This is an extremely underrated sport. Ice hockey may be better on television, but a field hockey game has more excitement and action than pretty much every single pro soccer game. Yet the scores aren’t sky high, and that’s something that works in field hockey’s advantage. It can deliver on the excitement while still being very low-scoring. Unfortunately, no man in America has ever played, seen, or even heard of field hockey, and as a result, it’s never on TV during the Olympics, unless the women’s team pulls off a miracle run.
Tokyo 2020 results:
| Medal | Men |
| Gold | Belgium |
| Silver | Australia |
| Bronze | India |
| Medal | Women |
| Gold | Netherlands |
| Silver | Argentina |
| Bronze | Great Britain |
Outlook (as of June 20, 2023):
I’m doing this too early, as the qualifying tournaments aren’t even close to getting started. However, I *can* base my picks off world rankings, and then change them as we get closer to the Games. Forgive me if I sound naive, but I don’t know anything about who’s good and who isn’t at field hockey. I can watch the sport and enjoy it, but I couldn’t tell you who is the best at it. I know India once ruled this sport, and that Pakistan used to be pretty good at it too. As for now? I’m just believing the world rankings.
2024 projections:
| Medal | Men |
| Gold | Netherlands |
| Silver | Belgium |
| Bronze | Great Britain |
| Medal | Women |
| Gold | Netherlands |
| Silver | Australia |
| Bronze | Argentina |
Projected medal count:
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Australia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Belgium | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Argentina | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Great Britain | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Tommy A. Phillips 