CURLY OLYMPIC THINKING
The USA won an Olympic medal in the sport of curling. That's great. Still, I can't help thinking: If the Olympic Committee can get curling into the Winter Games, why can't it find a way to keep baseball and softball, already there, in the Summer Games?
Especially with the softball, you think that displays just a bit of Anti-USA bias by the IOC? I do.
The real pain will be felt by baseball players and fans all over the world.
posted by UMRBlog @ 03:45
5 comments
5 Comments:
I don't know Tony. Baseball is NOT a traditional Olympic sport. It is not popular anywhere else other than America and Japan and Latin America. That's two countries and a third region. It's just not a world sport.
I get it that curling is a dumb game. I agree with that. But to argue that curling is an Olympic event, therefore baseball should be an Olympic event as well isn't very convicing.
It seems the only reason you want baseball included is so that America can dominate the competition. You know what I don't like about the Olympics? National domination. I love my country. I'm an Armed Forces veteran. But who says it's necessary to stand up and cheer because the nation with the world's richest economy continually dominates athletes from smaller countries? That's supposed to make me proud? Well, it's expected. What makes me proud is to watch an athlete who overcomes adversity and long odds to master another athlete with a decided advantage. The underdog.
You want to watch the American baseball cartel squash the rest of the world? Go right ahead and cheer. You want to snidely complain that it's exclusion is ANTI-American because it means one less gold medal to gloat over? Go right ahead.
Then you cry long and hard about how the exclusion of cricket is some devious world plot orchestrated only to deprive all English speaking countries of their rightful Olympic glory to dominate their own national sports.
God,
Baseball was a continuous Olympic sport for three a Olympics and and a demo sport for one. Only two "traditional" Olympic sports are the marathon and two greek guys wrestling naked. The decision was not whether Baseball would become and olympic sport but whether it would be removed from the OG.
As you probably remembered after you typed your remark, USA doesn't and can't dominate the Baseball OG. We play with College and minor league players while the other countries bring their best. Not surprisingly, Cuba won in '92, 96 and '04. LaSorda's "Miracle Minor Leaguers" won in '00.
The camparison with cricket is inapposite. Cricket is only played at a high level in three countries. Baseball is played at either a high amateur level or a professional level in all of North America, all of Central America and Most of South America, Australia, Japan, Korea, virtually the entire Caribbean and most of Northern Europe. There is even a league in Siberia (although it is definitely not high level).
If you want parity and competition, Baseball is the only team game where Curacao can legitmately hope to beat the USA. There's your perfect underdog story.
My complaint is really the opposite of what you perceive. Baseball has been experiencing trememdous growth (second fastest growing sport in China). Simply because Jacques and the boys don't like Americans, all the potential good ball players and fans coming up in Korea, Taiwan and Australia (maybe even Siberia) aren't going to be as encouraged as they might have been to pursue the sport. A game that requires no special size, just zeal and practice, will not grow in the world as quickly as it otherwise could. It's as big a pity in Cuba and Korea as it is in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
Thanks for checking in!
ABC
As I'm certain you recalled after you posted, American women have won all three available Olympic gold medals and their 2004 Olympic victory capped a 79-game winning streak in international play. 79 games without a loss. That's not domination?
What you're really arguing is not for the love of the sport. You clearly just want to see the U.S. kick some more foreign butt to make you feel dominate! So you can feel proud.
As if anyone can truly feel proud about attacking and invading and occupying Iraq under false pretenses. That's so..... what word am I looking for? Soviet? Yeah, that's it.
After you get tired of campaigning for baseball's return, (after 3 games) to the Olympics, let's get together and start a petition to reinstate Polo!
We oughta be able to run roughshod over the competion.
God,
You changed sports on me. I'll reply on Softball later. BTW, I think you meant "dominate".
Thanks for stopping in.
ABC
God,
You got me confused. I think you meant "dominant".
ABC
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