How many gold medals would the USA have if the Olympics folks hadn’t squeezed in all the snowboarding and other “X” sports (at the current count, 5 of 8 USA medals are in snowboarding)? I’m all about cheering on Shaun White, Gretchen Bleiler, Hannah Teeter, etc. but geez.
ALSO: Right about now it seems the Bode Miller hype machine is almost as kaput as the Dan & Dave debacle of the ‘92 Olympics.
I think US ratings matter so much to the IOC that they are prepared to includ sports that the USA are clearly the main (or only) top class competitors in. Basketball is still the classic example IMO. USA held the olympics twice in less than 20 years (or maybe 3 times if you count the Winter games?), which was definately an attempt to grab US ratings and sponsorship.
The World Cup (in what you call soccer) went to the USA in 1994, which was more about the ratings than about the USA’s participation in the sport at a league level.
Well I think as far as the Olympics goes, we are one of the few nations that has the financial strength to pull off the Games, especially the enormous investments required for the Summer Games.
Basketball is still the classic example IMO.
Basketball has been an Olympic sport since 1936.
If you’re talking about the professionals, the US voted against letting them in (that was a turf battle, the US amateur establishment didn’t want to cut David Stern in on their action). It was the rest of the world who wanted their Dirk Nowitzkis and Yao Mings to play in the NBA and still be eligible for the Olympics.
The IOC now allows professionals, after they took all of Jim Thorp’s medals for track and field away because he played professional baseball. Then the IOC let teams like the Soviets compete with “professional” hockey players for years without a single peep. They finally gave Jim Thorp’s medals back long after he was dead and gone and the damage was already done.
Mostly agree but if silly sports is some sort of criteria: curling????
Dugger
How is curling even a sport? It’s like shuffleboard on ice with brooms. I’m not a big X Games fan, however, the 4-man snowboard races have been entertaining to watch.
Another question, if you slide on your back it is Luge but if you are on your stomach it is Skeleton?
Lets get those snowboarders on the Luge run….
Dude, don’t diss the snowboarders. They’re the most exciting thing going regardless of where they’re from.
The finals race in SBX last night - with Wescott and Zidek battling all the way down the hill - was awesome. Can anyone who loves sports truly say they weren’t floored by the athleticism of Wescott’s inside move?
My only bitch is that they don’t go far enough. Have another SBX event with legalized pushing and hitting. I’d love to see a bunch of Mike Tysons on snowboards blasting each other to get to the bottom of the hill first.
There are probably some snowboarders with the guts to try it.
BW
“There are probably some snowboarders with the guts to try it. ‘
And probably with no better judgment than to try while some ‘loogies’ are still on the run.
Dugger
SBX?
It’s Rollerball!
Of course I wasn’t dissing the snowboarders. Like the downhill, bobsledding and ice hockey, its a cool sport. Certainly more fun than watching figure skating. No offense but to me figure skating is booooooring!