As a long time sports observer, I was not surprised by the controversy surrounding the Indonesian doubles badminton team at the Olympics.
Controversy always follows badminton. It's unavoidable.
I take you back to the Bacon family picnic of 1968 when my Cousin Deva purposely hit a badminton bird into the net so the game would prematurely end so she could get to the barbeque and eat...she was starving.
Or the high school gym uprising of 1974 at Fullerton High when we en masse walked out of the scheduled PE badminton game so we could do something more exciting like go swimming or watch the girls swim.
First of all I again must ask why there is even badminton or table tennis in the Olympics when there is no baseball or softball anymore. This is extremely baffling to me.
Don't get me wrong I love badminton and table tennis. At family picnics. Probably not at the Olympics.
Now Brazilian women playing Swedish women in bikinis diving for balls in Beach Volleyball...and hugging each other every time they score...on a fake beach in London....that's a real sport!!! We need more of that in the Olympics.
But I Digress (as I take a cold shower)
Getting back to the Olympic Badminton controversy. Didn't the NFL and NBA already establish this precedent of resting to achieve what you hope will be the ultimate goal of winning a championship or positioning yourself to achieve that goal. How many times in your life have you seen a NFL or NBA team, with a playoff spot already secured just basically rest their starters to avoid injury knowing full well they are going to probably lose that game.
Isn't that what being at the Olympics is all about? Winning a medal for your country. That's why the Indonesian team did what they did.
At least they didn't try to make it look good. They weren't involved in illegal point-shaving or throwing the game for gamblers. No. They were just conserving their energy for the next game and positioning themselves to win a medal.
About the fans who plopped down money to watch this non-game. The Olympic organizing committee maybe should have given them a voucher for another game.
And I have one question for you fans that were there. Why are you spending your hard earned money on watching Badminton?
Especially when Brazilian Women and Mexican women in bikinis are playing beach volleyball down the street.
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