Quote:
Originally Posted by baseball tourist
Micheal, you are quite knowledgable and I am not looking to pick a fight but let's agree to disagree, Ok?
Your clarification on the makeup of handball (team vs head to head) isnt helping your argument my friend. The fact that as a 48 year old, sports enthusiast I have never heard of 6 a side handball and must look to YouTube to find a game (along with semipro beer pong, I presume) tells me a lot about this sport - most clearly that it doesn't belong in the Olympics. Water polo without the water - neither is an Olympic-worthy sport.
You mention skateboarding and surfing - two reasons I can get behind these as possible additions: 1) they are participated world-wide on a large scale (Handball championships....please); 2) the world's youth enjoy these sports and the IOC Need to attract a younger demographic (the sports I mentioned won't do it).
Being a marksman in shooting is tough to do, for sure, but so is being a chess master - who wants to watch either live or otherwise. Equestrian riders are no wimps, I get that; but the horses are the true athletes in the equation.
Look, I dont have to personally enjoy the sport to feel that it belongs in the Games. I played table tennis and badminton as a youth at a high level and I know that billions of people in the world love these sports. Let's include some more popular sports - cricket for example - why isn't that in over synchro?
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We can agree to disagree. That is fair, thus my presentation of facts. You defeat your own point for 7 not 6 a side handball by saying you personally have not heard of it. That should not be a disqualifying factor for a sport. There are more than 25 leagues worldwide, mostly in Europe, but also Australia, Turkey, India and Tahiti. It is also a U.S. college sport. for both men and women. I believe the U.S. Military Academy won both men's and women's NCAA championships this year and North Carolina is one of the strong schools in the sport.
Chess is a game, not a sport, thus it would not qualify. Horses are not athletes. An athlete is a human being, not an animal.
Cricket is not practical. A side can last for hours. A single match can take several days. I have watched The Ashes and other matches during multiple trips to Australia.
Rugby is a great addition. Rugby 7's is faster paced than the regular game. The great thing about this sport is that a small island country like Fiji is a beast in rugby 7's and could medal in the men's competition. The U.S. won the last two Olympic rugby championships - 1920 and 1924.