6 Goofy-Looking Olympic Sports You Should Care About

One of the coolest things about the Olympics is when you discover and then become a rabid fan of a sport you’d never heard of or payed much attention to previously. Still, some of these lesser-known Olympic sports may seem, well, sort of weird, even silly. But before you crack open yet another Budweiser, stuff another slice of take-out pizza into your mouth, and belch "that’s NOT a sport" to nobody in particular, check out our brief rundown of goofy-looking Olympic sports that deserve your respect. Or that are at least a lot of fun to watch.

1. Synchronized Swimming:

   Women’s synchronized swimming may remind you of "aquamusicals" and, of course, the great Esther Williams. Synchronized swimming only became an official sport in 1984, and is still only open to female teams. The male Out To Swim Angels team (no laughing, please) is hoping that will change and has written a letter to the International Olympic Committee asking that men’s synchronized swimming become a part of the games. Think synchronized swimming looks silly? Put on some trunks and let’s see YOU try it, pal!

2. Badminton:

   Who knew that the genteel sport of badminton, originated by the British in the 19th century, would generate the most controversy at this year’s Summer Games? The sport requires incredibly fast reaction time as players attempt to keep up the shuttlecocks (We said, NO laughing, please!) whizzing back and forth at speeds up to 200 mph! Unfortunately, this past week, several Badminton players were kicked out of the Games for strategically throwing preliminary matches in order to help improve their standing in later knockout rounds.

3. Water Polo:

   At first glance, the Olympic sport of water polo appears to be a wild amalgamation of soccer, volleyball, and a drunken backyard pool party. No mallets or horses are used. Water polo was first introduced to the Olympics in 1900 with women’s water polo debuting in 2000. In 1956, an Olympic water polo match between USSR and Hungary turned ugly as the Soviets at the time were busy crushing the Hungarian uprising. The match was called off in the final minute to prevent a full-scale riot after a Soviet player slugged a member of the Hungarian team and drew blood.

4. Trampoline Gymnastics:

   Yes, jumping up and down on a trampoline is an Olympic sport. Or more accurately, jumping up and down on a trampoline up to heights of 30 feet while performing dozens of twists and somersaults is an Olympic sport. Do not try this on your couch. Better to sit still and have another Budweiser.

5. Table Tennis:

   And speaking of beer, ping pong, er, we mean table tennis, began in the 19th century as an after-dinner lark for upper-class English families. Since it became a part of the Olympic program in 1988, table tennis has afforded the Chinese the opportunity to repeatedly humiliate Europe and most of the rest of the world in a sport that’s a bit more complicated than what’s played in the basements of fraternity houses across the U.S.

6. (Women’s) Beach Volleyball:

   Leave it to the Brits to forget about subtlety and treat the first day of Olympic women’s beach volleyball as the eye-candy that it is. Somewhere in the stands on that Saturday, Sir Paul McCartney craned his neck and flipped back his hair weave so he could gawk at several sexy female volleyball players kicking ass and taking names in a demanding sport that requires stamina, speed, and strength, as well as a blasé attitude when it comes to rocking a two-piece bikini in a stadium full of howling fans. Men play volleyball, too, of course, and no doubt inspire the same amount of drool afforded to the swimmers and gymnasts.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 2nd, 2012 at 9:54 pm and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.