Message to NBC: The Winter Olympics Are Boring
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2010
by Terry Mitchell
http://commenterry.blogs.com
NBC paid tons of money for its exclusive rights to broadcast the 2010 Winter Olympic Games from Vancouver, so who could blame that network for promoting them as vigorously as it is? In fact, since the opening ceremonies last Friday night, it's been mostly Olympics most of the time on all of NBC's affiliates and cable channels, including the Weather Channel.
Despite all of this wide coverage, however, I doubt that a whole lot of Americans (or at least in amounts that NBC was hoping for) are tuned in. I'm not watching the Winter Olympics myself, and I don't personally know who anyone else who is watching. I suspect that many Americans are like I am – they just casually follow the events, checking the results and medal counts in the newspaper every morning.
Why? Because the Winter Olympics are boring. Sorry, but other than hockey, I just don't consider most of that stuff to be spectator sports. There're just unwatchable to me. I doubt that I'm the only one who has such difficulty sitting still to take in this stuff. And I bet most Americans can't even identify some of those sports. Curling? (Is that something they do with their hair?) Luge? Skeleton? (In the their closets?) Short Track? Nordic Combined? Moguls? I thought moguls were people who make tons of money in some kind of business like the movie industry.
Americans love their football, basketball, baseball, auto racing, hockey, golf, and (to a lesser extent) tennis. Those are their core sports, and it's difficult for other things to break through and capture their collective imagination. Now, granted, youngsters in America also like soccer. However, once they hit puberty, most of them become disenchanted with a game whose average final score is 1-0. Besides, soccer just seems so … so … so foreign. I think that may be the root problem with most of the Winter Olympic sports.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)I can respect your comments, but there is one thing you need to keep in mind. The Olympic Games are not the AMERICAN Olympic Games, they are the INTERNATIONAL Olympic Games. As you know, they were originally from Greece. They were never intended to cater just to the interests of Americans. You may not appreciate all the different sports, but many other countries do. And there is nothing wrong with Curling; it is a great Canadian sport.David, I can respect your viewpoint as well. However, the intent of this article was to comment on NBC's overhyped coverage of the Winter Olympics in comparison to the average American's interest in them. As far as I know, NBC only broadcasts to Americans, so that's why I only took Americans' opinions into consideration. I'm sure that the CBC or TSN or whatever is broadcasting to a much more interested nation. :-)We also receive NBC in Canada, as well as most major American networks. With those and the Canadian networks, we get a well-rounded education, both American and Canadian. It is quite interesting to watch both American and Canadian broadcasts during the Olympics, as each is so biased in their coverage of the events. When you watch the American coverage, you see very little if any of the Canadian athletes endeavours. The same applies when watching the Canadian coverage; not much is said about the American athletes. We have to watch both sides to get a full picture of what is going on.David, like they say, everyone is biased, so it's good that you get to see two sides of the coverage.
"Americans love their football, basketball, baseball, auto racing, hockey, golf, and (to a lesser extent) tennis." Well I, an American, hate football, basketball, baseball, auto racing, and especially golf (ZZZZ). Stop making us look like morons! Speak for yourself.I feel an adrenaline rush when I watch some of these winter olympic events. They are inspiring on levels that home sports just aren't. You won't see me forced into being a group fan of them just to fit in. I share my brain only with myself. Why be all up in arms about a temporary change in programing every FOUR years? Many Americans DO care, and do watch. So the rest can make this simple compromise. There are PLENTY of other channels to watch last I checked. Maybe they'll go for a walk instead.Perhaps, I'm just a bit more curious about new sports, and a little bit about the rest of the world at the same time? You know. . . It really wouldn't hurt to show bored, FAT, or lazy, Americans; sports that could perhaps appeal to them, if the current rolling stock of sports we're forced to believe are the" be all and end all" have failed to.I'm not up in arms about anything. I was just making an observation. You obviously have a right to like whatever sport (or anything else) that you want to like. It's a free country, isn't it? However, I still say you're in minority (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Yes well, most of the world knows that Americans don't have the mental capacity to take in anything that takes place or originates beyond their borders so this article is not worth any further comment.Okay, whatever you say. :-)
The only people I know who follow the Olympics with any regularity are fat, stupid Americans. This article is right on. And it isn't just the Winter Olympics. It's the Olympics in general. I don't care that they hijack a tv network every two years. I have better things to do anyway. The problem is that I can't escape all the talk about this boring event or that one. Who cares. The events are dull. The athletes we tout as heroes are nothing but one trick ponies who have spent their entire lives training for a skill that will not serve them at all in the long run. And the international holding of hands is nothing but a farce. I say do away with the Olympics and get a life.Thanks for reading and commenting. Obviously, I believe many Americans feel the same way you do.
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