OT: Wrestling Reinstated in Olympics

[RockyMTblue2]

Apparently baseball/softball, squash, and wrestling were put to a vote and wrestling won. Since it was very much a part of the earliest games I am glad to see it back.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/24009517

Looking at some back stories I see that the bake off originally had 8 "sports", one being wake boarding! Politics, other forms of influence (including the wrong kind), TV viewership and worldwide participation impact the decisions. It seems rather arbitrary when a popular sport (baseball/softball) bites the dust and tiny, niche activities (archery in varying forms and Nordic biatholon, for example) survive.

 

[meyers7]

Excellent!!!!

 

[ThisJustIn]

Damn. no softball? damn

 

[alexrgct]

Damn. no softball? damn

Agreed. Wanted softball back.

But the Olympics without wrestling just didn't make any sense. It's one I the canonical Olympic sports.

 

[Icebear]

Damn. no softball? damn

Amen.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

. . . the Olympics without wrestling just didn't make any sense. It's one I the canonical Olympic sports . . .

Agreed. To dump an olympic sport that goes back to 776 B.C. (or whenever it was) just because it
doesn't get great TV ratings would have been unbelievably crass - even for the olympic poo-bahs.

I know the Olympics are mostly about money, but surely tradition must count for something.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Amen.

yah, 'cause the women who play tennis "need" the Olympics. As do the women who play golf.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Agreed. To dump an olympic sport that goes back to 776 B.C. (or whenever it was) just because it
doesn't get great TV ratings would have been unbelievably crass - even for the olympic poo-bahs.

I know the Olympics are mostly about money, but surely tradition must count for something.

But the wrestling in the Greek Olympics was way different than what we do nowadays, as the rules were basically anything goes, and losers often died or were maimed, blinded, etc. Sometimes the opponents for especially feared champions just ran way. May sound a little like what goes on in WCBB games, but generally the referees blow the whistle before too many players get their spines rearranged.

I don't think we want real old-style Olympic wrestling back, but I suppose some of the viewers would like to have the naked guys running with a bronze shield to be put back in. I'm not really sure what happened for events in the women's area of the old Olympics, though reportedly there were some foot races and stuff, but maybe some type of discus toss through a rim set at 10' would give some of the Huskies a chance to pick up another gold.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Citius, Altius, Fortius

Any competition whose champion is decided by judges votes is a debasement of the Olympics in my opinion.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Citius, Altius, Fortius

Any competition whose champion is decided by judges votes is a debasement of the Olympics in my opinion.

I thought wrestling was decided by the "script" that comes out of Vince McMahon's office.
I am looking forward to seeing the Rock, Cena and crew down in Rio.