There's obviously been a lot of skepticism surrounding golf's return to the Olympics and the number of top players who are opting out of the tournament. There are plenty of questions, all of which are legitimate, regarding whether or not the players even care about the Olympics and if golf will still be around past the 2020 Tokyo Games.
This isn't the first time a sport's return to the Olympics after a long absence has received a lukewarm reception from its participants. As this great article I read on NBCOlympics.com today notes, many of the same sentiments felt about Olympic golf in 2016 were felt about the sport of tennis when it returned to the Olympic program in 1988. And today, nearly 30 years later, there are no such concerns. The Olympic gold medal in tennis is the equivalent of a Grand Slam title.
The 1988 Olympics started in mid-September, or, in terms of the tennis calendar, right after the US Open. A trip from New York to Seoul isn't exactly short. I can only imagine what it must be like to play a grueling, two-week tennis tournament only to turn around, fly halfway around the world, and play another one.
A lot of the top men found various reasons to back out, much like the top golfers we've been hearing about. Others, like Boris Becker, wanted to play so badly that injury was the only thing that would stop them (in Becker's case, that's exactly what happened). Still others were kept out by the maximum per country rule, which will keep a number of golfers who otherwise would want to play out of Rio. Stefan Edberg was the only top men's player who went to those Olympics in Seoul 28 years ago, and he was upset in the semifinals by Miloslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia, who went on to win the gold medal.
Mecir was succeeded as the gold medalist by Switzerland's Marc Rosset, but Andre Agassi won the gold four years later in Atlanta, and ever since, the men's Olympic tennis gold medalist has been one of the top players in the world. Rafael Nadal won in 2008 and Andy Murray won on Centre Court at Wimbledon four years ago. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic still haven't won Olympic singles gold, and they've both gone on record saying that they want it. It's the only thing they're missing in their careers (although, Djokovic hasn't won the French Open yet, either). All four of them will be in Rio, even though the Olympics end a week before the US Open.
Steffi Graf lent credibility to the Olympic tennis tournament right away. She won the gold in Seoul two weeks after completing the Grand Slam in New York. Her "Golden Slam" is still one of the greatest achievements in tennis history. The women have never really had a problem with Olympic participation, with the likes of Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport and Justine Henin also winning gold medals. Oh yeah, and both Williams sisters have one, too (as well as three golds together in doubles).
Even those that once questioned tennis' place in the Olympics have come around. The tournament at London 2012 was unique because it was played at Wimbledon less than a month after The Championships. And everybody showed up. It was the best Olympic tennis tournament ever. Having the tennis tournament at Wimbledon was a stroke of genius. If there were any lingering doubts that tennis belonged in the Olympics and the tennis players wanted to be there, they were answered.
Getting the players to buy in was one of the big keys in establishing the legitimacy of Olympic tennis. And while they didn't all right away, the tennis players get it now. Being an Olympian means just as much to them as it does to the swimmer or fencer or gymnast. The only difference is that they get the public's attention more than once every four years. Which is exactly why it's important to have tennis (and now golf) in the Olympics in the first place.
It's also interesting that the only golfers we've heard from are men. I'm curious to see how the LPGA players feel about the Olympic tournament. Do the women feel the same way as those skeptical men we've heard from? Or do they feel like Jordan Spieth? Although, seeing as we haven't heard anything from the women, I'd imagine they're excited about the potential of being Olympians and winning that first gold medal in more than a century.
If I had to guess, I'd bet the men will eventually come around, too. They'll see the Olympic tournament on TV or hear about it from the golfers that do choose to go to Rio. They'll see that gold medal put around somebody's neck and hear the anthem played and get a huge dose of national pride. It's the same pride they feel when they're selected to play in the Ryder Cup.
Tennis needed a few cycles to find its place in the Olympic family. But it has. An Olympic gold will never be a Grand Slam title, but it's not meaningless, either. Golf will eventually find that balance, too. Who knows what the Rio 2016 golf tournaments will be like? This might all be much ado about nothing. Or maybe there will be some growing pains.
I do know this, though. Once somebody wins that gold medal in August, everybody else will want one of their own in Tokyo. The Olympics tend to have that effect on people.
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