Ray, you raise a great point about the true amateur sports in the Olympics. I really enjoyed watching Rulan Gardner in the GrecoRoman wrestling.
Nobody ever sees "professional track" so that at least seems amateur when you get to watch the Olympics.
Soccer is limited by age (under 23), but they have the select numbers of "over age" players they can add. England made a big mistake by not selecting David Beckham to their squad, not so much for on the field prowess this team, but for the leadership he would bring to the team. That said, even though the players are young, most are playing professional.
Basketball seems like a joke now with the NBA players, although there are a couple of teams like Argentina that will put up some resistance. But I'm still old school - the original dream team was the best.
Basketball doesn't interet me a whole lot, the U.S. should be so much better than everyone else.
ReplyDeleteOne other thing on the amateurism. Track athletes, swimmers and compete in Grand Prix's and events where they get paid for competing not just sponsorships.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see exactly how many sports don't have a pro league. (Even shooters compete for $$$$)