Baseball and Softball Torched by Olympic Committee
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The New York Times reported that baseball and softball will be left out of the 2012 Olympic Games. The sports needed a majority vote to stay an Olympic event. Baseball, having been surrounded by the steroids nonsense for what seems like forever, lost with a count of 54-50. Baseball does still, however, has the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The WBC was, in fact, more popular than Olympic Baseball ever was. Softball suffered a similar faith, as the board was split right down the middle at 52-52. Unfortunately, in the world of softball there is no greater honor than winning a gold medal for your country. People involved in either sport can begin lobbying to be reinstated for the 2016 Olympics in 2009. This is a very sad situation that speaks volumes about our culture. The Olympics used to mean so much more than it does today. In 1980, the country was immersed in a hockey game. The country was in a bad place with crippling gas shortages and an impending war looming. A bunch of college students, under coach Herb Brooks, beat men who had been playing together for years on Lake Placid. The victory has since been known as "The Miracle on Ice." These kids uplifted an entire nation by playing a simple game. Is that sentiment lost in today's society? Professionals have their NBA Title, the World Series, and Lord Stanley's Cup. Give the Olympics back to the kids. Let the kids, who play the game because they love it, captivate us again. The Olympics used to mean something before it was cheapened by the formation of so-called "Dream Teams" who rarely even live the dream. Let the amateurs play the game and let it be decided the way it was meant to be decided: by who wants it more... |
