One of the best things about the Olympics is tuning in every four years to find out what unknown or cheesy sport the IOC has deemed worthy of its official recognition.

Whenever I happen upon one of these events, my reaction usually goes from shock to incredulity to uncontrollable giggling.

Eight years ago, it was table tennis. In 2000, it was badminton. The tradition continued just a couple of days ago, when I stumbled upon a trampoline competition.

Not that these aren’t worthwhile ways to fill one’s leisure time, and I’m not about to suggest that it doesn’t take remarkable skill to compete at a world class level in these activities. It’s just that it’s hard to picture the ancient Greeks placing wreaths on the heads of their best ping-pong players.

It turns out trampoline gymnastics made its debut four years ago at the Sydney Olympics. Guess I was too busy learning how to spell Krayzelburg that summer because I missed it completely.

Now I’m sure that had the Greeks invented the trampoline, it would have 1) made the Trojan horse more fun to get into and 2) become an Olympic event a lot sooner than the 21st century. But I can’t help but wonder what the enthusiasts of other recreational activities think when they see these fringe sports feeding off the prestige of the Olympics and getting airtime on worldwide television. I can’t help but wonder why other backyard pursuits such as lawn darts or croquet aren’t Olympic sports.

A little research reveals that croquet was, in fact, once a part of the Olympics, back in 1900. It didn’t last long, only that one Olympiad in Paris, and France swept all of the medals. No doubt there was some ugly incident involving the French, the British, a mallet and a wicket that got it blacklisted from the Games.

Those same 1900 Games also featured tug of war as an event. Tug of war lasted until 1920. I couldn’t find any explanation why it was dropped after that, but it certainly wasn’t for fear of rope burn, because the Olympics brought rope climbing back as an official sport in 1924 after dropping it around the turn of the century. That’s right. The one course in phys ed that everyone failed was an Olympic event as late as 1932.

Lawn darts has not been so fortunate, though I’m sure there’s some group out there lobbying the IOC for recognition, just as there are groups trying to put bowling and golf on the docket.

Golf was also a part of the Olympics in the early 1900s. Apparently, it had questionable appeal worldwide, so it was cut after the 1904 Olympics.

Bowling actually earned demonstration sport status at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Just think, somewhere in America, someone has an official Olympic bowling shirt hanging in their closet next to a ketchup-stained “Joe’s Bar & Grill” bowling shirt.

Advocates for golf and bowling have been bugging the IOC for years, trying to earn official status. Two years ago, an IOC subcommittee recommended dropping several events, including baseball, softball and racewalking, to make room for new sports such as golf and rugby.

So far, the IOC has not taken the bait, which must really tick the golfers and bowlers off. Even ballroom dancing has gotten a sniff, as a demonstration sport in 2000. How is ballroom dancing a sport, but bowling or golf are not? Maybe the IOC just doesn’t want to recognize any activity where the fans and the participants can drink beer while it’s being played.

So what is an Olympic sport and what isn’t? It’s kind of like obscenity. You can’t define it, but you know it when you see it. Unfortunately, trends and the right amount of payola distributed among IOC members have more influence on what gets included in the Games than common sense or worldwide appeal.

So we’re probably eight years away from poker becoming an Olympic sport. A bunch of “extreme” sports such as wakeboarding and stunt biking won’t be far behind.

By then, I’ll be pining for the good old days, when all I needed to experience the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat was a shuttlecock or a ping-pong ball.