The Olympic watchers at K&K have noticed a common thread to the Summer Games broadcasts we’ve seen on television so far—or more accurately a lack of threads. Simply put, there’s a lot of beach volleyball on TV.
It doesn’t take a gender studies prof to tell us that a big part of the appeal of beach volleyball is the skimpy attire worn by some of the female teams. Don’t get us wrong, anyone who makes it into the Olympics playing beach volleyball is an elite athlete who’s worked their tight, sun-baked cinnamon buns off to get there and we realize bikinis are part of going to the beach, especially when that beach is artificially created in the middle of London.
But why is there indoor volleyball and beach volleyball in the Olympics when there’s no outdoor three-on-three basketball or other variations of Olympic sports if not for the ratings-grabbing sex appeal of beach volleyball. We can’t think of any other sport in the Olympics where the uniforms or lack thereof generate so much discussion and ogling spectators.
All of which got us thinking.
Maybe there should be more events where athletes wear next to nothing to attract audiences and raise the profile of the sport. Imagine the attention men’s shot-put would receive if competitors were required to wear sumo-style loincloths? Or if weight lifters only wore a thin layer of chalk dust? We’ve never seen a handball match, but we’d be more inclined to if competitors wore retro-styled y-front gaunch. And how about making the race walk g-string mandatory since it really can’t look any more ridiculous.
Seriously, let’s put the ham back into hammer throw and the cans back into canoe slalom. The balls are in your court, International Olympic Committee.
k&k@vancourier.com
Twitter: @KudosKvetches
