by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Hold on, I’m going to go on a rant…

This week the International Olympic Committee decided to drop wrestling — the real kind — for wake boarding, golf and other mass appealing sports in the Olympics starting in 2020.

I must admit I don’t remember watching an Olympic wrestling match on television. But the news ticked me off nevertheless.

The IOC’s decision was bullying and self aggrandizing. The board could eliminate wrestling because it could. And it was made with only the thought of the almighty dollar because other sports – like golf – is more spectator friendly.

Why does the IOC need to drop one sport for another in the first place? Why not just add a sport and leave wrestling alone. Couldn’t the Olympics have both sports?

Does golf need the gymnasium they are using for wrestling so the Tiger Woods entourage can store his golf clubs or furnish donuts to his caddies?

It’s easy to see why the IOC wants to include golf. Heck the sport includes a guy like Tiger Woods who would look great on the Olympic medal stand, all teary eyed an all. God forbid we go through life without Tiger Woods.

I love the U.S. winning Olympic gold in any sport. But Tiger on the victory stand receiving a gold medal does nothing for me. I wouldn’t doubt he wouldn’t check his watch during the Star Spangled Banner moment.

And it isn’t as if these golf pros care. I’d bet wages that half of these pros won’t bother showing up. Why would they? The Olympics will probably be slated somewhere between the PGA Championship and the British Open when there are millions to be made in those tournaments. Much like tennis, which is now an Olympic sport, it will be a diversion for the pro athletes, using the Games to enhance exposure and lock up more endorsements.

The Olympics, however, for wrestlers is THE event. This is what grapplers dream about — winning a gold in the Olympics. It’s perhaps the only time the sport can shine on a national stage.

Losing the Olympics is like taking the Super Bowl away from football.

There have been various other reasons why wrestling got the ax instead of a sport like the modern pentathlon. Some have cited that the sport lacks leadership on the International level (see New York Times story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/16/opinion/how-wrestling-lost-the-olympics.html.)

But despite the number of participants growing, especially in America, wrestling has never done a good job promoting itself to the outside world.

When TV first started, it used to televise genuine wrestling matches. But TV promoters saw it as much too boring for the masses, so they created Pro Wrestling – a fictitious soap opera sport.

Then came Title IX. While I’m a huge supporter of the gender equality act that has elevated women sports. My wife may have not became a doctor without it. But the negative effect of this act, is wrestling has been the hardest hit because of it. Colleges in an attempt to equalize the number of athletes for each gender, have been quick to axe wrestling because it is not a revenue generator.

The sport continues to fight a culture in which there is an X-box sitting at home, or the best athletes are playing something like basketball or specializing in one sport.

And now this.

The best thing the wrestling community can do is raise hell. Throw a first class conniption fit. From what I have been reading, IOC President Jacques Rogge will meet with the head of wrestling’s governing body to discuss ways the sport can fight to save its place in the Olympics.

Obviously, the organization has been taking a great amount of heat for its wrestling dropping decision – which it should be… the jerks.

I remember more than 20 years ago, the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents decided to drop women’s basketball. There was so much public outrage that the board reconsidered its decision – a few days later. Now OU is a powerhouse in women’s basketball.

I hope the same happens here. The greatest takedown the sport of wrestling can make is the Olympic decision to drop the sport.