You can only take so many swimming, track, and skiing events until they blend. Adding these unique sports that should be in the Olympics would give the viewer some excitement between individual medleys and the compromised judges.
1. The Innovative SlamBall
When you look back on the early aughts, some of it can feel like a fever dream. The television station TNN, which primarily played country music videos, ditched its old programming to tailor it to the coveted 18–34 male demographic. In 2002, the station followed its flagship wrestling program of WWE’s Monday Night Raw with the innovative SlamBall.
The game’s concept is in its name. It gave us plenty of dunking, acrobatics off a trampoline, and hard hits on people 10-plus feet in the air. A revitalization works for either the Winter or Summer Olympic Games, so let’s run it back.
2. I Got a Pickle
Pickleball is a sport that’s a hybrid of other court games. Competitors play on a small court comparable to a tennis or badminton court. The pickleball is like a ping pong ball, as it’s plastic, albeit much larger than a ping pong ball.
With tennis, ping pong, and badminton being in the Olympics, why isn’t pickleball? The biggest hurdle in its way is that the game isn’t a worldwide phenomenon. It’s a popular game in the States, but it doesn’t fit the requirements that the IOC set for including it.
3. Chess Boxing
“The Sweet Science” of boxing requires a profound strategy for targeted strikes on your combatant. Chess is akin to boxing because it’s the ultimate game for prognosticating a thorough, calculated attack. So, why not invent a sport that incorporates both activities?
A round in this sport consists of three minutes in the ring and four minutes in the chair. You can win by physically knocking out your opponent or metaphorically knocking them out with a checkmate. There isn’t anything more demeaning than taking a punch to the face, only to watch a rook snag your queen a few minutes later.
4. Dodgeball: A True Olympic Story
A sport that everyone can relate to is the beautiful game of dodgeball. It’s virtually impossible to go through elementary school without playing this on the playground or in gym class, so there surely isn’t a shortage of willing participants.
Either scattered or team dodgeball would be riveting television, even if there is only a gold medal at the end of the road instead of a $50,000 grand prize to save a gym from closing.
Including these unique sports in the Olympics can give the Games some much-needed pizzazz to accompany the more mundane sports. Plus, it gives the gifted athletes in these games a chance to show off on the world’s stage.
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