After a long hiatus, I am back. And much like the Winter Olympics, I wonder if anyone cares. However, it is July, and it is the quadrennial time of year for the Summer Olympics. Today marks the start of the 30th Olympiad in London, England. And although I am a big fan of the Olympic Games, both summer and winter, this time of year always makes me think about the "sports" that we include in the Olympics. There are some of the quintessential sports, such as Cycling, Soccer (yes, Soccer, not football), and the Track & Field events. However, there are some events that I cannot find a reason for them being in the Olympics.
For instance, Synchronized Swimming. Just because you can float the same direction as another person, I don't think you can be considered an Olympian. The same goes for Equestrian Dressage. It's basically horse dancing. I just can't get behind these crappy events that have no bearing on our country's standing in the athletic world. Does that make me less of an American? Of course, there is a flip-side to this coin. Basketball in the Olympics has turned into a fight for the Silver medal because the USA is all but assured the Gold. The USA Men's Basketball team has won medals in all of it's 16 Olympic appearances, 13 of them Gold medals. So as boring as it is to watch synchronized swimming, I can't really think it would be too much more exciting to watch Team USA beat Tunisia 102-64.
Sure, you may be able to twirl a ribbon around on a mat, but in my own personal opinion, you are not as worthy of the Gold medal as someone who can break a world record at running, or weightlifting. However, since I cannot change the events in the Olympics, I guess we just have to take the good with the bad. Let's enjoy watching the 100m Dash and the Javelin Throw, and let's just pretend that rhythm gymnastics matters. After all, we only have to deal with it every 4 years.
