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By BEN MCCARTY
News staff writer
August 16, 2008
It is a routine that has happened several times in the last
week.
I brush my teeth, get ready to climb into bed, and go to switch
off the television.
But wait, I can’t go to sleep! I might miss Michael Phelps
swimming in a preliminary race, or getting to see if an American
male gymnast can nail his routine on the uneven bars to get his
team a bronze medal.
It seems every four years I am turned into some sort of junkie
who will forgo sleep to see who wins the synchronized diving
competition.
Joe Posnanski of the Kansas City Star came up with an
interesting idea earlier this week: Any sport that has a
championship bigger than the Olympics should not be in the
Olympics. I’m inclined to agree with him.
Every year tennis has multiple championships. Baseball has the
World Series, major championships in South America, the
Caribbean and Japan and the World Baseball classic. Basketball
has NBA and Euroleague Finals. Soccer has the World Cup every
four years, which is a significantly bigger deal than the
Olympics.
For many of the major sports, competing in the Olympics often
seems to be an inconvenience. Just look at the effort it takes
for USA basketball to get some NBA players to come out for the
U.S. National team. Every four years players beg off the
part-time commitment and teams worry that their star athlete
will get hurt.
Why send athletes who spend a month training for the Olympics
when there are plenty more who are willing to commit to four
years of preparing for their sport’s one big moment?
The Olympics are really a time to shine for the sports that are
lucky to get recognized during the intervening years.
Don’t spend much time watching team archery? Neither do I, but I
couldn’t pull myself away from NBC.com’s feed of the event the
other night.
Next time I have the chance to watch Olympic basketball or
badminton, I’m probably going to pick the badminton.
And that is the only time over the next four years you will hear
me say that. |
