# Which Sports Should be in the Olympics - but Aren't? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 19, 2004, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-sports-should-be-in-the-olympics-but-arent/260521 "2004-08-19T07:02:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-sports-should-be-in-the-olympics-but-arent/260521/41 "2004-08-20T13:03:01Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Rock Paper Scissors Are you joking? That’s not a sport! Rock always wins! Good old rock. Nothin’ beats rock. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-sports-should-be-in-the-olympics-but-arent/260521/42 "2004-08-20T13:12:37Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Are you joking? That’s not a sport! Rock always wins! > > Good old rock. Nothin’ beats rock. So, were you a shot-putter in college? :dubious: How 'bout Dodgeball? ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-sports-should-be-in-the-olympics-but-arent/260521/43 "2004-08-20T14:56:08Z")
Rodeo International body, large following, participants from a number of countries, and it has already been an exhibition event in at least two prior Olympics (Salt Lake City and Calgary). Also, it’s a lot of fun to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-sports-should-be-in-the-olympics-but-arent/260521/44 "2004-08-20T15:06:58Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > How 'bout Dodgeball? I’d really like to see that one, just for the _Martix_-like contortions the athletes would go through. I suggest breakdancing. And if you’re going to include 43-man Squamish, you may as well throw in 3-Cornered Pitney, too. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-sports-should-be-in-the-olympics-but-arent/260521/45 "2004-08-20T15:21:57Z")
Dodgeball? no. [Ga-ga?](http://www.lincoln.k12.nc.us/LMS/PE/new_page_9.htm) yes. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-sports-should-be-in-the-olympics-but-arent/260521/46 "2004-08-20T15:46:36Z")
> [@Rufus Xavier](#): > > [Ga-ga?](http://www.lincoln.k12.nc.us/LMS/PE/new_page_9.htm) I remember playing this in summer camp in the seventies. I was good at it. But for the boycot in 1980, and that fact that this isn’t a recognized sport, I could have a gold medal! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-sports-should-be-in-the-olympics-but-arent/260521/47 "2004-08-20T18:27:15Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I don’t see how the professional angle has any relevance any more. The way I see it, the inclusion of a sport should be because of a multi-continental recognition of the sport at the appropriate level (which baseball, and certain martial arts, would fall down on), and because the Olympic award should be capable of equal status with other awards in that discipline (ruling out football and tennis). And not for the first thread, I say _include Rugby Sevens!!!_… But that WOULD rule out golf, unless the Olympic event were held at Augusta every time. 🙂 I don’t have so much of a concern with proffessionals, but more along the lines of: what would the Olympics add to the sport? There is a golf tournament for all the professional tours almost every week of the year. There are 4 majors, there are “World Golf Championships” and there is the Ryder Cup. Who would really care about who got an Olympic gold in golf? It just wouldn’t mean much, to the sport. I suspect that it would also interfere with the “real” golf tournaments to the point that the really good golfers wouldn’t bother. The Olympics might benefit from golf, but golf wouldn’t benefit from the Olympics. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-sports-should-be-in-the-olympics-but-arent/260521/48 "2004-08-20T22:56:13Z")
I would like Dragon Boat Racing ito be included at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, but I expect that Wushu will be included instead. ---
**Author:** ![Burnt\_Sugar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@Burnt\_Sugar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burnt_Sugar)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2004, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-sports-should-be-in-the-olympics-but-arent/260521/49 "2004-08-21T07:37:56Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Are you joking? That’s not a sport! Rock always wins! > > Good old rock. Nothin’ beats rock. Paper beats rock. Smothers it. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-sports-should-be-in-the-olympics-but-arent/260521/50 "2004-08-24T00:27:01Z")
Having condensed my life into a 4 x 5 U-haul, dragged it 250 miles north, and with a crippled man (my partner) unpacked it all in 95 deg heat, one box at a time cos he forgot to get a hand truck ( :rolleyes: ), across a street, up 3 flights of steps, I suggest competitive moving. Each team has the same number of oddly shaped objects and brick-beladen boxes, a small UHaul, and just their ingenuity to fill the truck, drive it round a track, then stop and unload it into a designated area. Although the object of the contest is to be the fastest to load and unpack, bonus points would be awarded to the most creative and effective use of space in the UHaul. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-sports-should-be-in-the-olympics-but-arent/260521.md?page=2)