek hopped aboard the Dream Team caravan and before long was treating many of Bird's teammates as well, including Ewing and his chronically sore knees.
By that point, "Harry" and Larry were inseparable. When the team flew to Monte Carlo for their final pre-Olympic training, Ewing sat poolside with Larry, Dinah, and their friend Quinn Buckner, wearing dark glasses and trying not to stare at the topless women. He ordered a round of draft beer for Bird and his friends, unfazed by the $8 price tag.
Bird was incredulous each time his new friend ordered another round.
"Do you know how much those beers cost?" Bird asked Ewing.
"Nah, I don't drink," Ewing replied.
"They are $8 each!" Bird exclaimed. "I would never pay that for a beer!"
In his rookie season, the first time Bird went to New York with the Celtics, he and Rick Robey popped into a bar to have a brew. When he saw the prices on the tavern's menu, Larry abruptly stood up and walked out. Years later, while dining with his teammates in a trendy New York eatery, the players began collecting money for the bill. Told they were going to give the waiter a 20 percent tip, Bird said, "What for? All he did was deliver the food."
He stood up, grabbed the tip money, and strode unannounced into the kitchen. He handed the astonished cook a fistful of bills, then walked out.
While Larry rang up the bar tab in Monte Carlo, Magic hung with Jordan at the casino and tried to bring him luck at the blackjack table. When the clock struck midnight, Johnson, Jordan, Barkley, and Pippen flocked to Jimmy Z's, an exclusive Monte Carlo nightclub with a retractable roof and a maze of dance floors.
For the first time since his HIV diagnosis, Magic felt like one of the boys again. The Dream Team was all about inclusion, right down to their 12th man, Laettner, with whom Bird regularly sat on the bus so he would not feel isolated from his more celebrated teammates.
While the team was still in Portland, a representative from Newsweek magazine had approached Magic about appearing on their cover with Michael Jordan. Johnson had agreed, but with one stipulation—he wanted Bird included in the shot too.
"No Larry, no cover," Magic said.
On July 6, 1992, Magic, Michael, and Larry had graced the front of Newsweek with the heading "Team Dream" trumpeting their upcoming journey.
When the team arrived in Monte Carlo on Sunday, July 19, Bird had still not been cleared for contact, but the following morning he scrimmaged for five minutes. Stockton, also on the mend, split his time between the swimming pool and the stationary bike. That evening the Dream Team attended a reception hosted by Prince Rainier and Prince Albert, and Magic, resplendent in a black-and-white tuxedo, declared that the Rainiers were the only royalty who superseded Jordan.
Magic led the United States to a 111–71 win over the French National Team, the last tune-up before Barcelona. Johnson went to the casino, won big, and blew kisses to the crowd on his way out the door.
"He absolutely captivated those people," Daly said.
On Wednesday, July 22, the West (Magic, Drexler, Robinson, Malone, and Barkley) lined up opposite the East (Bird, Jordan, Pippen, Ewing, Mullin, and Laettner) for an in-practice scrimmage. Magic, feeling