U.S. Athletes Aware of Possible Backlash

The US Olympic team are aware of possible backlash at the Olympic Games in August this year.

'"When you're competing internationally, everyone wants the USA to lose," said Lopez, who won gold at the 2000 Sydney Games.

Lopez was one of several athletes who spoke Saturday at the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit in New York. And he's not the only American athlete who has thought about a possible backlash at the games.

"We tend to rub everybody the wrong way, no matter how hard we try not to," men's volleyball player Lloy Ball said. "Whether it's the Ryder Cup, or whether it's carrying the flag around like some of the track athletes were doing after winning the last Olympics. That's the way we are, though. We're confident people."

Balancing that confidence with a sense of diplomacy is important to many American athletes - especially those who have been to the Olympics before and understand the joy of competing and living in a friendly environment.' - Source