Striking up Some Ratings for the Olympics
Croquet, variations of which are played around the world, is not unprecedented as an Olympic sport. It was included in the 1900 games, but never made the Olympics schedule again.
I admit it's not exactly an exciting contact sport, or much of a sport at all, but that makes it a perfect game for a modern-day Olympics.
For starters, croquet is as egalitarian as any sport can get and is so simple anyone can play it — young, old, male, female.
Imagine an octogenarian “striker” from Wales wearing black socks and sandals competing against a 10-year-old heiress from Beverly Hills or a sheik from Qatar.
If that doesn’t sound like compelling TV, I don’t know what does.
Seriously though, in these touchy political times when everyone is so easily offended by everything, maybe croquet could cool things down and bring us back to our senses.
If a striker in a televised croquet match were to take a knee to signal a political protest for the cameras, for instance, nobody would know.
Viewers might think she was merely tying her croquet shoes or eyeing up the best pathway to knock the wooden ball through a hoop with her mallet.
Croquet is a civilized game, but on an amateur level it can get intensely competitive, especially after a few beers.
Friendly matches have been known to cause heated disputes resulting in family members not talking to each other for months.
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Copyright 2021 Tom Purcell, All Rights Reserved. Credit: Cagle.com
