Olympic Sports that Don't Matter
The Olympic GamesĀ is the world's greatest sporting event, for every country but the USA. Why?
Capitalism has a lot to do with it. American business has already transformed any sport that people will watch on television into billion dollar leagues.
These leagues are independent of national affiliation and often have the best players from around the world competing daily.
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To the rest of the athletes who don't have these opportunities to compete, an Olympic gold medal is the top prize.
There are bigger prizes than an Olympic gold medal in every event Americans care about.Ā Here is a list of Olympic events for Beijing 2008:
| Ā |
| Archery |
| Artistic Gymnastics |
| Badminton |
| BaseballĀ - Something called a World Series |
| BasketballĀ - NBA Championship is still the top prize in the sport |
| Beach Volleyball |
| BoxingĀ - Since it is amateur only,Ā gold is important |
| Canoe/Kayak |
| CyclingĀ - Tour de France |
| Diving |
| Equestrian |
| Fencing |
| Field hockey |
| Handball |
| Judo |
| Modern Pentathlon |
| Rhythmic Gymnastics |
| Rowing |
| Shooting |
| SoccerĀ - MLS Championship? ;) |
| SoftballĀ - Women's sports aren't supported in the U.S., so this one matters. |
| Swimming |
| Synchronised swimming |
| Table Tennis |
| Taekwondo |
| TennisĀ - Wimbledon, U.S. Open etc. |
| Track and Field |
| Trampoline |
| Triathlon |
| Volleyball |
| Water polo |
| Weightlifting |
| Wrestling |
| YachtingĀ - America's Cup |
For the bulk of these events, it is the pinnacle of competition. Those are the Olympic medals that matter. If your event isn't on this list, be thankful. It probably means you can make a living playing it professionally.
Most of the Winter Olympics' events are legitimate, even hockey due to the strong international leagues.Ā
When the Olympics was an amateur-only competition for Americans, it was much more compelling for sports fans, because it was the highest honor in amateurĀ athletics for each event.
The one exception which actually proves the rule as the saying goes, is men's Futbol. The World Cup is a much larger prize, even internationally. Americans generally are not interested in this event at the Olympics, nor in their hometown.
My point is, stop whining about baseball being dropped or golf not being in. Let the athletes that do not already have a stage keep the Olympic Games. How else will competitive canoeingĀ receive exposure? I guess they could always join theĀ the X-games.
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