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Posted on Fri, Feb. 04, 2005
Perfect Olympic sport: rugby
By Ann Killion
Mercury News
The Olympics have become really good at goofy and arcane. At artistic and twirly. At esoteric and off-beat.
What the Olympics aren't so good at is smash-mouth and rugged.
But there's a chance that might change.
When the head honchos of the International Olympic Committee turn on their televisions this weekend, they might notice that a rough sport will draw a worldwide audience. They might notice that spectators like contact sports.
No one is suggesting that American football be included in the Olympics. What many are suggesting -- and have suggested for the past 80 years -- is that rugby returns to the Olympics. Somewhere amid the glitter and ribbons there must be room for rucking and mauling, right?
This may be the year.
Next weekend, Feb. 12-13, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, the USA Sevens Tournament will be held, with an impressive international field that includes world champion New Zealand. The tournament is expected to draw more than 20,000 fans. But the most important spectators will be the 10 or so IOC members scheduled to attend.
The argument for rugby
At IOC meetings this summer in Singapore, the committee will consider whether a new sport -- rugby, golf, karate, squash and roller sports are on the list -- will be added for 2012.
This seems like a no-brainer. Couldn't the Olympics use a sport with a long, storied tradition? Some full-body contact? Something that's the antithesis of rhythmic trampoline leaping or underwater pentathlon?
I think so, and anyone who has followed the vibrant rugby community in the Bay Area -- where Cal has won 20 national championships, and where several clubs thrive -- would agree. Let's hope IOC President Jacques Rogge, a former Belgian rugby player, does, too.
It's not just that the Olympics could use a few more bone-jarring tackles. Rugby is everywhere on the planet, played by more nations than any sport but soccer. The matches are festive and diverse. It already feels Olympian.
Rugby also meets the IOC's criteria. It's easy to stage. It doesn't add too many additional athletes. It is even gender-friendly -- women's rugby is growing quickly. Golf, a sport that doesn't need another high-profile international stage, is a difficult facility to add. Roller sports, a summer nod to the X Games, is more pandering to the off-beat. Squash?
The Olympics has its share of dull racket sports.
``Some of the sports in the Games address a small niche of athletes, that require considerable expense to stage,'' said Doug Arnot, CEO of USA Rugby and a veteran Olympic organizer. ``Rugby is much more cost-effective and is a fantastic game for spectators.''
Ready to return
The version of rugby under consideration is sevens -- a fast-paced, high-scoring, shortened version of the game played with seven players per side, rather than the standard 15.
The last time rugby was in the Olympics was in 1924 in Paris. The final, played before a crowd of 40,000, matched the United States, the defending gold medalist, against France, the overwhelming favorite. The U.S. team -- which featured several players from Cal and Stanford -- won 17-3.
Arnot said he expects the IOC, already concerned about the unwieldy size of the Summer Olympics, to add a new sport only if it eliminates or scales back another.
I can think of several goofy, glittery, twirly, boring candidates. Surely there must be room for rugby.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/columnists/10810719.htm?1c
Perfect Olympic sport: rugby
By Ann Killion
Mercury News
The Olympics have become really good at goofy and arcane. At artistic and twirly. At esoteric and off-beat.
What the Olympics aren't so good at is smash-mouth and rugged.
But there's a chance that might change.
When the head honchos of the International Olympic Committee turn on their televisions this weekend, they might notice that a rough sport will draw a worldwide audience. They might notice that spectators like contact sports.
No one is suggesting that American football be included in the Olympics. What many are suggesting -- and have suggested for the past 80 years -- is that rugby returns to the Olympics. Somewhere amid the glitter and ribbons there must be room for rucking and mauling, right?
This may be the year.
Next weekend, Feb. 12-13, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, the USA Sevens Tournament will be held, with an impressive international field that includes world champion New Zealand. The tournament is expected to draw more than 20,000 fans. But the most important spectators will be the 10 or so IOC members scheduled to attend.
The argument for rugby
At IOC meetings this summer in Singapore, the committee will consider whether a new sport -- rugby, golf, karate, squash and roller sports are on the list -- will be added for 2012.
This seems like a no-brainer. Couldn't the Olympics use a sport with a long, storied tradition? Some full-body contact? Something that's the antithesis of rhythmic trampoline leaping or underwater pentathlon?
I think so, and anyone who has followed the vibrant rugby community in the Bay Area -- where Cal has won 20 national championships, and where several clubs thrive -- would agree. Let's hope IOC President Jacques Rogge, a former Belgian rugby player, does, too.
It's not just that the Olympics could use a few more bone-jarring tackles. Rugby is everywhere on the planet, played by more nations than any sport but soccer. The matches are festive and diverse. It already feels Olympian.
Rugby also meets the IOC's criteria. It's easy to stage. It doesn't add too many additional athletes. It is even gender-friendly -- women's rugby is growing quickly. Golf, a sport that doesn't need another high-profile international stage, is a difficult facility to add. Roller sports, a summer nod to the X Games, is more pandering to the off-beat. Squash?
The Olympics has its share of dull racket sports.
``Some of the sports in the Games address a small niche of athletes, that require considerable expense to stage,'' said Doug Arnot, CEO of USA Rugby and a veteran Olympic organizer. ``Rugby is much more cost-effective and is a fantastic game for spectators.''
Ready to return
The version of rugby under consideration is sevens -- a fast-paced, high-scoring, shortened version of the game played with seven players per side, rather than the standard 15.
The last time rugby was in the Olympics was in 1924 in Paris. The final, played before a crowd of 40,000, matched the United States, the defending gold medalist, against France, the overwhelming favorite. The U.S. team -- which featured several players from Cal and Stanford -- won 17-3.
Arnot said he expects the IOC, already concerned about the unwieldy size of the Summer Olympics, to add a new sport only if it eliminates or scales back another.
I can think of several goofy, glittery, twirly, boring candidates. Surely there must be room for rugby.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/columnists/10810719.htm?1c
