London 2012: Underrated Sports Viewers Must Watch This Summer

The 2012 Summer Olympics will commence on July 27th in London. Casual spectators will watch the notable sports. Basketball, football, boxing and gymnastics will all be hot commodities this summer.

What about the 32 other Olympic sports? Obscure sport does not mean unwatchable sport. Viewers will realize that within minutes of watching their surprisingly scintillating action.

These sports are worth a look this summer.

Fencing

Where else can you watch competitive sword fighting? I mean, legal sword fighting. That alone makes this sport worth tuning in to.

France, Italy and Germany dominated the fencing combination in 2008. They will try and do the same when the sport kicks off on July 28th with the women's individual foil event.

Watching two people fence is more exciting than many think. Through all of the parries and counter-attacks, an incredible technique shines through.

The goal is simple, out-duel your opponent. The means to that goal are not nearly as simple.

Watching the participants feel their way through and establish their own style should hit home with fans of any individual sport. The same mentalities and important factors ring true.

Some may think, how does one even get into fencing? Why are so many fencing terms accompanied by accent marks? What's a foil?

Find out for yourself by tuning into fencing events this summer. It has been an Olympic event since 1896 and its tradition is obvious.

Table Tennis

Part of the Olympic fun lies in the unknown. Many of these great events are not watchable any other time of the year, but the Olympics gives them a stage to show off their public appeal.

Table tennis falls under that category. Many people have played a casual game of 'ping-pong', but few have hit the ball like this.

If you enjoy fast and furious pace and incredible reaction time, you will enjoy table tennis. These players are almost robotic in their ability to volley the small, plastic ball back and forth.

The action may seem monotonous to some, but it shouldn't. Players can volley for 30 seconds straight, but just think about that rather than looking at it as monotonous. A little white ball is flying back and forth at inordinate speeds and these athletes can hit it without mistake, over and over.

The agility and hand-eye coordination required to play table tennis is unimaginable to anyone but the competing athletes. Observers will marvel at the athletes' ability to react in seemingly impossible seconds.

Water Polo

Water polo is the team sport that most Olympic observers sweep under the rug in favor of basketball, football or hockey. That is a mistake.

Water polo was dominated by Hungary and the Netherlands in 2008. That could happen again in London, but people should tune in and find out for themselves.

Most land-dwelling creatures could not tread water for the inordinate amount of time required of a water polo player. Most wouldn't want to.

The attack methods are similar to any other team sport. Fans of soccer and hockey attacks will enjoy the spacing and ball movement of the world's elite water polo squads.

Defensively, the goal also stays the same. Keep the ball out of the net by any means possible. That requires blocking the ball with your body and sacrificing a good sized welt.

Olympic spectators should not shun water polo because of its aquatic inclinations. The attacks and defenses hold philosophies true to more popular sports.

Keep that in mind as you watch the action unfold this summer.