The True Story of the Iconic Barcelona Olympics Lithuania Tie Dye Basketball Shirts

The Accurate Story Facts Behind the Legendary Tie Dyed Skeleton Olympics Uniforms Worn by the Lithuanian Basketball Team at the Barcelona Olympics 32 Years Ago

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, April 14, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As we approach the time for the upcoming Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games it's the perfect time to reflect on one of the most memorable and unusual Olympics stories of the past few decades.

The story started with the newly formed, financially strapped 1992 Lithuanian Olympic Men's Basketball team competing for the first time as an independent country in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, after breaking away from the Soviet Union and was enjoying it's country's newly gained freedom.

NBA player Saunas Marciulionis, discovered by a coach at the Golden State Warriors. was rallying financial donations for his country's newly founded Olympic basketball team received various monetary donations including one from the Grateful Dead musical group. According to news reports, among the other donations the team received the Grateful Dead musical group came into the story with a separate $5,000. donation of their own to Marcuiulionis, which was the part they played in this story.

Listen to the podcast that uncovered the entire and complete true facts about the story:
https://wondery.com/shows/sports-explains-the-world/episode/13843-the-skullman-cometh/

A New York apparel Licensor also heard about the team's plight and came into the story independently and designed the iconic tie dyed Skullman uniforms for the team, just so they could have something fun to wear in the Olympics for practice time heading up to the games. Wearing the way-out threads energized and inspired the team all the way to the bronze medal platform and wearing something that was never seen before in the Olympics or in the world of sports apparel. The players wore them wherever they went.

See CNBC news story:
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/id/100165621

After winning the bronze medal game against the unified team (the former Soviet combined satellite team), the Lithuanian team surprised the world by showing up to receive their medals on the international stage of the Olympics bronze medal platform, wearing the artist's way-out uniforms for the world to see. The uniforms became an international sensation, becoming part of Olympics sports history and one of the most memorable moments of the 1992 Summer Olympics. Immediately the public wanted to know where they could buy one.

“The story became a major news event impacting popular culture, taking it's place in Olympics history. The event had a major influence on the future of sports fashion, changing the way it was perceived and viewed. The Tie Dyed Slammin^® Skullman^® became a legendary household icon.” recalled Mike Thompson, Licensing Director of Slammin Sports.

About the jerseys:
The iconic 1992 Lithuanian basketball tie dye uniforms were created by New York sports apparel Licensor Greg Speirs.
The shirts are actually an independent apparel brand owned by the designer who created them and were never actually a team jersey nor were they ever part of the Grateful Dead. "Greg played a much more significant role in the story than was originally reported". recalled Mike Thompson of Slammin' Sports. " "Greg was simply gracious enough to let the team use the sales of the apparel to raise money for funding and charity once there was a demand by the public to want one. Immediately after the Olympics ended and the T-shirts started selling and became a hot collectible, Speirs saw it as a great opportunity to help the team and chose to donate all of what would have been his profits to continue to fund the team. That's why Greg is called the major sponsor of the 1992 Lithuanian Olympic Basketball Team, because the biggest sponsorship came from the sales of his shirts after the Olympics. He donated 100% of his profits to fund the team which started at $450,000 in the first wave of donations which continued after the Olympics and may have skyrocketed to millions according to news reports.

See IMDB bio:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3998173/
All of Greg's continuing profits for the team went into Lithuanian player Sarunas Marciulionous' 'Sarunas Lithuanian Children’s Fund to help sick children in need, which was set up and controlled by the former Lithuania team player and NBA star who received all funds. Some of the funds also went into the building of a basketball school in Lithuania. You might say it's the school that Sarunas built and the school that Greg built." added Mike.

The story was highlighted in the 2012 sports documentary film, "The Other Dream Team", directed and produced by Marius Markevicius and Jon Weinbach, about the national Lithuanian Olympic basketball team that competed at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona. See: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1606829/

It highlights Lithuanians’ experiences behind the Iron Curtain, where elite athletes were subjected to the brutalities of Communist rule. As they hid from KGB agents and feared for their lives, Lithuania’s basketball stars always shared a common goal – to utilize their athletic gifts to help free their country.

Aside from the hardships on the road to the '92 Olympics, the film celebrates the artist's iconic tie-dyed uniforms worn by the Lithuanian Olympic team that feature Speirs’ trademark design, the Slam Dunking Skeleton, now a historic piece of Olympic's basketball culture.

See IMDB bio documentation: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3998173/

Listen to "The Other Dream Team" interview:
http://www.gregspeirs.com/greg-speirs-audio-interview-by-the-other-dream-team-documentary-film/

The real meaning of the image:
The Lithuanian Slam-Dunking Skullman^® represented the artist's interpretation of a team rising from nothing, "Like a Phoenix from the ashes to slam-dunking a flaming basketball to bronze victory. It's not a dead skeleton, but represents rebirth and a new life. It was not only a victory in Olympic sports, but it was as if it were an overall triumph over communism itself," recalled Speirs.

Read the documented news story:
https://www.amworldgroup.com/blog/lithuanian-slam-dunking-skeleton-back-for-the-other-dream-team-documentary

The iconic Skullman^® uniforms were “enshrined” in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. on Dec.7th 1993, below a giant 12ft. x 8ft. 3-D incarnation of the legendary Slam Dunking Skeleton.

http://www.lithuaniatshirt.com/basketball%20hall%20of%20fame.htm

Original 1992 Skullman Lithuania Tie Dye^® T-Shirts are available here from the source: www.Skullman.com

The brand has enjoyed a 32 year longevity with vintage editions selling for hundreds of dollars on ebay online.

Official Licensor of the Original Lithuania Tie Dye^® Brand Apparel & Merchandise. 1992 © Copyright & Trademark^® property of Greg Speirs from whom all Licensing Rights Originate. Lithuania Tie Dye^® & the Lithuanian Slam Dunking Skeleton^® and all related indicia and symbols are Official Trademark Brands and Licenses of Greg Speirs. Official Licensor/ Exclusive, Official & Original Source.

Mike Thompson
Slammin Sports
licensing@skullman.com
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Instagram
Other

Iconic 1992 Lithuania Basketball Tie Dye Uniforms Creator Greg Speirs explains his meaning for the Slam-Dunking Skeleton as seen in "The Other Dream Team" Doc.