BEIJING - A little grumbling ensued when Dream Team 4.0 was a little late to Friday's press conference.
Typical prima donnas was the thought.
What had actually delayed them was they ran into 1500-meter runner and U.S. flag bearer Lopez Lomong. They were waiting to walk into the interview room. He had just finished. And he was talking to them about his Olympic experience.
His story is infinitely American, a tale of escaping unfathomable hardship elsewhere in the world and finding refuge in America. His elsewhere was Darfur, a politically charged word of this Olympics considering China's continued involvement with a country the rest of the world has condemned.
But Lomong's story cannot be told without Darfur. He is one of the "lost boys", those Sudanese kids kidnapped and turned into soldiers who escaped, walked to Kenya and lived there in a refugee camp until coming to the States.
Dallas Mavericks guard and Team USA member Jason Kidd said players were hanging on Lomong's every word.
"I got to see his story on HBO and I don't think they could have picked a better person to carry our flag," Kidd said. "For what he has gone through, it is remarkable. And it is a great story."
And by voting him as flag bearer, U.S. athletes made a statement about Darfur without having to be overtly political.
Many Team USA members have been under pressure to use their considerable platform to speak out against a narrow view of human rights in China and China's involvement in Sudan. The choice of Lomong as the flag bearer is quite genius. He is the reminder.
"The American flag means everything in my life, everything that describes me, coming from another country and going through all of the stages that I have to become a U.S. citizen," Lomong said. "This is another amazing step for me in celebrating being an American."
As he walked into the Bird's Nest Friday, the stars and stripes hoisted proudly above his head, leading the delegation of athletes from his adopted country, you could see his smile without binoculars.
And walking behind him, near the back, the Dream Team 4.0 members were proud to say they know him.