With the 2016 Summer Olympics 38 days away, an immense amount of focus is being put on whether or not athletes should attend due to the Zika virus. However, another debate has been going on for much longer.
Recently, the decision was made to reinstate golf as an Olympic sport. Golf is most definitely deserving of being on the Olympic stage. The immense precision required and the unique athletic ability golfers posses, as well as current increased popularity, places the sport on a global level. Although golf should most definitely be an Olympic sport, there are many others that are consistently left off the list. One sport that has grown immensely in the past few years is (my personal favorite) lacrosse.
In 2014 thirty eight nations competed in the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championships. Only four teams competed in the initial men's world championships event in 1967. The women's tournament was added in 1982. Although this does not seem like a rapid increase in popularity, the number of people playing lacrosse has taken off in the past several years. Even though the number of nations participating in organized tournaments has been steadily increasing, the number of people picking up a lacrosse stick around the world has skyrocketed.
Additionally, lacrosse is truly "the fastest game on two feet." The quick movement of the ball down the field as well as the newly instated shot clock has allowed for lacrosse to become one of the most intriguing sports to watch. From the pace of the ball to the quick movements of players on the draw or face-off and in the goal lacrosse is a game that moves quickly in more aspects than just the growth of the sport.
Finally, lacrosse is a sport that requires athletes to be extremely dedicated to their craft. Although this is true for all sports, lacrosse is unique in the sense that it does not get as much support as other sports, especially those already on the Olympic agenda. Lacrosse athletes on the highest stage are truly ones that play for their passion of the game rather than the money. With the recent focus on providing female athletes with equal pay as male athletes, compensating athletes equally for all sports is something that has been extremely overlooked. With that being said, those athletes that do choose to play are the same ones growing the game around the world, and those that deserve to showcase their talents on the Olympic stage.
So before you watch the Olympics in awe as thousands of individuals around the world, including myself, will, don't forget to consider the athletes that are not there but deserve to be, as well as those that are there and are participating for far less money than others, but with potentially far more heart.
