My kid asked me why the U.S. is losing to countries like Norway, Holland and Germany in Olympic medals.
Well, those countries are solid. Nothing against them.
As for the USA, well I think it all gets back to youth sports. The biggest driving force in youth sports, for better or worse, is usually the parents. And the parents, for better or worse, are drawn to sports that are played in college. Whether it's the parents' goal to try to push their kids to earn college scholarships, or just a push toward sports that they understand, I think parents are just plain more likely to push kids toward sports that we see, on a large scale or small scale, every year in college athletics: football, basketball, baseball, hockey, track, tennis, wrestling, volleyball, swimming and lacrosse (not an Olympic sport). (Heck football and baseball aren't Olympic sports).
So our best athletes end up in those sports, and only hockey is a winter olympic sport.
These other sports: cross country skiing, biathlon, ski jumping, speed skating, short track speed skating, curling - the best athletes aren't going to grow up participating in those sports. Those sports aren't played at the varsity/scholarship level in American colleges.
The U.S. has a big population that is wild about sports, so a few of our athletes end up in downhill skiiing and snowboarding, but you most likely have to come from a specific part of the country to compete in those sports. And you have to have parents that value those sports over the traditional college sports. I have respect for those people who do, and the USA manages to do pretty well in downhill skiiing and snowboarding based on sheer recreational interest and a few good academies.
Meanwhile, Norway and The Netherlands are interesting examples. Norway's top athletes are drawn to what sports? Speed skating and cross country skiing. I assume they love soccer in Norway, too, although I've never heard of their soccer team being any good.
I don't care how big or small a country's population is, if the vast majority of athletes in a country like Norway are drawn to two sports, and those two sports take up, what, 15 percent of all medals on the line at the Winter Olympics, well then that's the simple reason why Norway has won more Winter Olympic medals than any country in history.
And The Netherlands is No. 2 in medal count right now, with a strong showing in one sport - speed skating. All 11 of its medals are in speed skating.
In The Netherlands, soccer of course is huge. Then speed skating is second. So again, the best athletes are drawn to one or two sports (field hockey is big in Holland, too). Meanwhile, the U.S.A, depite a massive population, isn't going to see many of its top athletes drawn to speed skating.
I live in mid-Michigan, the Lansing area. There are a lot of hockey players around here. This is a great winter sport state. And I can say that I've never known anyone, or known anyone who knew anyone, who is a speed skater. I've seen five or six people do short track speed skating at the rink in Dimondale on two or three occasions. It looks like a little club. I don't know how often they use the ice. I don't seem them very often. And, like I said, the numbers are very small.
So I have SEEN a handful of people speed skate, but I don't in fact know anyone who does, and have never known anyone who speed skates. Unfortunately.
So where is the USA getting speed skaters from? It's a small niche of dedicated souls, wherever they are. I have respect for them, but the talent pool from which the USA draws athletes in speed skating is a slim one.
Interestingy, USA Bobsled has become pretty good because they draw a lot of former pro athletes and former university football players and track stars. They have some horses pushing those sleds. I like that sport.
**
But anyway, think about this:
Sweden, Finland and Norway and all next to each other, with the Netherlands not far away.
Norway is next to Sweden and Finland.
Norway racks up a ton of medals in cross country skiiing and speed skating. Yet how many medalists are we seeing in those two sports from its neighboring countries of Sweden and Finland? Very few. Finland currently has three medals (all bronze) and Sweden has five.
Why? Well, the top athletes in Finland and Sweden are drawn to hockey. It's a simple question of culture and which sports are revered by parents.
Most of the medals won by Fins and Swedes have been by female cross country skiiers. But Finland and Sweden make up a big percentage of the world's best hockey players, per capita.
Meanwhile, how many hockey players does Norway produce? Or The Netherlands? Very, very few. Those countries obviously have a great skating culture, and they have big viking type guys roaring around the speed skating oval, but none of those guys end up playing right wing at the local rink (oh, the waste of talent).
Ever thought about that? Why don't they play hockey in Norway? Seems strange to me. (Geir Hoff not withstanding, a former MSU hockey player from Norway. Played for MSU in the late 1980s).
And consider Canada, for that matter. Huge skating culture, obviously. But it's all about hockey. Strange that there is very little crossover to speedskating. That's a country that places pretty strong emphasis on Olympic sports rather than college sports. But still, not much speed skating.
**
So I give credit and respect to Norway and Holland. They know how to bring in the medals. But the world would be a better place if those two countries played more hockey.
Well, those countries are solid. Nothing against them.
As for the USA, well I think it all gets back to youth sports. The biggest driving force in youth sports, for better or worse, is usually the parents. And the parents, for better or worse, are drawn to sports that are played in college. Whether it's the parents' goal to try to push their kids to earn college scholarships, or just a push toward sports that they understand, I think parents are just plain more likely to push kids toward sports that we see, on a large scale or small scale, every year in college athletics: football, basketball, baseball, hockey, track, tennis, wrestling, volleyball, swimming and lacrosse (not an Olympic sport). (Heck football and baseball aren't Olympic sports).
So our best athletes end up in those sports, and only hockey is a winter olympic sport.
These other sports: cross country skiing, biathlon, ski jumping, speed skating, short track speed skating, curling - the best athletes aren't going to grow up participating in those sports. Those sports aren't played at the varsity/scholarship level in American colleges.
The U.S. has a big population that is wild about sports, so a few of our athletes end up in downhill skiiing and snowboarding, but you most likely have to come from a specific part of the country to compete in those sports. And you have to have parents that value those sports over the traditional college sports. I have respect for those people who do, and the USA manages to do pretty well in downhill skiiing and snowboarding based on sheer recreational interest and a few good academies.
Meanwhile, Norway and The Netherlands are interesting examples. Norway's top athletes are drawn to what sports? Speed skating and cross country skiing. I assume they love soccer in Norway, too, although I've never heard of their soccer team being any good.
I don't care how big or small a country's population is, if the vast majority of athletes in a country like Norway are drawn to two sports, and those two sports take up, what, 15 percent of all medals on the line at the Winter Olympics, well then that's the simple reason why Norway has won more Winter Olympic medals than any country in history.
And The Netherlands is No. 2 in medal count right now, with a strong showing in one sport - speed skating. All 11 of its medals are in speed skating.
In The Netherlands, soccer of course is huge. Then speed skating is second. So again, the best athletes are drawn to one or two sports (field hockey is big in Holland, too). Meanwhile, the U.S.A, depite a massive population, isn't going to see many of its top athletes drawn to speed skating.
I live in mid-Michigan, the Lansing area. There are a lot of hockey players around here. This is a great winter sport state. And I can say that I've never known anyone, or known anyone who knew anyone, who is a speed skater. I've seen five or six people do short track speed skating at the rink in Dimondale on two or three occasions. It looks like a little club. I don't know how often they use the ice. I don't seem them very often. And, like I said, the numbers are very small.
So I have SEEN a handful of people speed skate, but I don't in fact know anyone who does, and have never known anyone who speed skates. Unfortunately.
So where is the USA getting speed skaters from? It's a small niche of dedicated souls, wherever they are. I have respect for them, but the talent pool from which the USA draws athletes in speed skating is a slim one.
Interestingy, USA Bobsled has become pretty good because they draw a lot of former pro athletes and former university football players and track stars. They have some horses pushing those sleds. I like that sport.
**
But anyway, think about this:
Sweden, Finland and Norway and all next to each other, with the Netherlands not far away.
Norway is next to Sweden and Finland.
Norway racks up a ton of medals in cross country skiiing and speed skating. Yet how many medalists are we seeing in those two sports from its neighboring countries of Sweden and Finland? Very few. Finland currently has three medals (all bronze) and Sweden has five.
Why? Well, the top athletes in Finland and Sweden are drawn to hockey. It's a simple question of culture and which sports are revered by parents.
Most of the medals won by Fins and Swedes have been by female cross country skiiers. But Finland and Sweden make up a big percentage of the world's best hockey players, per capita.
Meanwhile, how many hockey players does Norway produce? Or The Netherlands? Very, very few. Those countries obviously have a great skating culture, and they have big viking type guys roaring around the speed skating oval, but none of those guys end up playing right wing at the local rink (oh, the waste of talent).
Ever thought about that? Why don't they play hockey in Norway? Seems strange to me. (Geir Hoff not withstanding, a former MSU hockey player from Norway. Played for MSU in the late 1980s).
And consider Canada, for that matter. Huge skating culture, obviously. But it's all about hockey. Strange that there is very little crossover to speedskating. That's a country that places pretty strong emphasis on Olympic sports rather than college sports. But still, not much speed skating.
**
So I give credit and respect to Norway and Holland. They know how to bring in the medals. But the world would be a better place if those two countries played more hockey.
