Nonrevenue college teams are now dubbed “Olympic” sports. That categorization is part participation trophy and part reality.
Aside from parents and friends, nobody watches swimming, rowing, water polo or gymnastics except for two weeks every four years. The Olympics somehow makes us love 100-meter runners, young women who vault and volleyball without the sand.
How is that possible?
Americans love pro teams and college football and basketball. There’s little room in the sports calendar for cycling, badminton, weightlifting and handball, much less on TV — unless you have four-digit stations.
But Americans soon will watch athletes they have never heard of and rejoice in their victories. At any other time, they would be clicking the remote.
The D.C. area will send a fair number of athletes to the games. Bethesda swimmer Katie Ledecky is just 15 years old and one of the big names in the pool along with Kate Ziegler of Great Falls. Basketball includes D.C. native Kevin Durant and Wizards center Nene, who’s playing for Brazil. Terrence Jennings of Alexandria will compete in taekwondo, Potomac’s David Banks in rowing and Bethesda’s Julie Zetlin in rhythmic gymnastics.
Other than the basketball players, you would never hear of these athletes, as good as they are, without the Olympics.
Indeed, the pro sports of basketball, soccer and tennis will gain a lion’s share of the prime-time play along with swimming, gymnastics and track and field. Americans love not only winning but dominating, and the latest version of Team USA certainly will win a gold medal in basketball. It won’t be the lopsided 136-57 games of a few decades ago, but nobody abroad can shut down Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Durant. Indeed, opposing players might ask for autographs.
Soccer is not necessarily big among Americans, but we have a pro league and enough followers to turn the Olympics into World Cup Lite. Too bad there’s not a RedZone channel for soccer that just shows the goals, but Andres Cantor would probably have to yell “Goooaalll” for 30 minutes before someone else scored. Seriously, they could play with a flaming ball, and many Americans wouldn’t watch, especially since the U.S. men’s team didn’t make the games.
Tennis is still a niche sport even if it’s being played at Wimbledon. Whether Serena and Venus Williams can dominate will draw some interest.
Remember when Olympic boxing produced the next pro champions? Then again, remember when boxing was important? It went the way of horse racing and wrestling.
Olympic.org lists track and field as “athletics.” Athletics? If you saw someone in a field throwing a hammer or javelin, you might call the cops.
But track is the best of these sports to watch. Seeing someone run 100 meters like a lightning bolt is impressive. So is someone covering 26.2 miles in nearly two hours. The pole vault is crazy. What ancient need created that sport — jumping over a lion’s pit in the Coliseum?
It’s a fine show beginning July 27. For 16 days, Americans will pause for their lesser-known athletes and then go right into the NFL preseason.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more on Twitter @Snide_Remarks or email [email protected].
