Why I Don't Watch The Olympics

Twenty years ago I couldn't wait for the Olympics.  I used to be glued to the TV set, watching all the drama.  The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.  Then something happened.  NBC took over the Olympics and TV coverage became one long commercial interrupted by coverage almost exclusively of ONLY American athletes.  Hey, I'm for the Americans to but really, aren't there other countries competing?  

Carl Lewis - I got it - you're American

I started to really lose interest in the Olympics, specifically the Olympic coverage of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.  This is the one where the Russians didn't compete.  I tried to watch the coverage but I got so sickened by the constant "USA! USA! USA!" that I had to turn it off.  Then I noticed something else, when "USA!" isn't ahead in the medal count, the TV (specifically NBC) doesn't tell you.  I remember how hard I tried to find which country was leading and I couldn't because whenever the "USA!" isn't leading, the NBC coverage isn't forthcoming with that information.  What? Are they afraid their viewership will go down?  Of course they are.  Again, the TV Types have underestimated the typical American viewer that they wouldn't be interested if "USA" wasn't leading.  But then, maybe they didn't underestimate (or "misunderestimate" as former president George W. Bush used to put it).  

1984 Los Angeles Olympics

I don't know but it seems to me at one time the TV coverage of the Olympics used to cover ALL the athletes for ALL the countries.  Not just the unusual ones like the Jamaican bobsled team (which is actually a joke and we all know it) but the real, qualified athletes from other countries.  I think that was back when ABC and Jim McKay used to cover the Olympics.  

Whatever happened to those days?  

The last Olympics that I can remember watching was the 1994 Winter Olympics.  I used to love to watch the ice skating competition.  

Torville and Dean - British ice skaters - one of the rare times that the TV coverage was of non-American competitors

But this was also the time of the knee caping incident that involved the American ice skating competitors Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan.  You remember Tonya don't you?  Miss White Trash.

Tonya Harding - lovely, just lovely

And Nancy Kerrigan, the White Ice Princess (who was a potty mouth during the post Disney victory parade thus killing her endorsement prospects post Olympics, Miss Ice Princes turned out to be a total bitch too)

Nancy Kerrigan

I followed this story closely, this was real "National Enquirer" stuff (which I love). I endured the endless commercials and all the usual "USA! USA! USA!" that was now derigueur. 

However, I had the same problem, who was winning the Olympics?  Do you know which country got the most gold medals?  It was Canada folks.  They won 14 gold medals, the most won by any country EVER in a single Winter Olympics.  But you wouldn't know that from the NBC TV coverage.  That was because the "USA!" didn't win the most gold medals.  If they gave gold medals for the most commercials, or the best sob stories of the "USA!" competitors who overcame great odds to compete, the "USA!" would win hands down. 

Team USA with their Ralph Lifshitz Lauren uniforms NOT made in USA - another phony baloney but I understand this year the Lifshitz Lauren uniforms are SEWN in the USA - phew, that's a relief

So folks, when the next Olympics rolled around I started to watch it but I couldn't get past the seemingly endless stream of commercials.  Even worse, I couldn't watch any of the events live.  The powers that be at NBC decided that we of the Great Unwashed

needed to be spoon fed the Olympic coverage so their advertisers could get the maximum bang for their buck.  There ensured a great controversy but apparently NBC hasn't learned its lesson.  They're still editing "live" events.  See here.

So here we are now folks, for the next two weeks NBC will be inundating my favorite TV station (MSNBC) with their mind numbing Olympic coverage. 

I'm not watching.

Why I Don't Care About the Olympics

Michael Phelps - so over

I lost my interest in the Olympics about twenty years ago when I realized that the TV coverage in America was mostly of the American atheletes.  That and the endless commercials killed my interest in watching "the games."

The Olympics is supposed to be about international coverage but watching the TV coverage from the U.S., one would think the only participants were Americans.  Where is the interest when there is no coverage of the participants from other countries? 

And of course there are the commercials.  Oh my God, the commercials.  I stay up to watch these stupid commercials? 

Another annoying bit of the U.S. TV coverage is the "special" backstories of all the U.S. athletes.  Really?  Is everyone a  hard luck story that has overcome tremendous odds to participate in the Olympics?  Pardon me but this is all so boring to me.

It's a shame really becuase I used to love watching the Olympics. The "live" Olympics, not the playbacks which is another annoyance.  I think the last time I really enjoyed the Olympics was when Mary Lou Retton, the gymnast won her competition.  My God, how long ago was that?

Well, for all of you "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" fanatics, enjoy.  I'll be reading a good book.

Michael Phelps

Now let us address the phenomenon of Michael Phelps. First let me make it quite clear that I am not criticizing this young man or his considerable accomplishments during the Olympics. Our country is proud to have such a hard working, determined young man represent our country in the Olympics. He seems like a fine young man. My problem is with the over the top coverage of him my our news media. I confess that I stopped watching TV coverage of the Olympics years ago when I realized that the US media basically only covered U S athletes. I also had a major problem with all the commercials. I used to love watching the Olympics, especially the live coverage. However, the constant chants of "USA! USA!" and the lack of coverage of the athletes of other countries caused me to lose interest. Another problem I have with the U S news media coverage is their habit of picking one of two U S athletes and build them up as the Second Coming. One hears the words "bravery, courage and hero" tossed around with so much abandon that those words have long ceased to lose their meaning in the context of Olympic coverage. Yesterday I read coverage about the aforementioned Mr. Phelps and how "brave" and "courageous" he was in obtaining gold medals for the U S. Give me a break. There is nothing brave or courageous at all about Phelps accomplishments. He worked very hard (five hours a day swimming) to gain his gold medals. Also, it helps that he has the body of a duck. Look at the cartoon I took out of the Washington Post yesterday. This cartoon drawing of Michael Phelps isn't too much of an exaggeration either. Phelps has a very long torso. He is 6'3" tall. I am also 6'3" tall. Phelps weighs 165 pounds. I weigh 159 pounds. Phelps inseam (leg length) is 30". Mine is 36"! The boy has short leg! His foot size is 14. Mine (and I thought I had big feet) is 12. The boy has flippers. His wing span is 6'7". I don't know what mine is but it isn't that wide. His hands hang 3 inches below his knees. My hands fall 3 inches short of my knees. Thus, Mr. Phelps was born with a built in physical advantage. Not to mention that his family circumstances afforded him the opportunity to spend most of his life in a pool swimming. I never entered a pool until I was 21 years old and in the Army. The first time I saw the ocean was when I was 22 years old. Am I jealous? Am I envious? You're damn right! I am riven with jealousy. I take nothing away from Michael Phelps. I wish him a long and happy life. But please, PLEASE, let us hear no more about how "courageous" and "brave" he is. There are many brave and courageous people in the world. Michael Phelps is no more or nor less than any of them. I fault our jingoistic new media. They would rather cover the fluff known as the Olympics rather than real issues in this world that involve brave and courageous people. And yes, I'm still jealous. Have you seen his hairline? I used to have one like that.