Did you hear that squash tried to get into the Olympics and didn't make it? Of course you did.
Many of those who wanted squash in the Olympics have been doing
extensive soul-searching these past few months. We've been questioning
the amount of lets. We've been questioning the very idea of lets. Our
business model needs work. We wanted it too badly. The voting process
was unfair. The IOC is corrupt. There's bad blood between the IOC and
squash. The refereeing is inconsistent. The scoring system is wrong.
There's not enough money in it. There aren't enough grassroots efforts.
Whew.
Here's what I want to say today: the IOC doesn't get to decide whether
squash is "worthy". The only person who gets to decide that is you, the
person who is going to grab a racket and actually play squash this week.
If you have ideas on how to improve the game, that's cool. If you want
to try out some different rules or a different scoring system, give it
a shot. (This sport has been around for over a hundred years -- you
won't break it.) If you really want squash in the Olympics, that's
cool. But please, please don't look to the IOC for external validation
that squash is awesome. You don't need a thumbs-up from them or anyone.
If you love squash, just go out and play it.
