“IOC drops wrestling from 2020 Olympics”.
Which is like dropping bulls and clowns from rodeo, or bad vibrato from “American Idol.” The thing itself is changed. Fundamentally.
There’s a same-sex marriage correlation here, it occurs to me, but I’ll bracket that for the time being. Out of respect for the dead.
Am I wrong, totally off the mark, to think that wrestling is one of the original Olympic competitions – you know, like in Ancient Greece?
I was correct!
From Wikipedia :
china used bribe money for this they could have used to buy treasuries with
they’re getting pretty arrogant
But prancing around waving long ribbons? Doubled!…
Somewhere, an ancient Greek weeps.
Yeah, well, they still got that thing where they wave a ribbon on a stick around I bet. Nothing says athlete like waving a ribbon on a stick.
Yes Bob, but had the ancient Greeks known about roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and squash, they no doubt would have included those heroic tests of strength and agility too.
Wresting is out, rhythmic gymnastics (a.k.a. prissified stick-twiddling with a big-ass ribbon stuck to the end) is in?
Maybe they will replace wrestling with competitive Tweeting. Then you doubters will be eating your words…
The correct modern name for the form of wrestling in the Olympics is “Greco-Roman” wrestling. Which is obviously Euro-centric and had to be done away with.
In its place will be something associated with a different culture, in which competitors from places like Yemen and the Gaza Strip will have the advantage.
“The correct modern name for the form of wrestling in the Olympics is “Greco-Roman” wrestling.”
Up until now, both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling have been Olympic sports.
LBascom, to qualify for competitive Tweeting I think you need a minimum of three ironic piercings or tattoos.
Was the U.S. team winning too often or something?
So wrestling is out but Trampoline is in. Trampoline. That isn’t a sport, it’s a skill (like other circus act-type competitions – rhythmic gymnastics). What a joke!
And yeah, America dominates wrestling: “The loss of wrestling is a huge blow to the U.S., one of the most successful countries in Olympic wrestling, winning 124 medals.”
Absent wrestling, I’m not sure it’s actually “The Olympics” anymore, is it?
Freestyle is intolerable because it contains the word “free” and doesn’t refer to receiving the fruit of another’s labor through the use of government force.
Coming soon: Synchronized Cocksucking.
A long time ago I read a book called Peaceful Warrior, which was mostly new-age silliness that has of course since been made into a movie starring Nick Nolte.
Its author, Dan Millman, was world trampoline champion, which in my mind is just a step or two above world tetherball champion.
Sure, it’s probably an indication of athleticism. Still. All I keep thinking of is this.
Synchronized trampoline.
I am not making this up.
What?! Slart, I’ll have you know that I am the world tetherball champion!
Synchronized Trampoline? Oh, the silliness. Maybe next they’ll add Cheerleading or Aerobics- or is that too American?
Is it just me, or does it seem like the IOC keeps cancelling events which the U.S.A. is actually good at? Pshaw, that’s just crazy talk.
Speed knitting is the sport of the future. Bank on it.
In the sense that the Olympics are a wholly owned subsidiary of the NBC firehose of bullshit, this move stands to reason, or is merely of a piece.
Sad, in several senses of the word. One of the greatest individual-competition upsets in Olympic history happened in Greco-Roman wrestling: Rulon Gardner beating Alexander Karelin.
Karelin was such a heavy favorite that the head of the IOC was waiting on the floor with the gold to congratulate the great Russian in person.
Another contender: hot dog eating.
“There’s a same-sex marriage correlation here, it occurs to me, but I’ll bracket that for the time being.”
Nah. You’re thinking of cornhole. Anyway–is curling still in there? Nothing like watching one guy throw a tea kettle and another guy using a broom to NOT touch the damned thing. Whew! It always leaves me exhausted. AND fuckutterly bored.
Who are these guys?
Curling is an awesome game. I think you have to play it to appreciate it though.
And, I agree, it belongs in the Olympics about as much as bowling does…
Curling is pretty cool, being played on ice and all. I don’t understand it anymore than I do Cricket, but it looks like fun.
Curling is like shuffle board, billiards, and bowling, all combined into a team sport. The sweeping part is to help control the speed and curve put on the shot.
It’s pretty cool when you can put just enough weight and spin on your rock to curve around your own teams rock and knock the other teams rock off the score.
Plus, you can drink beers and smoke between shots!
What’s not to like? I miss ice skating and skiing now that I live in the Great Frontier.
Pitchers and catchers reported today, with workouts beginning tomorrow. Earl used to smoke in the runway, but waited until after the game to drink his beers.
Go to youtube and start typing “Rulon Gardner”. If you have autocomplete on, “Rulo” will get “Rulon Gardner vs. Alexander Karelin” as your top choice.
Yep: that big of a deal.
Jeff had a thread a while ago (a year?) about how he and Satch got to meet Rulon.
Pretty awesome.