Splash (or Dash) For Cash
Keeping The Flame
The 2012 Summer Olympics are done. I watched bits and pieces of it, mainly road cycling and both beach and court volleyball.
But I will say that I missed a lot of what many people would regard as the two marquee sports of the Summer Games; Swimming and Track.
I got to thinking that these two sports, unlike Figure Skating, the marquee sport of the Winter Games, has not gotten beyond the Olympics. Swimming's time may have passed with Michael Phelps retiring, but track may have potential.
Jamaica's Usain Bolt could be the kind of athlete that can transcend his sport. Like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, or Pele, he may have that power. So how to tap this?
I think a series of events focusing on the sprint events; the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters and the 4x100 relay could be a way to keep athletes like Bolt in the spotlight. The events would feature teams, sponsored by companies like Puma, Nike, Powerade, etc. The teams would hold a draft to fill their rosters with sprinters, both men and women. Events could be held in venues all over the world, and could be completed in a weekend. The season would be 4-6 events, held in places like London, Tokyo, Berlin, Los Angeles, Sydney, etc.
The same idea could work for Swimming; the events for this series would be the 50 meter freestyle, and the 100 meter distances for the other three strokes. The members of the teams would then join forces for the 4x100 meters medley relay.
Why should we only care about Swimming and Track every four years? Those athletes train year-round, why not give them more chances to excite and delight fans?