nacarter wrote:
Wrestling, frankly isn't very interesting for the CASUAL tv viewer.
Neither is distance running. But the Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius," not "whatever gets the best tv ratings."
nacarter wrote:
Wrestling, frankly isn't very interesting for the CASUAL tv viewer.
Neither is distance running. But the Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius," not "whatever gets the best tv ratings."
Wrestling is one of the oldest sports. Hell it's included in the Iliad—the oldest piece of literature in the Western Canon! The IOC drops a sport over three thousand years old...and keeps BMX, a horse beauty pageant, and beach volleyball?
asdfadsdsf wrote:
a horse beauty pageant
well technically it is horse dancing.
Wrestling out golf in... a bad joke!
nacarter wrote:
Add in the nonsense with the balls, and you had to know that wrestling was at risk. I think it's actually the right decision.
What is the nonsense with the balls that you speak of?
Rest of post totally makes sense.
I'm not a fan of anything with weight catagories; who cares? If it's an advantage/disadvantage, tough beans.
Would more people be interested in Olympic wrestling if John Cena and crew were in it?
That's ridiculous. Wrestling is one of the original Greek Olympic sports. It's also a genuine, damn tough sport not like all of the silly dressage, badminton, synchronized swimming, ping pong, etc. sports.
Cut the fluff, not the essentials.
Next thing you know they'll add lacrosse because someone's Dad writes a big check.
And you know all the golfers will be totally into the Olympic experience staying away from the Olympic village/dorms as far as possible.
I guess the Olympics are officially going the way of professional sports in America. Can you imagine what the original organizers of the Modern Olympics would say if they could see what the Games have become?
Look it up. The three original events in the Olympics.
Wrestling, running, archery.
Obviously us runners will defend a fellow outcast sport, but let's face facts.
_________________________________
Seriously? Running an outcast sport? OK, I'll try to make this simple for you:
Go to:
Key in: Men's 800 meter run 2012 Olympics.
Look at the crowd, now imagine (if you have an imagination) the world wide TV audience watching that race.
Are you freaking serious?
I agrree that Wrestling isn't popular but dropping it is stupid. It's a fundamental sport. Maybe Americans need more of an education in sports- so they realize that wrestlers are great athletes who work harder than most in a truly grueling sport that takes brains and quickness as well.
nacarter wrote:
People are missing a couple of important factors. First and foremost is that the IOC wants to maintain the current size of the Games in terms of athlete numbers. Adding Rugby 7s and Golf is going to add up to 5-600 athletes - something big had to go. Yes Modern Pentathlon, Race Walking, and Rhythmic Gymnastics aren't very popular, but their numbers aren't huge either. Modern Pent only has about 100 athletes, and Rythmic only 50.
The other consideration is that Wrestling, frankly isn't very interesting for the CASUAL tv viewer. At the Olympic level, especially outside of first round matches, athletes are so evenly matched, that ties are generally the rule. In London, most wrestling matches looked like 5 minutes of two guys groping each other. Wrestling can be exciting, but that requires OFFENCE. At the Olympics the emphasis is on defence. Add in the nonsense with the balls, and you had to know that wrestling was at risk. I think it's actually the right decision.
Golf is adding 60 participants per sex.
Rugby 7s, as it stands, is adding 168 per sex (14 per team, 12 teams qualified) though that is still up in the air given the uncertainty of how qualifying would even work or where they plan on drumming up 12 worthwhile women's seven teams.
So that's 456...
Wrestling had 344 athletes in 2012. Modern Pentathlon had 72 (36 a sex).
Really, if it is about just headcount and wanting to minimize the impact on the least number of casual olympic fans, the sport that should have been killed is field hockey. 432 participants between 24 teams (12 men (men's field hockey?) 12 women). Let it fight it out with sevens, which I predict will last even shorter than baseball did.
"the decision was made by secret ballot over several rounds"
"They spoke on condition of anonymity because the voting details were not made public."
"the final decision by the 15-member board was also subject to political, emotional and sentimental factors."
"Previously considered under the closest scrutiny was modern pentathlon... Modern pentathlon also benefited from the work of Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., the son of the former IOC president who is a UIPM vice president and member of the IOC board."
IOC is a total joke.
Sharia Law forbids homosexuality. The Islamic nations have won in the IOC. This is huge.
Too Gay wrote:
Sharia Law forbids homosexuality. The Islamic nations have won in the IOC. This is huge.
I know you are clinically insane, but just for the record, 19 of 71 mens wrestling medals came from islamic countries: iran, Azerbaijan, Uzbekibekistanstan, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Turkey.
good point. I hadn't considered the women's wrestling PC angle, but I bet you're right.
Women's wrestling is a total joke..
Few things irritate me as much as fans of one sport putting down another sport. I'm listening to the Jay Mohr Show right now and this topic is being discussed. Some guy comes on and says something to the effect of "A very good runner is equal to an average wrestler..."
Is that really necessary? I am sympathetic to all sports fans, especially those fans of the non-major sports. However, I become less sympathetic when those fans put down another sport to try to build their sport up...especially when they put down a sport/league that I love (I'm looking at you NHL fans who hate on hoops!).
Islam WINS. No more homos ruining civilized society.
horses in dressage cost $350,000 - 500,000 - 1,000,000. In the true spirit of the Olympics while wrestling costs much much more. Its a money saver