ASSOCIATED PRESS
By Aron Heller
May 19, 2014
TEL AVIV, Israel — Maccabi Tel Aviv’s European basketball victory set off a national outpouring of joy in Israel on Monday that went far beyond the boundaries of sports.
Even though the team is dominated by foreign-born players, the victory fostered a rare sense of national pride in a country often riven by internal divisions and international criticism, and provided an opportunity to flaunt a sense of normalcy to the world.
Maccabi’s dream season culminated Sunday with an overtime victory over Real Madrid in the Euroleague basketball final in Milan.
Thousands of fans clad in Maccabi yellow filled Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square overnight Monday, with many jumping into its landmark fountain. Celebrations erupted in other cities as well, with TV and radio stations airing special broadcasts.
In Milan, the nearly 10,000 fans that made the trip partied all night, hoisting a huge flag of Israel in a public square and hollering the national anthem.
….All three of the major Israeli TV stations aired special broadcasts to cover the team’s arrival at the airport. Hundreds of fans waited for the team in the terminal as officials engulfed the players and coaches as they disembarked from an El Al plane.
ArchitectGuy on Israel 