One of Dwight Howard's most prized possessions as a 6-year-old was a cereal box.
It just wasn't any cereal - no Cap'n Crunch or Cocoa Puffs.
Young Dwight had a Wheaties box. The famed "Breakfast of Champions" had just commemorated the 1992 U.S. Olympic basketball Dream Team's gold-medal run.
Sixteen years later, Howard is looking to collect another Wheaties box, hoping to grace its cover with his Team USA teammates (if the cereal giant decides to honor a victorious "Redeem Team").
The Orlando Magic's all-star center can hardly contain his enthusiasm as he participates in his first Olympics. Team USA opens against host China on Sunday and faces FIBA world champion Spain on Aug. 16.
"It's the Olympics. I represent something bigger and better than myself. It's a chance to do something incredible," he said.
Before leaving Orlando for the Orient, Howard held an impromptu question-answer session.
You've been to China several times before. How much Chinese do you know?
I'm bilingual.. .. I can say, "Hello," and, "I love you." I got to brush up on it a little bit.
Everybody is expecting the USA to win back the gold medal it lost in 2004. How much pressure is there?
The biggest thing is respecting the other team. Everybody has put us on a pedestal, and sometimes people or teams can get too confident and they end up losing. We know what we're playing for. We're playing for, one, respect around the world, and also we're playing to get the USA back on top. .. Everybody wants to see us win. Everybody is counting on us.
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