Olympic Wrestling Brouhaha: "It's golf that should never have been granted access in the first place."
Dan Wetzel is the first to take the outrage over wrestling's departure from the Olympic Games in 2016 and directly blame golf's inclusion.
Thanks to reader Patrick for what may be the first of several questioning golf's inclusion in light of the surprising decision to end wrestling's run as an original Olympic sport.
In part because golf and rugby are coming to the Olympics, something had to go. This time it was wrestling, apparently edged out by the modern pentathlon for survival.
As such, both freestyle (somewhat similar to what you see in American high schools and colleges) and Greco Roman, each of which dated back to the 1896 Games in Greece, will soon be history. Wrestling can try to get back in, but the odds are long.
This is a poor decision and it would be only slightly less poor of a decision if it was modern pentathlon (a five-event competition of fencing, horse riding, swimming, running and shooting) that got the boot instead.
It's golf that should never have been granted access in the first place.
He goes on to make the case that the best Olympic sports are rare collections of the world gathering to compete. And we know that happens multiple times a year in golf.
Geoff
**Add WSJ's Jason Gay to the anti-golf group following yesterday's announcement:
And while I enjoy watching golf and playing golf, I need Olympic golf as much as my cat needs a Jacuzzi. And golf does not need the Olympics. At all. Golf already has plenty of high-profile professional platforms, both in terms of individual and international team play.
Geoff
**AP's Jim Litke on the politics behind wrestling's demise and the inclusion of other sports like golf.
Rather, it's the way the IOC tries to cash in by piggy-backing on formerly taboo pro sports and pandering to whatever demographic holds sway at the moment. That's why the Winter Olympics look more and more like the "X Games," and why basketball, soccer and tennis _ with golf and rugby on the way _ are now "core" sports, even though they're chockfull with paid mercenaries and boast championships way more prestigious than anything the Olympics could offer.
Reader Comments (38)
Wrestling is one of the historical pillars of the Olympic games. It's unfortunate that ticket sales and television ratings have become more dominant criteria for event inclusion.
What a swizz. And I say that as someone who loathes wrestling. But the organisers are not even pretending to all the stuff they make the athletes take an oath to (I can just imagine the feelings of the US golf team,. and others, to that piece of antiquated idealism).
There are enough highest level amateur and pro golf events without Olympic inclusion.
Regarding other sports, I can't disagree with someone who dislikes one or another, it's a matter of personal taste. That said, w/r to wrestling, if one admires The Hawk (Hogan) for his single minded dedication to excellence, it's hard to not feel the same way about Dan Gable.
Golf out-wrestling in.I'd go along with that.Unless of course I'm invited to ref in Rio in which case golf will be a must!!
But Wrestling lost out to The Modern Pentathalon where you need a f@#$$% horse, a sword and a rifle.
And the rumour is the next addition will be wakeboard jumping to bring in a younger audience.
Gotta love the IOC...
Also, anybody know why they chose to remove Wrestling and not Boxing?
Why wrestling belongs in the Olympics:
http://classicartreplicas.com/greek_wrestler_statue.html
The reasons why golf does not belong in the Olympics are innumerable. There will be a fine course for it, though.
Anyway, as said,,,,it's all about money, what the official paper clip, candy bar, and pooper scooper of the 2016 olys want. Pockets are lined and tradition be damned.
Fact is, an Olympic medal in golf will NEVER compare with winning one of the four majors.... it will simply be a small feather in some touring professional's cap. Tiger and Rory would toss that medal into the toothpaste drawer and never think of it again.
Still, for many -- track and field in particular -- the Olympics are the pinnacle. Wrestling, truly an ancient, deserving sport, too.
As a general rule, I don't like blaming the symptom I prefer to look at the cause. In this case golf and wresting are the symptoms and not the cause. The IOC needs to decide what they want from the Olympics, and what they want the Olympics to be, and then golf and wrestling and all the other sports should be included or rejected falling from guiding principles.
That being said I have zero faith in this actually happening, or the IOC doing it right It is somewhat ironic that the organization meant to oversee the "purest" athletic event, is amongst most corrupt.
IOC is corrupt beyond belief.
More countries are developing top level talent.
WHile the majors are the most important, they are also very difficult to qualify for.
There will be many countries that are developing young players for the Olympic exposure.
There are stories of NBA and NHL players seeming to not give a damn when they are there, but there
are also stories of those same groups hanging, partying and enjoying the experience.
I look forward to seeing golf in the Olympics, and seeing who embraces the opportunity (and who doesn't)
This is not an original thought, but the most important sports at the Olympics are the ones where – when you compete at the Olympics, you are at your sport’s pinnacle. So swimming, many track and field events, and wrestling, the Olympics is the biggest stage and what should be strived for.
Not that it is unimportant for golf, but really, are there many (or possibly any) players who will in coming years rather win an Olympic gold medal than win a major? Golf, tennis, NHL already have international competitions that are far more revered than the Olympics.
The fact that there are already competitions like the Ryder Cup, Walker Cup and the like further dampen what will be a pretty boring competition anyway, there isn’t even a team component in the golf competition. And the LPGA really got it right with the new International Crown, which will be closely tied to individual countries. [btw why “Crown”? it should be a Cup!]
Better question is, given the billions paid each cycle for olympic programming, ANY sport gets kicked out. baseball i understand--the IOC wanted the major leagues to shut down for two weeks, and the owners (and fans) said --sure! you guys at the IOC send us the billions we'd lose and we'd love to take a break in August.
but kicking out wrestling just confirms the greed and lack of concern for anything other than cash at the olympics.
Professional sports pretty much across the board have jumped the shark. Or maybe it's me. Skipped the Super Bowl. Skipped the Summer Games. Skipped all golf except the Ryder Cup and two of the four majors. Haven't watched basketball, baseball, hockey or tennis in at least a decade. The only sport on my television these days is soccer. I watched Spurs v. Newcastle on ESPN2 last weekend. After the match there was 20 minutes of analysis. All was well. Then they switched to one of their dozen shows dedicated to "American sports". Immediately it seemed I was listening to a high school cafeteria table full of slackers. The day FSC or Sky go all inner city G on me is the day I'm done with televised sport completely.
Any chance Paul's Par 3 (RIP) was located about 4100 S. 4800 W.? If so, that's where I first picked up a club. Probably closer to Montreal or Moscow rather than Mexico City though.