OT: Wrestling out of the Olympics...yikes!

[Blakeon18]

Apparently it will be eliminated after 2016 unless the IOC changes its mind.
I had a couple of roommates in college who were on the wrestling team and I became a mild fan of the sport. This decision is awful....as much as I love golf [in starting in Rio] there is no way golf should be an Olympic sport and wrestling not. From morning articles I gather the wrestling community is angry and stunned and prepared to go to the mat [!] to reverse the call.

Maybe the IOC needs to be visited by Haystack Calhoun or Jimmy Superfly Snuka or the Captain[ Lou Albano]....they would knock some sense into their heads.

 

[Icebear]

There should be a commitment at the Olympics to maintain the classical Olympic sports including wrestling, track and field, archery, etc. These sports are the entire reason that the Olympics exist in any form. Removing wrestling would be an unforgiveable sin. The present trend towards current populist sports probably dictates that wrestling and boxing should be replaced with UFC or MMA cage events.

 

[Sonny44]

No, they have have to keep real sports like synchronized swimming, pairs diving and gymnastic dancing or whatever it's called.
We are a wrestling family, won't watch the 0lympics anymore. Most of what we were watching anyway was just a hope to get a glimpse of the wrestling between the other garbage.

 

[Shenandoah]

It's all about the money. Golf and Tennis (another sport that should not be in the Olympics) are big dollar sports, Wrestling is not. Terrible decision....

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Of course wrestling was a core event of the historic Greek games. IOC is a joke. I propose that the Olympics become 20 days of opening and closing ceremonies, with the IOC selling each event to the highest bidder.

 

[CTyankee]

Apparently it will be eliminated after 2016 unless the IOC changes its mind.
I had a couple of roommates in college who were on the wrestling team and I became a mild fan of the sport. This decision is awful....as much as I love golf [in starting in Rio] there is no way golf should be an Olympic sport and wrestling not. From morning articles I gather the wrestling community is angry and stunned and prepared to go to the mat [!] to reverse the call.

Maybe the IOC needs to be visited by Haystack Calhoun or Jimmy Superfly Snuka or the Captain[ Lou Albano]....they would knock some sense into their heads.

Haven't seen the article... Does this cover both types of wrestling, freestyle and Greco-Roman, or only one type???

This is awful... Wrestling was/is the foundation of the Olympics... What's next? To eliminate the marathon???

 

[VAMike23]

What makes this worse is that wrestling is not a particularly high-cost sport for them to keep in the fold.

It shouldn't be that expensive for the IOC or the countries around the world to manage wrestling as a sport, provide facilities, coaching, etc., and it certainly does not require construction of big, fancy special-purpose venues for the host city every four years. You can have wrestling matches in a lot of different kinds of gyms or arenas.

I fully agree that every effort should be made to keep the Olympics' classical traditions alive, unless and until they become completely outdated or archaic. Wrestling is neither.

 

[Shenandoah]

Haven't seen the article... Does this cover both types of wrestling, freestyle and Greco-Roman, or only one type???

This is awful... Wrestling was/is the foundation of the Olympics... What's next? To eliminate the marathon???

Both Freestyle and Greco-Roman

 

[VAMike23]

Haven't seen the article... Does this cover both types of wrestling, freestyle and Greco-Roman, or only one type???

This is awful... Wrestling was/is the foundation of the Olympics... What's next? To eliminate the marathon???

Both freestyle and GR are to be eliminated.

It appears that the IOC is taking a hard line on its self-imposed 25 sport limit, and making some fooling $%*@#! decisions as a result.

 

[meyers7]

I agree, wrestling should be one of the last things cut. Completely idiotic.

 

[ThisJustIn]

It's Title IX's fault.....

 

[boontonbomber]

there has already been quite a backlash. i expect that they will not follow through with it.

 

[alexrgct]

Hell, bring in Kurt Angle. He'll bust some heads.

Yes, this would be a profoundly stupid decision.

 

[Icebear]

Dump gholf and tennis and get back to the traditional sports.

 

[diggerfoot]

Juxtapose this news with the men's win last night, heralded by the announcers for being "pure" in how the team is mainly motivated in how they are playing for each other. In contrast, understanding what motivates a decision like dropping wrestling decreases my already waning interest in the Olympics further. I suppose other people are watching, or this would not happen.

However, either people no longer watch sports for the reasons I used to love watching sports (and still do with teams like Auriemma's and now Ollie's); or the return from people watching sports with that motivation does not satisfy sponsors, so they program and market to nurture a different type of interest in sports. I suspect the latter as a stronger force.

 

[EricLA]

Profoundly stupid. So sports like Synchronized swimming and badmitten and ping pong are Olympic sports, but wrestling are not? If wrestling goes, they might as well dump boxing as well. i honestly can't believe that SS, badmitten, or PP are considered Olympic sports but wrestling is not. Let's hope they change their mind...

 

[ThisJustIn]

It would be interesting to drill down as to what (and why) we think certain Olympic sports are Olympic and others are not. It goes beyond "there's a professional venue for the athletes." Every athlete who aspires to the "elite" level needs sponsors. So, why do we care if there are elites? Why aren't we more concerned with increased access to a variety of sports for as many folks as possible?

Jess wunderin'

 

[meganmatthews]

No big deal Wrestling is fake anyway.

 

[meyers7]

Christine Brennan's take

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...s-fees-dropping-sports-jacques-rogge/1917335/