I Miss Summer Olympics Sports

For years I was a baseball fanatic. The Seattle Mariners were my favorite team bar none. I looked forward to opening day and the beginning of another season. Usually, I could count on the M's keeping my interest through at least the end of June. However, after ten plus seasons without playoff baseball and a 10-3 loss to the Astros, I lost interest a lot early this year. In fact, thanks to Facebook, we can see it was on April 24th.

So, to scratch my sports fan itch, I have had to turn to other sources. For one, I have gotten much more into the Sounders this season (and was repaid with a Clint Dempsey signing and a rapid rise the first place in the Western Conference). I joined a rec softball league. I ignored sports all together and played video games (Bioshock Infinite is a short but awesome game). I also started thinking about the Summer Olympics.

Specifically, I thought about all the sports that I don't get to watch, except during the games. So, I made a list of my three favorite Summer Olympic sports. Now the last Summer Olympics took place in London in 2012. This means the next ones aren't until Rio de Janeiro in the summer of 2016. So, I wont get to readily get to see any of these sports for the next three years, But I can type up a little about why I liked them. Maybe that will scratch my itch.

1. Olympic Style Boxing
I know, I know, boxing happens all over the place year round. Heck, I could even go down to the Emerald Queen Casino and watch a live match. The thing is, Olympic Boxing is different than all that. The matches take less time. Only three, five minute rounds.  The matches almost never have a knockout, but instead are settled by points. Mostly this is because the fighters wear headgear. The points make it a much more technical  fighting and I think interesting.

2. Volleyball
Most people like the beach volleyball in the Olympics, but personally I like the traditional indoor type. The court full of players and jumping in unison to block a smash or disguise the hitter never gets old. Plus there is constant action with players diving, digging and jumping all over the place. The only negative I see here is the length of the matches.

3. Field
I enjoy the sprints and hurdles as much as the next guy, but you can see people running all the time. The NCAA championships are usually broadcast on tv and often the world championships as well. However, what I find really interesting are all the field events. High jump and pole vault especially catch my interest. Something about people running really fast and then throwing themselves at a bar is captivating.