Lithuanian’s Marketing Dead On Target Former Soviet Republic Team’s Tie-Dyed Shirts Undress Rivals

This would never happen, but ponder the concept for a second.

Multimillionares Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal hold a news conference in late May to promote a joint enterprise with a rock band to raise money to fund the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team.

Fiction in the United States is reality for Sacramento Kings guard Sarunas Marciulionis, Portland Trail Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis and their countrymen on Lithuania’s national team.

Lithuania, a former Soviet republic, has a population of 4 million and is beset by instability and economic problems.

Marciulionis and Sabonis are the Jordan and O’Neal of Lithuania.

So when Marciulionis and his teammates received the opportunity to promote their country and raise money for their Olympic participation from a rock group as prominent and caring as the Grateful Dead, it was a no-brainer.

Earlier this week, at the Hard Rock Cafe, Marciulionis, NBC broadcaster Bill Walton, Golden State Warriors forward Chris Mullin and Phoenix Suns assistant coach Donn Nelson joined forces with Dead drummer Mickey Hart and guitarist Bob Weir to promote the team’s sales of tie-dyed basketball gear.

An unlikely combination? Unquestionably, but it was immensely and shockingly successful on and off the court in 1992, when the Lithuanian team qualified for the Olympics for the first time and won the bronze medal. When the team sported the tie-dyed shirts on the medal stand, it sparked a clothing feeding frenzy of sorts that prompted a 1996 re-run.

The shirts became the most sought-after items on the streets of Barcelona, and it’s estimated that the merchandise sales surpassed $700,000.

“When we wore the tie-dyed T-shirts on the medal stand, it was our way of showing our expression to the Grateful Dead,” said Nelson, who works as a coach for the Lithuanian team. “They were with us when we were nobody.”

Weir watched the medal ceremony on television and said he was overcome.

“I was awe-struck, mystified,” Weir said. “Then I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t get the silver. I wanted it all.”

Marciulionis recalled his first meeting with the Dead in 1991, when he was playing with Golden State.

“We had a game in Detroit and George Shirk (a former San Francisco Chronicle reporter) and Donnie were going to a concert the night before and they took me along,” he said. “I didn’t know anything about the Dead, but when we got there, there was a lot of lighting up, if you know what I mean.

“I thought, ‘Hey, we’re going to have a lot of deodorant in here before we can play.’ But then we met the guys and talked to them and they sent us a check and we were on our way.”

Winning the bronze represented more than just a basketball conquest for Marciulionis. The team’s success put Lithuania on the map for positive reasons. The country that had just reclaimed its freedom from the Soviet Union now was highly recognized.

Lithuania defeated Russia for the medal.

“The locker room after the game was the single biggest celebration I have ever experienced in athletics,” Nelson said. “Everybody at once, without orchestration, joined together in the national anthem. Halfway through the song, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.”

Marciulionis anticipates another emotional and prideful situation this summer. Hart will compose the music for Lithuania’s participation in the Games’ opening ceremonies in Atlanta.

“That is coming full circle,” Walton, a longtime Deadhead, said. “When I first played against the Soviet Union, of which Lithuania used to belong, after we waxed them, they asked us for our used shorts, uniforms and socks. Now these guys are stars.”

Money raised from the merchandise sales will go not only to funding the Lithuanian team’s trip and Olympic expenses but will benefit the Lithuanian Children’s Fund and the Sarunas Marciulionis Basketball School in Lithuania.