Sports you feel should be eliminated from the Olympics (basketball, baseball, hockey)

[BVitamin]

Swimming - 17 events just for swimming, 34 for both men and women

100m backstroke
100m breaststroke
100m butterfly
100m freestyle
1500m freestyle
200m backstroke
200m breaststroke
200m butterfly
200m freestyle
200m individual medley
400m freestyle
400m individual medley
4x100m freestyle relay
4x100m medley relay
4x200m freestyle relay
50m freestyle
marathon 10km

I don't watch archery but can you imagine if they had archery events for each increment of distance? Or for sailing, shooting? Oh let's take out some of the track events too. And let's free the horses too.

[botticelli]

Originally Posted by jaypee

Shooting/Archery, Table Tennis -- make them co-ed

Shooting/archery, maybe, no way for table tennis.
A guy ranked number 10 can beat the number 1 female player easily, which means the women will never have a chance of winning, just like tennis.

[North Beach Person]

Anything the US doesn't get gold medals for.

[onceahogalwaysahog]

soccer, the less the better

[jaypee]

Originally Posted by botticelli

Shooting/archery, maybe, no way for table tennis.
A guy ranked number 10 can beat the number 1 female player easily, which means the women will never have a chance of winning, just like tennis.

You think so? I play table tennis competitively and found that it's 50-50 physical versus mental acuity and the physical part is more conditioning an skill rather than athleticism. I've also lost to many women players, lol.

[jaypee]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

Anything the US doesn't get gold medals for.

Maybe they should rename it from the Olympic Games to the US Invitational?

[jaypee]

Originally Posted by Ghengis

don't hold your breath there tenderfoot, have you ever noticed the humans riding those horses? Olympics after all have always been about competition and nothing says competition like a good war. That's why the long time events mimic war games and battles.

If so, what happened to these events :

100m Trench Digging
IED disarming
10km Equipment Humping
50m Axe Throwing

[botticelli]

Originally Posted by jaypee

You think so? I play table tennis competitively and found that it's 50-50 physical versus mental acuity and the physical part is more conditioning an skill rather than athleticism. I've also lost to many women players, lol.

But you are not top ranked professional player.

As far as I know, the No. 1 Chinese female player only gets a slim chance of winning a top 10-20 male player. They use male players to practice with the women to improve the skills of the latter. The difference is significant believe it or not.

[Avondrood]

Originally Posted by onceahogalwaysahog

soccer, the less the better

Despite being an avid soccer fan, I must agree with you. No soccer fan I know of really cares about Olympic soccer, especially since it's the only sport where not the best players compete. In all the other Olympic competitions, the best athletes contend for the gold medals, in soccer it's mostly youth players...

[CraigCreek]

Well, as a Kentuckian, I have to disagree strongly about eliminating equestrian events. The World Equestrian Games were held at the Kentucky Horse Park near Lexington a couple of years ago, and I was fortunate enough to attend several of the events. Folks, equestrian events can include far more than is evident in the Olympics and it's all extremely challenging for both horses and riders. It requires both to be in prime physical condition, to have rapid-fire reflexes and balance, an ability to look ahead and act on it, plus non-verbal communication and respect - ideally, not just respect but partnership - between species. Achieving this requires a major commitment of time, practice and dedication.

Attend a good competitive horse show in person, sit near the rail, and watch what's going on closely. If you can, talk with some of the competitors and/or trainers. It's impressive, highly demanding, worthy of major respect, and certainly belongs in the Olympics.