The Olympics have sucked for a decade now. It’s not all COVID’s fault.
The two Summer Olympics haven’t fared much better. The 2016
Rio games were – tell me if this is a theme? – marred by a corrupt government
and the painful sight of so many empty seats during so many big events. The
2020 Tokyo Olympics were completely destroyed by COVID-19, but also marred by
NBC’s insistence on using the Games to push its awful, failing Peacock
streaming service on an unsuspecting public.
It’s now been a full decade since the Olympics have felt
like the Olympics of my youth when the Games transcended sport and politics to
become the defining global gathering every two years. The 1980s, 1990s, and the
2000s were defined by their Olympic moments. You just have to say names and the
images appear. Carl Lewis. Michael Johnson. Kerri Strug. Michael Phelps. Sidney
Crosby. Nancy Kerrigan.
The IOC has seemingly fixed one of the main problems moving
forward with the host sites. We are mercifully free of communist or
authoritarian hosts through at least 2028, and it looks very likely the 2030
Winter Olympics will head to either Vancouver or Salt Lake City. The IOC’s
decision to move to countries with infrastructure in place has removed the
hurdle of non-corrupt countries hosting, as the next two Summer Olympics in
Paris and Los Angeles should have spectacular hosts.
Still, that isn’t the only problem. The biggest problem for
the Olympics is its diminished status on the sporting calendar. For years, the
Olympics stood out as one of the few times that the world stopped to watch
sports 24 hours a day. Today, that happens every day. I can watch global sports
on a literal daily basis through a basic cable subscription.
The IOC has responded in recent years by trying to get
“cooler” and “hipper” by adding sports they think will appeal to a younger
generation. While some have undoubtedly worked, like snowboarding and beach
volleyball, the jury is very much out on others. Did skateboarding really need
to be an Olympic sport? Will the inclusion of breakdancing suddenly turn
thousands of teens into Olympic fans?
Instead, the IOC needs to look inward into the current state of the Olympic Games and make big changes to the sports involved, when they are
played, and how they are played, to maximize interest. The old thinking is what
has the Olympics mired in a decade-long slump. It’s time to think outside of
the box.
There are so many sports on television every day that they
all run together. This wasn’t always the case, and it certainly wasn’t always
the case for the Olympics. For example, I can still close my eyes and picture
the diving competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics. I can’t tell who won or
what happened. But I remember the stunning visual of an outdoor diving board
with the city and countryside in the background. It was absolutely
breathtaking.
Now, not every sport is conducive to this. But many are.
Beach volleyball, for one, is a great example. It could be played anywhere in a
city, yet it looks like any beach anywhere on the world because the Olympics
insists on building a big temporary stadium. Well, what if the backdrop for
that in 2024 was the Eiffel Tower in Paris? Archery is another sport that could
be held anywhere. Imagine what the backdrop could be in Paris or Los Angeles.
2) Move Men’s Ice Hockey to the Summer Olympics
I’m hardly the first, nor will I be the last, to make this
very basic, obvious suggestion. The Men’s Ice Hockey tournament with NHL players involved may be the pinnacle of Olympic competition. The fact it hasn’t
happened in eight years is a crime against sports. One of the biggest hang-ups
is the timing. This should not be an issue. Move the tournament to the summer
and forget about whether it “fits” into the theme or not. It’s still the
Olympics. People will still watch.
And if they’re worried about the imbalance between the two
Games, I’ve got plenty of ideas…
3) Move Indoor Volleyball and Boxing to the Winter Olympics
These are two of my favorite Summer Olympic sports to watch,
and both are completely and totally overshadowed. The Summer Olympics will
always be dominated by swimming in week one and track in week two. That’s a
good thing! However, those two sports take up so much of the oxygen that other
sports get left behind, and these are two of the most prominent.
Moving these two sports to the Winter Olympics would also
help the Winter Games create the same type of Olympic village spirit that the
Summer Games have through a central location of arenas.
Furthermore, boxing as a sport could benefit greatly from a
shift to earlier in the calendar year, since so many fighters turn pro coming
out of the Olympics, and summer is a better time to begin their pro careers
than the fall.
4) Move Women’s Basketball to the Winter Olympics
For better or worse, women’s pro basketball is now a summer
sport in the United States. And it’s really stupid to see the WNBA have to take
a break – or take no break at all – for the Olympics. It’s the NHL decision,
but in reverse.
Additionally, moving it to the Winter Olympics would prevent
the Women’s game from being overshadowed by the Men’s game, similar to how
women’s hockey is overshadowed when the NHL players participate. The Winter
Olympics could get both women’s tournaments and provide them with their own
spotlight – the hockey and basketball worlds will both focus on only the women
during these two weeks.
Can you tell the Winter Olympics suffer from an imbalance?
Outside of skiing and figure skating, the Games are painfully lacking in sports
that feature true international stars. Not that indoor track carries the same
cache as outdoor track, it does feature stars and is a staple of the winter sports calendar in the United States and Europe.
It also adds another needed arena sport to the Winter Olympics
and opens interest in many countries that currently do not care at all about
them. The United Kingdom and Jamaica, to name two, are countries that have
great track athletes and zero interest in the Winter Games.
6) Add Bowling to the Winter Olympics
Bowling keeps trying to get added to the Summer Olympics and
the IOC keeps saying “no” in favor of “sports” like breakdancing in order to
appeal to a younger generation. It’s misguided. Besides, bowling should be in
the Winter Olympics!
Not only is bowling a sport that many people play, but it’s
also a sport that would instantly recognize an Olympic tournament as one of its
biggest, ensuring all of the biggest names and stars would play. It’s also a
surprisingly fun sport to watch on television, especially if there’s a big
crowd involved. Give it a chance.
7) Make Soccer a True U-23 Tournament
The soccer format for the Summer Olympics have never made
sense to me. The Women’s tournament is an open senior competition, but the
Men’s tournament is an Under-23 tournament, except for three exemptions. Huh?
How does this make sense? It’s time to fix this, and essentially turn the
Olympics in to an Under-23 World Cup.
For the men, this will give some legitimacy to a tournament
that too many countries currently ignore. For the women, it will be an
opportunity to give younger players a chance at Olympic glory. I love the U.S.
Women’s National Team, but we don’t need the same players showing up for
decades. There’s a World Cup for that. Give each player one - maybe two -
chances at Olympic glory, and watch the intensity rise even further.
8) Change the Format for Olympic Golf to the NCAA Format
I love that golf is in the Olympics. I hate that it’s the
same old 72-hour stroke play tournament. No one wants that. Too many top
players skip, and you should never have anyone willing to skip the Olympics.
Play a 54-hole stroke play tournament to determine the
individual medalists. As part of those 54 holes, there will be 8 to 12
countries that have four members. Add up those scores over the three rounds and
the top four teams advance to the medal round. Pick three of the four to play
matches against each other, play a semifinal round in the morning and the
gold/bronze medal matches in afternoon.
At most, a player will play five rounds instead of four. And
it will still be completed in the same four-day span like a regular tournament,
to not put too much stress on the athletes. Do it for the men and women, and
let’s have some fun.
9) Add a Team Tennis Competition for Olympic Tennis
I love that tennis is in the Olympics. I hate that it’s the
same as a regular tournament. What’s the point? Tennis has four major
tournaments every year, which are called Grand Slams, and are far more
important.
I don’t mind if they keep the singles and doubles tournament
but pare the field in half – 32 in the singles, 16 teams in the doubles. But
once those tournaments conclude, and quicker, establish a Team Tennis formatfor the top 8 countries to determine a team gold medal. In short, they could
basically copy what has worked so well for figure skating, and still keep the
entire tournament to a week so the top players aren’t overloaded.
10) Schedule Around the Host City; Not NBC
This may take care of itself soon with host countries in
better time zones, but I absolutely loathe how the Olympics are scheduled
around NBC’s TV deal. I understand why, since they’re paying so much to air the
Games, but it ruins the flow of a typical Olympic day. It also led to real
confusion during the last three Olympics when primetime was split between live
coverage and coverage of events that had happened 20 hours previously.
Build each day’s schedule like you would a pro wrestling or
boxing card – the main event goes on last, and the undercard builds up to the
big finale. Each day should be treated like the special spectacle it should be.
Besides, NBC’s primetime window is not made for watching
sports live. It’s for the packaged coverage of events that tug on heart strings
and plays to the emotion of non-sports fans. Use the day to build up to that
crescendo.
As NBC has proven with its figure skating coverage – some
people will watch it live in the morning, while others will watch it on tape
delay. The Olympics does not need to sacrifice its local excitement for one TV
partner.
Let the Olympics shine, and NBC will get better ratings
because of it.
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