Olympic fever has spread from the United States to Equatorial Guinea, from Great Britain to Bahrain. Athletes from 204 nations will prove medal-hungry in 36 different sports, and for 17 days the world will be captured by the unity and togetherness the Summer Games create once every four years.
As enticing and addicting as the Olympics can get, a few events are less worthy of space on your DVR.
Men’s soccer
The Olympics, which strive to collect the world’s premier athletes in just about every sport, fall short when it comes to men’s soccer. In 1992, the Olympic committee implemented a rule stating that nations will only be allowed three players older than 23 years of age. As a result, most teams are hesitant when assembling their Olympic squad and think twice before sending three of their best players to a tournament that means virtually nothing to international soccer as a whole.
Americans who force themselves to watch soccer once every two years during the World Cup and Summer Olympics shouldn’t fret because the Yanks didn’t qualify this time around. For those itching to watch the beautiful game, check out the women’s squad, which will undoubtedly be the gold medal favorites. And if you insist on scouting the globe’s youth male hopefuls, I recommend the Argentinian team.
Basketball
While Olympic soccer fails to showcase the world’s most competitive players, the U.S. men’s and women’s basketball teams have consistently proven they are far too competitive for the rest of the world. The NBA and WNBA All-Star games are annual events but when Kevin Durant, Candace Parker and Kobe Bryant put on the red, white and blue, the ensuing events are nothing short of an All-Star game.
If you enjoy watching the NBA’s best lob alley-oops to one another en route to 50-point blowouts against countries that are lucky if they can field a few NBA bench players, Olympic basketball may be for you. If not, I can save you the trouble and guarantee that both men’s and women’s teams will strike gold.
In addition, most fans are accustomed to the NBA style, and won’t familiarize with the playing style of other nations. Bigs that sit around the perimeter? Certainly a “foreign” concept.
Race Walking (Track and Field)
Possibly the most awkward sport known to man, race walking has appeared in every Olympic Games since 1904, and I’m sure I’m not the only one still wondering why. If you’ve never had the opportunity to watch Olympic race walking, you should be grateful. Picture a cluster of athletes speed walking amongst each other for 50 kilometers. The majority of finishers complete the course in more than four hours and the Olympic record was set in 2008 when Alex Schwazer of Italy finished in 3:37.09.
The most confusing aspect of the sport is how officials distinguish between speed walking and light jogging. It’s not uncommon for some of these athletes to break into what seems to be a light jog. Either way, it’s four hours that are not worth your time. Olympic track and field offers so much more to fans, seemingly too much at times, so tune into the 100-meter dash or decathlon instead.
Handball
Unfamiliar with handball? Don’t worry, the majority of Americans are. Why? Because handball is to the United States as American football is to India.
Type American handball into Wikipedia and the search engine will direct you to a rare form of the game featured in the Olympics. Furthermore, it is one of the few sports that the U.S. will not compete in this summer. In fact, nine of the 12 men’s team handball participants are European, with the exception of Argentina, South Korea and Tunisia. The last time Americans qualified for team handball at the summer games was in 1996, when they finished ninth with a 1-4 overall record. Should I even mention the fact that we qualified only because we were the hosts? If you happen to be an avid American handball fan, surely the Olympics will provide the best opportunity to watch the sport played at its highest level. Since most Americans aren’t, learning the rules and acquiring a passion for a sport the U.S. doesn’t take seriously seems wasteful.
Let’s not forget that the Summer Olympic aren’t an annual event. It would be a shame to skip out on the spectacles that are Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt because we decided to watch Schwazer try and break his own world record. For Olympic fanatics who demand on taking in all 26 sports offered, go with basketball and soccer before handball and race walking.