The Olympics are perhaps the most important worldwide sporting event. Many people around the world feel they represent the summit of athletic achievement. However, I can honestly say I don’t really care for the Winter Olympics. It’s an interesting dilemma, because I consider myself an avid sports fan and know I should be exceptionally enthusiastic because the games are in Salt Lake City — but I’m not. So, in this apathetic mood, I spent a few late Saturday night hours trying to figure out why I was so disinterested with the Olympics.
My first complaint with the Winter Olympics is the sports. I genuinely love watching skiing, snowboarding, the luge, skeleton, etc., but — call me out if I’m wrong now — who really plays those sports on a daily basis? I’ve skied twice in my life and I can’t afford a third. Being a middle class (once poor) minority basically destroys any chance I have of enjoying the luxury of snow sports. Winter athletics just are not diverse and the demographic is equally limited. Maybe in ten years, I could enjoy the yuppiness of it all, but right now, I’d rather pick up the basketball in freezing weather. And did you ever think about the racial representation of the Winter Olympics? It’s certainly not an indicator of the racial representation of the world.
The previous few Winter Olympics were broadcast by CBS, who seemed to have lost interest in airing the games this winter. Thus, NBC opened its arms and won the bidding war, leaving viewers to suffer the torture of seeing Bob Costas on a nightly basis. If you recall, it was NBC who broadcast the Summer Olympics, filling air time with ridiculous stories of every Olympian’s struggle to “make it.” I would have rather eaten my own vomit than watch that. It appears that millions of complaints can’t faze the networks, so they’re back at it. This time, the onslaught is worse. As a sympathetic and sensitive human being, I understand the significance of Sept. 11 and feel deep of grief every time I think of it. But it really becomes inappropriate when such a sensitive matter is used irrelevantly as a background tool for an athlete’s personal story. It feels as if sacrilege is being committed. I can just imagine the producers thinking, “Oh, it’d be cool if we mention the Sept. 11 events again. It might get a more emotional response from the audience. It’ll make the story juicier!”
I will agree that there are holes in my argument. It is fair to say that only certain countries are cold and that anyone can simply ignore the broadcast by applying pressure on their remote’s mute button. However, there is one thing that will always overshadow the Olympics: professional sports. The NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB mean more to the American audience than the Olympics ever will. Increased viewing for these Olympics has only been because America is the host. I’m not taking anything away from the quality of competition in the Olympics, but I think that no victory in the Olympics can feel half as good as the Patriots winning the Super Bowl. To add salt to the wound, these Olympics are becoming a controversy war. Corruption and foul play have run amok since the International Olympic Committee named Salt Lake City as the host. Needless to say, credibility is out the window.
Despite my disappointment with the Winter Olympics, I thoroughly enjoy the Summer Olympics. They are well represented and diverse — an epitome of a united world event. Don’t get me wrong; I still like watching cold weathered competition. I just don’t have the slightest inclination to become emotionally involved with any of it.
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