If you hadn’t heard the news, today it was announced that the Olympic Committee approved five new sports for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and those sports include: baseball, softball, cricket, lacrosse, and flag football. More sports to watch is never a bad problem to have, but there are definitely things to be said about a lot of these additions. So, let’s dive into what the situation will be for a few of these sports, how their individual leagues might police players, and my thoughts on the whole ordeal:
BASEBALL
Baseball seems like a sport that should have been in the Olympics for a long while now. To be fair, baseball had been on the Olympic slate a few times before, but the MLB hadn’t permitted its players to compete in the event. As of now, the MLB hasn’t stated whether its players will be able to compete or not, but if their true intention is to grow the game, I think that the decision is an easy one (especially with the games being held in the US). I mean, just look at the Little League World Series and the World Baseball Classic. The sport has proven itself competitive and viewer-demanding on an international scale for years now. Allowing players to compete on the Olympic stage is the obvious next step.
CRICKET
To be completely honest, I don’t know much at all about cricket. I do know (after a quick google search) that the US has its own league, that league being Major League Cricket. Another thing I know is that cricket has different rules than baseball. Lastly, I also know that none of our cricket players hold a candle to our baseball players when it comes to swinging bat shaped thingys. Now, I’m sure we’ve got some decent cricketers that call the States their motherland, but there is no chance any of them can swing like Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, or any other MLB slugger. If the MLB allows their athletes to compete in the Olympic games, I see no reason why we shouldn’t stack our cricket team with MLB players and finally show those tea sipping mother fuckers across the pond what sport is king after all.
LACROSSE
I grew up playing lacrosse, and I love that it’s being added to the Olympics, but I have one problem with it: the Haudenosaunee Nationals should have their own team. If you are unfamiliar, the Haudenosaunee are what many know of as the Iroquois people who are native to America’s lands, and some of lacrosse’s top players call one of their six nations home. For example, Lyle Thompson is from the Hawk Clan of the Onondaga Confederacy of the Six Nations of the Grand River. He’s also the NCAA’s all-time leading goal scorer, Premier League Lacrosse’s 2022 leader in points, goals, and shooting percentage (over 40 SOG), and widely regarded as one of, if not the best player in the world.
Gotta love a 2015 highlight tape to Trap Queen. Now, here’s a more recent mixtape:
After familiarizing yourself with Lyle, I hope you can understand my point now. The Haudenosaunee have such a rich history in the sport (more than any other nation), and they have some of the best players the sport has to offer. It just makes sense that they should have their own team. Good news is, the Haudenosaunee were given their own team in the 2022 World Games, so hopefully they are on the path to Olympic representation in the 2028 Summer Olympics.
FLAG FOOTBALL
As if the United States weren’t dominant enough in the Olympics already, the Olympic Committee went out and added flag football. If the NFL were to allow their players to compete in the Summer Games, the opening odds for projected winners would be the lowest in the history of the Olympics. And I mean lower than our odds in basketball, lower than Russia’s odds for ice hockey in the 1970’s-80’s, and lower than Bolt’s odds in the sprint. It simply would not be fair. Like, show me somebody from outside the US that would stop Patrick Mahomes and Justin Jefferson from scoring on every single play. Nobody would stand a chance.
I get it though, American football is one of the fastest growing and largest reaching sports in the world, so it makes sense that a rendition of it should be in the Olympics, but my god the first year will be a bloodbath.
Thanks for reading, let me know your thoughts down below or on Twitter/X @A2ZSportsTakes, and I’ll see you Wednesday for the NFL week six betting recap!