LEFT: Andy Murray of Great Britain returns a shot to Nicolas Almagro of Spain during the Quarterfinal of Men's Singles Tennis at the London 2012 Olympic Games at Wimbledon, Aug. 2, 2012. RIGHT: Robbie Green of England in action against Dean Winstanley of England against on Day 5 of the Lakeside World Professional Darts Championships in Frimley, England, Jan. 5, 2011.
Drop it: Tennis
So Britain’s Andy Murray beat Switzerland’s Roger Federer to Olympic gold, erasing the hurt of Federer’s defeat of Murray at Wimbledon less than a month earlier. So Serena Williams won Olympic gold, just as she had won Wimbledon less than a month earlier. Tennis already has its huge international showcases, its grand slam tournaments. If we want to watch repeats, we’ll just turn to the non-Olympic broadcasters filling their schedules with cheap programming during the Games.
Add it: Darts
Some folk may argue that darts doesn’t belong in the Olympic roster because it’s not a sport. It seems to me to involve similar levels of prowess as archery and ping-pong. It’s great fun to watch. And it may not inspire viewers to greater athleticism but at least it shows them the benefits of getting up from their bar stool.