Top Ten Underappreciated Sports

By Kathleen Martini on February 24, 2013

Not all athletes walk down the streets to adoring fans and requests for autographs. Some athletes dedicate their lives to training, yet go uncelebrated for the three years and 49 weeks that aren’t the Olympics because ESPN would rather focus on AJ McCarron’s girlfriend.

In honor of the 2012 Olympics in London, let’s acknowledge some of the underappreciated sports that live in the shadow of the NFL and NBA monsters. Here are the top ten sports you should learn to love:

#10 Ice Hockey – Sorry, Canada, but no one other than you, Switzerland, and Minnesota (which might as well be its own country) cares about hockey. This hard-hitting, fast-paced sport combines the best of soccer and basketball, puts it on ice, and adds fist fights at the professional level. What’s not to love?

#9 Synchronized Swimming – You’ve heard about dancing; that’s nothing new. Now add water, and I’m not talking Flash Dance. These athletes have to flip, spin, pose, split, and toss each other into the air. INTO THE AIR, PEOPLE. All while holding their breath for minutes at a time! I can’t even tell you how that’s possible!

#8 Rugby – It’s like football, but more manly. Shoulder pads? Use them as pillows. Helmets? Nah. Uniforms engineered for top performance? Just a long-sleeved collared shirt, thank you. Games start with a mass of men huddled together essentially trying to kill as many of the other team as possible.

#7 Taekwondo – Watch the 2004 Olympic taekwondo heavyweight final. You will find no better display of speed, power, skill, and control than taekwondo. Need I say more?

#6 Modern Pentathlon – This Olympic event was modeled after skills that the ideal soldier needs. You have to fence, run, swim, shoot a gun, and jump a horse over fences. I can do maybe two of those things on a good day.

#5 Water Polo – On the surface, water polo might just look like people with funny hats throwing a ball around a pool. What you don’t see is the amount of kicking, punching, suffocating, and eye-gouging that occurs underwater. Have you seen the speed at which the ball hurtles toward the goalie? And the goalie stands up in the water to block it! Insanity.

#4 Beach Volleyball – The sport only beautiful people are allowed to play.

#3 Archery/Pistol/Rifle – These athletes compete under the guise of sport, but I’m pretty sure that they’re actually planning a world take-over. Seriously, they could kill you from any distance if they wanted to.

#2 Rowing – This is the most masochistic, painful activity I have ever subjected myself to. All bias aside, rowing is one of the most stunning sports to watch. Anyone who witnessed the Americans win the women’s 8+ final in 2012 saw one of the most graceful, powerful efforts in athletic history. Try a rowing machine out for ten minutes. Anyone who can make that look elegant and effortless is a superhero.

And the top spot goes to…

#1 Bobsleigh Skeleton – CHECK THIS OUT. It’s bobsledding, except the sleigh is you. A sport where you race headfirst down a hill with nothing but some carbon fiber and blades underneath you? Is this real life?

There are so many other glorious displays of athleticism that I wish I had more room for that show the mental and physical capability of the human race. Athletes are not just those who make millions each year in endorsements. Athletes are the dedicated men and women who give up everything in pursuit of their dream. For that, and for the amazing feats you accomplish not just on the world stage, but when no one’s watching, the world thanks you.