The Olympics have come and gone and for some reason, no table tennis was televised. They even showed Equestrian competitions (where the goal is to jump around on a horse for a while), fencing (where the goal is to tap someone with a sword), and pole vault (get yourself up over a bar with a big stick!), yet, once again, no table tennis. The most obvious reason is Americans are terrible at the sport. NBC doesn't want to show a sport where we have absolutely no chance of winning. So, instead of owning up to the fact that America's table tennis skills are "below Olympic level," we just utilize the philosophy that out of sight is out of mind. America loves that philosophy.
And what's with these combinations of Olympic events? The decathlon, the triathlon, the pentathlon, men's all around gymnastics? They take the most bizarre ideas and combine them into a sport. "Yeah, how about we ski a little and then shoot an arrow?"
Here's a couple of good combination sports that should be included in the Olympics. First of all, combine the high jump, the pole vault, trampolining, and the hurdles and call it "move vertically-a-lon." Or, combine boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, fencing, and tae-kwan-do and call it "Beat Someone Up-a-lon." Or, combine table tennis, judo, and men's gymnastics and call it, "U.S. will never win this-event-a-lon." Of course, we won't actually see the table tennis portion of the event.
When you think about it, these combinations don't seem so bad. There is actually a sport called the triathlon, where the competitors run for a while, then jump into an ocean and swim for a while, then end the competition with a grueling bike race. Running, swimming, and biking? What do they have in common? NOTHING. Except, of course, the fact that they're races. It's the "see how fast you can move under different circumstances" event. The "go-a-lon" if you will.
And why do we have to hear about an athlete from a communist country who has been forced by her government to train in gymnastics since she was three years old? And to top it all off, the broadcasters make it seem like she has some amazing gift. It's not an amazing gift, it's torture. If I were taken away at age three to train in the sport of table tennis, I'd be pretty darn good, too. I'd probably even take the gold in the Olympics. Of course, I'd never be on television.
And why are track starts who come from an underdeveloped country considered heroes? They aren't heroes, they're just fast people.