In addition to dalej42’s thread on Wrestling being removed from the standard Summer Olympic agenda, I thought a poll would be interesting to see what sports would be more favored to cut, based on our SDMB denizens. I know many feel there are several sports that could be done away with besides wrestling, but please pick only one, and if you feel like sharing your reasoning, please do. Note that I only listed sports currently on the docket, so axe wrestling and tug of war are not listed, nor are any other retired sports.
About halfway down the wiki pageis a table with the current summer games events.
There are LOADS of sports on the list that I don’t care about in the least, that I never watch, and that I’d be happy to see vanish forever. That list includes archery, badminton, field hockey, kayaking and the modern pentathlon.
But those aren’t the sports I’d eliminate.
As I’ve said here before, I think they should eliminate ANY sport that already has an event (or multiple events) more prestigious than the Olympics. The Olympics are supposed to represent the best of the best vying for all the marbles.
An NBA title will always mean more than a gold medal in basketball. Basketball should go.
A win at Wimbledon or the US Open will always mean more thna an Olympic medal in tennis. tennis should go.
Soccer? Outta here. The World Cup is FAR more prestigious, making Olympic soccer irrelevant.
Boxing? The sport is moribund, but even now, a professional title belt still means more than any Olympic medal in boxing. Dop boxing
I know there’s ZERO chance that my proposal will ever be adopted, but that’s how I see it. Drop the sports that already have more important events, and leave the Olympics to the swimmers, runners, gymnasts, et al. for whom the Olympics are THE big event.
But the NBA is a club league, not a competition of national teams. It is not like a ‘Basketball World Cup.’
Basketball should stay.
Now these all make sense. Tennis and boxing are individual sports, so there’s no distinction between clubs and national teams. And soccer/football has a premier national-teams tournament.
I agree too. The problem with this poll is that it is single choice. The Olympics is laughable these days and has no clear mission or coherence in what should be included and what shouldn’t be. I would chop at least half of the events to get it back closer to its roots. ALL team sports would be the first to go. I would then look at the individual sports and combine the ones that are too similar (the various martial arts for example). All equestrian sports would be cut. I would also look closely at some of the odder combination events like the biathlon that are only appreciated in a few countries. The focus would be on track and field events, swimming, and distinct individual events that have a wide following throughout the world with a focus on those that require little technology or fancy equipment.
Instead of getting rid of some the sports, they could just combine some.
Think of the modern tetrathalon:
Archery
Equestrian
Kayaking
Wrestling
You have to hit 10 targets and then jump on your horse and gallop to your kayak which you will take you to the finish line to record your final time. Once all of the contestants are in, the battle royal starts and everyone can reduce their final time by the amount of seconds that they can last before getting thrown out of the ring.
Not only will the people who got finished first have a chance to rest more, but it will also be a great place for world politics where you have the chance to gang up on your mutual enemies and eliminate them first.
Men’s soccer, because I do care about it … and in the Olympics it’s a joke. All the best play is reserved for leagues and cup competitions. It’s practically an exhibition sport in the Olympics these days.
I voted table tennis, but honestly I feel like someone in the other thread’s idea of merging some of the different martial arts into a single interdisciplinary event is worth a try.
I wouldn’t go full-blown MMA with it; like the current MA events it should be a more technical-than-violent event, but is there really such a difference between judo, karate, taekwondo, & wushu that they need to be split up? Aren’t they all striking/throwing arts where opponents compete in sets for points ala Karate Kid?
ETA: I also think astorian makes some really good points.
I also would like to subscribe to Astorian’s newsletter.
I went with Football as it’s not as prestigious as the World Cup, FIFA’s protected its own tournament by making the Olympics an age group tournament for the men anyway, it doesn’t fit the two week schedule as it is and personally I don’t think team sports belong in the Olympics anyway. Hell I’d do away with all the relays in Athletics and Swimming as well.
Boxing wasn’t one of the choices. I picked equestrian events (who gets the medal, the rider or the horse?), but boxing would’ve given it a run for its money in my book.
