The Olympics

[RetiredAt63]

Skateboarding (we have snowboarding in the winter Olympics and it is great), sport climbing, and surfing are good with me.  Karate as well, we have judo already.

Baseball/softball, meh.  Like golf. I am really having trouble wrapping my mind around golf as an Olympic sport.  I know people complain about curling as an Olympic winter sport, but really it meets requirements, the curlers are fit, throwing a rock and sweeping it takes incredible finesse at that level, plus not falling on the ice while sweeping at speed.  And not judged, totally scorable.
 
If the IOC doesn't start pruning a bit, the games are going to be even more bloated than they are already.  Every host seems to add stuff, no-one drops stuff.  One reason I like watching the Olympics is that there are sports there that are not just more of the commercial sports channel offerings.

LeRainDrop, I am sure Brazilians care about that incident, we just don't have many posting here - which is why someone from Brazil might be equally interested in a separate thread.  And is your screen name any connection to this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w332Rtag1Bs 

[forummm]

If the IOC doesn't start pruning a bit, the games are going to be even more bloated than they are already.  Every host seems to add stuff, no-one drops stuff. 

A number of sports have been dropped over the years. Croquet, cricket, Jeu de Paume, pelota, polo, roque, rackets, tug-of-war, lacrosse, baseball, softball, and motor boating. And some uncommon events in other sports like the standing high jump, underwater swimming, dueling pistols, etc.

[LeRainDrop]

. . . Baseball/softball, meh.  Like golf. I am really having trouble wrapping my mind around golf as an Olympic sport. . . .

I agree with you.  I can't understand golf as an Olympic sport either.  As for baseball, I have my favorite MLB team that I generally follow, having grown up going to some games with my family and watching some others on TV, but I don't usually care much for watching other teams play on TV.

 
LeRainDrop, . . . And is your screen name any connection to this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w332Rtag1Bs 

No, I can't claim any connection.  I actually don't even speak French, let alone the language that the people in India were speaking.  I'm told that the "le" at the beginning of my screen name is masculine French, but I'm actually a woman, so maybe I need to rename myself :-)

A number of sports have been dropped over the years. Croquet, cricket, Jeu de Paume, pelota, polo, roque, rackets, tug-of-war, lacrosse, baseball, softball, and motor boating. . . .

But they are putting baseball and softball back into the line-up for Tokyo.  Where else should they cut?  I kind of think basketball -- then again, that's just never been a sport of interest to me, though it obviously is to many other people.

[RetiredAt63]

But they are putting baseball and softball back into the line-up for Tokyo.  Where else should they cut?  I kind of think basketball -- then again, that's just never been a sport of interest to me, though it obviously is to many other people.

To veer a bit off topic, rain drop in French is goutte de pluie and it is a feminine noun (don't ask, I don't know why every French noun has to have gender, why are sailboats she?).  So LaRainDrop would be more accurate - but then UneGoutteDePluie would be even more accurate   ;- )

Since ForumMM listed a bunch that have been cut - too bad some are coming back.  I certainly don't ask for things that are fun to watch, sailing is a bunch of boats out on the water, but I think that is certainly a valid sport. 

I didn't grow up on professional sports much (hockey [Les Habs] is the local religion here, followed by Canadian football) and when the Expos were sold down the river I renounced professional baseball.

[GuitarStv]

I'll be interested to see the Karate matches in Japan.  I wonder what set of rules they'll go with . . . there are an awful lot of different types and federations of Karate.

[Jack]

If the IOC doesn't start pruning a bit, the games are going to be even more bloated than they are already.  Every host seems to add stuff, no-one drops stuff. 

A number of sports have been dropped over the years. Croquet, cricket, Jeu de Paume, pelota, polo, roque, rackets, tug-of-war, lacrosse, baseball, softball, and motor boating. And some uncommon events in other sports like the standing high jump, underwater swimming, dueling pistols, etc.

Well damn, I'd like to see some of those! (Especially dueling pistols, especially if it were implemented as some sort of airsoft/paintball thing so the opponents could actually shoot at each other instead of at targets.) I also think it would be cool to bring back the rope climb, but not as it's own event -- maybe added to the pentathlon or decathlon instead.