Some of you might not realize this, but there's a lot of politics behind the Olympics.
I don't just mean politics between different nations as far as lobbying to host the Games - even what sports get into the Olympics in any given year are politicized.
Baseball and softball were part of the 2008 Olympics, but they're being dropped for 2012, on the grounds that those two sports aren't popular enough around the world, and (at least in baseball), the best players don't take part in the Olympics.
Although nothing new is being added for 2012, this does leave room for the International Olympic Committee to add one or two new sports in time for 2016 - and seven sports have applied.
Baseball and softball are trying to get back in. This seems unlikely, although if the 2016 Games are held in Chicago or Tokyo - two cities where baseball is part of the culture, and two of the four finalists (along with Rio de Janeiro and Madrid) - there's a chance they could make a return. I'd bet against it, though.
Karate wants a spot. Something's always seemed weird to me about having martial arts in the Olympics - my limited understanding is that they're less about winning fights than about somehow becoming one with your body, or the universe, or something like that. Although maybe it's easy to separate that from the competitive aspect that comes out in the Olympics. I guess if judo and taekwondo are already in, there's no good reason to exclude karate.
Also on the list, squash. I will never, ever, ever understand the difference between squash and racquetball. Or the rules to either, for that matter. But I do remember that one of the best squash players in the world is a Canadian, so it gets my vote.
Golf was an Olympic sport about a hundred years ago, and is looking to make a return. They've proposed a 72-hole tournament for 60 men, and another one for 60 women, with the top 15 of each in international golf rankings qualifying automatically. While I'm sure an Olympic golf tournament would be a good money-maker, I'm less sure that golf requires any sort of athletic ability, and as such it shouldn't be a part of the Olympics.
The International Rugby Board is proposing a tournament of 'rugby sevens' (seven players on each side as opposed to the traditional fifteen, which I believe makes for a faster game, sort of like indoor soccer or arena football). Rugby is another sport which used to be part of the Olympics, and while it's not big in North America, it is popular around the world.
And finally, we come to what I can only hope is the joke of the lot, roller speedskating. It's weird enough to see BMX racing in the Olympics, but a competition to see who can make it to the finish line first on rollerblades? What's next, three-legged races?
Roller speedskating will not make it in, I'd be very surprised if baseball or softball did either. International golfing bodies are making a strong push, but I don't think it will pay off. Karate, squash, rugby sevens? I'm not sure which of these, if any, will make it in, but I don't exactly see the 2016 Olympics introducing any new glamour sports.
Wikipedia has a list of sports which could theoretically be placed on ballots like these in the future. Amazingly, it looks like it was actually the best of the best that applied for 2016 - the list also including such luminaries as bowling, chess, tug of war, and lifesaving!
--Ryan
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