When the world reconvenes for the 2016 Olympics in a city yet to be named (although we know it will be named this fall in Copenhagen, so hey, that's something), sports fans can look forward to watching gold-medal pursuits from Tiger Woods and ... quick, anyone know a famous rugby player?
All right, so Thursday's International Olympic Committee announcement that golf and rugby would be recommended for inclusion in 2016 wasn't a complete win for the American medal count. Al Michaels can forget about miracles if we win gold in rugby; it'll be time to start asking if we believe in Armageddon. But SportsNation has some strong opinions about the two (likely) newest sports.
- 62 percent of voters say Olympic rugby will increase their interest at least a little.
- 68 percent of voters believe Tiger Woods had a lot to do with golf's Olympic inclusion.
- SportsNation split down the middle on the best format for contesting golf.
- It's a distant second, but voters say Olympics would rank No. 2 behind Masters.
Of course, including golf and rugby means excluding other sports, and "faster, higher, stronger" aren't any of the adjectives coming out of the mouths of softball fans when it comes to the IOC these days. And SportsNation is there with them. By nearly a nine-to-one ratio, voters would prefer to see softball's return than women's golf. And a strong majority think the sport of Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman, Jessica Mendoza and others deserves to be in the Olympics.
- Beyond the Nation: Debating the case for golf vs. softball in the Olympics.
- Groups: Rugby Focus | Club Tiger | Golf. | The Softball Spot
“Rugby is more worldwide than baseball. Every continent plays rugby. Only the United States, Caribbean and Japan care about baseball. Am I missing something here?
” -- jrwambach1983
“Sports like baseball, basketball, soccer, and even my beloved hockey have no business being in the Olympics. Every single one of those sports has a 'World Cup' and their own individual professional leagues where the talent and competition is above anything seen at the Olympics. And before you get all over me for USA-USSR, remember this: that was before Russians played in the NHL and when the American squad was all amateurs and college players. That is why is was so unbelievably exciting. If that took place today, people would shrug and say, "I already saw Crosby beat Ovechkin in the Stanley Cup playoffs."
” -- borracho_trokini
“Golf is not a sport. It's a leisure activity. It should not be at the Olympics. I don't know much about rugby, and don't care one way or the other. EVERYONE plays baseball. It used to be an Olympic sport. I don't see why it isn't one now and can't believe they didn't add it. Rhythmic gymnastics is in the Olympics, and baseball isn't
” -- sportyguyusa
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