By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Sports Editor
One of the coolest things about the Olympics is that you see sports you would only consider watching, well, every four years.
There are cool ones like the steeplechase, javlin throwing, the pole vault, shot put, weight lifting (I have a friend who has attended many Summer Olympic Games and this was his favorite sport to watch in person) and the cycling track
There are also super-exciting ones like the quick dashes in track and field and the dramatic swimming events, as well as grueling ones like the triathlon and distance races.
That being said, there some really dumb ones too. Here are the absolute worst, not-worth-watching and dumbest sports in the Summer Olympics.
Artistic Swimming. Once known as Synchronized Swimming it was never highly regarded among those in the swimming profession and it just looks silly as an Olympic sport.
Break Dancing. This is a fad, not an Olympic sport.
Field Hockey. I realize it’s a regional collegiate sport in the States but it has no place in the Olympics. Watching it is like seeing a bunch of people hunched over chasing a ball with what appears to be a Hai Alai stick in their hand.
Handball. The handball that I know involves playing on a small court where quick movements and physical endurance are the keys to winning. It’s essentially racquetball without the racket. This version involves several players in a kind of combination field hockey/basketball something in which the players sometimes dribble the ball and sometimes they don’t, they throw a small ball at a net and, well, it’s just plain dumb. They give Olympic medals for this thing!?
3-on-3 Basketball. It works on the playground but not in the Olympics.
Trampoline. Okay this one really irks me. I mean here we have the Olympics where athletes in triathalons and marathons are collapsing at the finish line from fatigue, swimmers and track runners are gasping for air after physically exhausting races, weight lifters are trying not to buckle under the weight of holding hundreds of pounds over their head and these people get a gold medal for jumping on a trampoline. Not fair.
Golf & Tennis In The Olympics
I flat out to refuse to watch these everyday sports involving professional players: golf and tennis. What’s the difference in seeing the same players in the Olympics as opposed to a regular tennis or golf tournament? In those sports, the only time the casual observer tunes in are for the majors and the Olympics is simply an add-on that has no appeal.