someone please give a reason for this thought. I just don't see what's so wrong with golf being in the olympics other than the rationale of "I don't like golf."
I've always thought Golf should be in the Olympics. However, the pros should not play. For a pro golfer, a gold medal is nothing compared to a green jacket. I would enjoy watching the amateurs play. I've lost a lot of interest in the olympics in recent years. With all the steroids, pro athletes, scandals; it's just not what it used to be.
Rugby is huge in the rest of the world. There are powerhouses from every single continent. Don't assume it is not common just because ESPN USA didn't show their news on TV. Just search "Hong Kong Sevens" from youtube and you will see how much fun it is, both the games and the crowds. They choose the "mini" version because the games are played in a faster pace. Edit: Okay, when I tried to search a video of Hong Kong Sevens, this is what I found, kinda NSFW. <object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/sPKu8yoWih8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/sPKu8yoWih8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object> <object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/zQXES_x3xus&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/zQXES_x3xus&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>
Baseball is the second most popular sport in the world, and is the most popular sport in the Caribbean, Central America, and several Asian countries. It's exclusion is due entirely to the arrogant Euro-centrism of the IOC. The standard of popularity for Winter Olympic sports is much lower than Summer Olympic sports.
Golf definitely deserves to be in the Olympics. Can you guys give reasons as to why you don't think so?
I would love to see some stats to back up that, I am pretty certain baseball is NOT the 2nd most popular sport in the world, otherwise, why would they have taken it out? Only 8 countries even fielded baseball teams in the last olympics. Central and South American countries hardly even send athletes for the most part.