Thursday, August 14, 2008
Cutting out the Olympics fat, Part III
Ben responds to my earlier post on what Olympic sports I'd like to see cut:
Update -- 8.14.08 - From Andre: "How about swimming events by distance alone? Hey, if you want to backstroke 800 meters, be my guest, but you're not going to win. ... The butterfly is a sack race with water."
Ben responds to my earlier post on what Olympic sports I'd like to see cut:
I'm all for reducing the number of sports and increasing the focus on track and field, but I would keep badminton and field hockey on the grounds that they are big sports in South Asia and Southeast Asia.But keeping soccer, baseball and tennis could also be defended on the grounds they're big elsewhere. I'd still cut badminton and field hockey. ... I like the small-country idea. Every eight years, I'd hold the games in Athens, then award the games to other cities/countries in alternate years. It'd reduce the absurd costs to a degree.
I think it would also be a good idea to hold Olympic games in small countries that might be less likely to exploit the games to prove national greatness: how about Denmark and Cost Rica for the next two Olympics? They could draw on the advertising revenue to fund site construction where necessary and with smaller games it would be more feasible to hold the games in smaller countries.
Update -- 8.14.08 - From Andre: "How about swimming events by distance alone? Hey, if you want to backstroke 800 meters, be my guest, but you're not going to win. ... The butterfly is a sack race with water."
