Olympic coverage - does it suck or is it just me?

[Anonymous]

I don't know...I'm so discouraged by NBC's coverage of Olympics. If I didn't know any better I would've thought that it was only USA and China competing in gymnastics, beach volleyball is endless, and Phelps' mom is the only American fan in the audience.

I understand that because China is 12 hours ahead and that some events are indeed live that it makes it tricky to show popular sports during primetime, but even so - do I really need to see the American gymnastic team bandaging their wrists and waiting around when you can see in the background that there are other events going on and the crowds cheering and music playing for the floor exercise.

What about the montages - not too many like that that one year, but a few would be nice - maybe a day in the life of a synchronized diver, the training, the timing, etc.

I'd love to hear what the other countries' national anthems sound like so maybe dedicating two whole minutes of air time to see another athlete be awarded the spotlight would be great.

Just my two cents.

[Anonymous]

Totally agree. I was talking to a colleague about this earlier today and he didn't get it--he didn't seem to really care. Maybe he's watching a different channel because all I see is freakin' volleyball!

[Anonymous]

It's not just volleyball right? It's women's v-ball, with the women wearing practically nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not just volleyball right? It's women's v-ball, with the women wearing practically nothing.

And what is the deal with that black thing on that one chic's shoulder? Is is suppose to be a bandage, a tatoo gone wrong, or what? Maybe the commentators could mention that instead of droning on about the game.

[Anonymous]

lol. nosy me actually googled it a few days ago. It is tape that her doc put on there to improve circulation and to stabilize her shoulder because she had shoulder surgery.

[Anonymous]

I think it's great. I personally don't care about badminton and I find Treanor and Walsh in beach volleyball to be awesome and their match against those Belgians last night-- very exciting. They are on primetime b/c they're great and it's great TV. Fencing and waterpolo (which I used to play) just aren't that popular. And Michael Phelps is on b/c he's making history and he's phenomenal. People like gymnastics and swimming. They also like WINNERS. They don't want to see Luxembourg playing Andorra in ping pong.

What exactly are you missing that you aren't seeing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
What exactly are you missing that you aren't seeing?

Since this is an international event, how about other countries participating in the Games?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What exactly are you missing that you aren't seeing?

Since this is an international event, how about other countries participating in the Games?

I think you're probably in the minority -- maybe not so much in the DC area -- but most Americans want to see other Americans. The Olympics is a nationalistic event by nature. If you go to Greece, you're going to see a lot of Greeks. If you're in Zimbabwe (god forbid), you're going to hear and see a whole lot of swimmer Kirsty Coventry. Personally, I don't care to see Norway play Hungary. Perhaps you should watch the games online.

Go Phelps! I grew up swimming (and mostly losing) against those kids from North Baltimore Aquatic Club.

[Anonymous]

I may get some small violins here - but I live on the west coast now and what I'm most bummed about is the time that they show the events. I know that for east coast they are doing the best they can with the time difference, but for at least some of the country they could show the events at the same time they are showing them to you so that at least not all of us would have to stay awake until 1am to watch the gymnastics win, etc. We record it, but of course the second it's been televised it's splashed all over the news so you can't hide from the results. And it's even hard to hide from the results before it's on TV here on the west coast. Example: Last night I planned to stay up until 10:30 or whatever to watch Phelps swim, but as of 7:30ish here, I made the mistake of going to Yahoo to check my email and there it was on the front page that he had won the gold before we have an opportunity to see it. Gee, thanks.

I know it's too much to ask as it would require them to rework their entire broadcast just for half (or less than half) of the country - but overall, I think the time difference and the timing of when the best events are covered is what sucks the most to me.

[Anonymous]

What would be nice is a daily recap with highlights from the "other" sports. No one is arguing that NBC should show hours and hours of table tennis or archery or judo or ... (fill in the blank) but a few minutes (or like I said, highlights from the gold-medal winning match for example) could be interesting.

[Anonymous]

14:54 here. Also meant to add, I buy the argument that Americans want to see American athletes perform - but even then, there are several hundred (I think?) American participants at these games, in many different sports. How many have we seen (again, other than swimmers, gymnasts, and track and field starts starting soon)? The American women were 1-2-3 in one of the fencing events, I think they got like a 1 minute mention, and part of that was because one of the Bushes was in audience. NBC should have more respect for our own athletes and at least mention their accomplishments.

[Anonymous]

Beach Volleyball! They wear little clothing and are tall and leggy, so we get a lot of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:54 here. Also meant to add, I buy the argument that Americans want to see American athletes perform - but even then, there are several hundred (I think?) American participants at these games, in many different sports. How many have we seen (again, other than swimmers, gymnasts, and track and field starts starting soon)? The American women were 1-2-3 in one of the fencing events, I think they got like a 1 minute mention, and part of that was because one of the Bushes was in audience. NBC should have more respect for our own athletes and at least mention their accomplishments.

I think I'm pretty average --not a member of the hated "elite" -- so I think I'm probably a good barometer of what mainstream, ordinary, fat couch potato americans are thinking. And fencing? ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ NBC is not in the business of placating and pleasing a tiny fraction of americans. It's a business. The fencers and water polo players have gotten their due -- I've seen it -- just not on primetime. People know about Mary Lou Retton and Mark Spitz. Those are our sport celebrities. If you want to see badminton, watch MSNBC. It was on today. You want to see Brazil play Germany in volleyball? It was on today. (I have a tv at my desk)

[Anonymous]

Only sports I see being broadcasted on NBC are gymnastic, swimming and beach-v ball. That's it. I don't see any other athletes for any other sports. And mostly American, Chinese, Russian and some other Europeans are being featured throughout the week....very small and limited perspective..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not just volleyball right? It's women's v-ball, with the women wearing practically nothing.

And what is the deal with that black thing on that one chic's shoulder? Is is suppose to be a bandage, a tatoo gone wrong, or what? Maybe the commentators could mention that instead of droning on about the game.

I have heard the commentators mention a few times that the black thing on Kerri Walsh's shoulder is a bandage to help support her muscles. She had surgery not too long ago.

I don't think the coverage is horrible, but it's not great either. Cable subscribers have a good range of options with all the other channels showing events (MSNBC, Oxygen, TBS, Telemundo and the HD Basketball and Soccer channels), but most of these only show events during the day. Some of the early primetime coverage is curious (like the synchronized diving) and I think the MSNBC highlights show from 5-7 p.m. is pretty goofy.