Brazilian kids sneaking a peek at Team USA's closed session through a tiny hole in the door at Flamengo's practice pic.twitter.com/LSsberJYML
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 5, 2016
The 2016 Rio Olympics have been nothing short of a disaster so far, but it’s easy to forget amongst the chaos that many of the world’s best athletes have all made their way to the same city at the same time. That fact alone is amazing to think about if you remove all of the other issues surrounding the games, and it’s assuredly a treat for the kids who live in Rio de Janeiro.
ESPN NBA reporter Marc Stein captured the truly iconic image above of Rio kids attempting to find any way possible to get their eyes on a closed Team USA practice being held before the games. Due to the less than stellar facilities in the area, the building in which 12 of the best basketball players in the world were practicing happened to have hole in the wall big enough for the kids to look through to see their favorite NBA players.
In addition to looking with one eye on the practice, the kids also got treated to some autographs once they were noticed, as Carmelo Anthony made sure to stop by and help them out.
No adult would have bothered kneeling on a small bench just to get a blurry view of Team USA, but that’s part of the wonderment of childhood, and thanks to Melo, their persistence paid off.
(h/t SB Nation)
