For too many years (37), the sports of the carnival worker have been ignored by the Olympic Committee. We think that’s a shame, because skee ball would make a fantastic addition to the Winter Olympics.

Skee Ball has been around since 1909. It was invented by J.D. Estes of Philadelphia as way to get his kids to clean up their rooms. They would throw their toys in the holes and earn points. If they earned enough points, Estes would buy them new toys, as the tossing them into the skee ball holes tended to break them.

Later he sold the concept to Wurlitzer who then sold it to the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. We didn’t do any of more of the research into the game’s history because, frankly, we were enamored with the name Philadelphia Toboggan Company.

Skee ball leagues are popping up all over the country. And as you can see from this picture, a wide variety of people seem to enjoy the game. If I’m not mistaken, I think the woman in the pink outfit with leg warmers is Olivia Newton John. She hasn’t aged a bit. Must be the skee ball.

The North American Champion in Skee Ball is this man:

Ronald Flanberg of Jersey City, NJ is not only the points champion, he also holds the record for most games played in a row (345). He credits his ability to block out pain and fatigue, along with a paper cup (pictured) for pee breaks for his incredible record.

So take a long hard look at Ronald. Don’t you think he deserves a chance to compete for the Gold Medal in Olympic Skee Ball? Wouldn’t that just warm your heart? I wonder if the Olympic Committee would insist their logo is placed on his pee cup?

Carry on, Citizens!

Today’s bonus question?  When is NBC going to stop trotting out announcers with only a passing knowledge of sports (Meridith Vieira) to embarrass themselves at the Olympics?  Seems Meridith didn’t know the difference between Michael J. Fox and Terry Fox. You would think they would have learned from Katie Couric trying to describe Judo a few years back. Awful, just awful!