Olympic coverage

I think we've lost something as a society. NBC's coverage of the Olympics has made me pause and rethink this whole disastrous coverage.
Are we really a "show me the money" kind of people? Do we really just want the "money shot"? I have to think so because that is what NBC is giving us, except on the weekends when apparently 12 hours live of the worm crawling event is the going thing.

What makes the Olympics so great is that yes, even the ping pong event has the best athlete's in the world - please, I'm sorry I can't even blog that without balking. What's amazing about it is that here you have the best of the best, fighting to win. No one competes on this level because they want to lose or because they are there accidentally. I'm sorry, but no one stumbles onto the Men's rings or into the ladies balance beam competition. Yes, they are talented and want to win. They have years of training (Does anyone really train for ping pong? Oh, sorry table tennis. Nope ping pong.). What's especially captivating about gymnastics is these guys are good for one maybe 2 Olympics because that sport is just brutal. Brutal. Honestly, Phelps could participate in 2-3 more Olympics, if he wanted.

Nevertheless, I want to cheer my country. I don't care if John Orozco finishes 50th (he finished 8th). I want to see him perform or hear it. When my countrymen do well I applaud. When they struggle, I still want to applaud because out of all the billions of people on the planet these people do something they are gifted at and whether they medal or not, that's not the important part. I want them to medal - who doesn't want their country to finish first? The really important part is that they let us come together as a nation in support, in union and thanksgiving that we have such talented and gifted people in our nation and share in their victory, defeat or train wreck as they implode under the pressure.

We would do well to learn from another any other nation struggling to even medal. There you see the difference between them and us. The entire country (practically) knows their athletes, and is aware of the competition, and watch (if they are even able) with expectant admiration. We've become so flipping arrogant and focused on the money shot that everything else comes secondary to it and that is the crux of what irks me about NBC's coverage. It's not NBC. It's our country. It's not the best part of my country but it is part of who we are.That's kind of sad.

NBC's coverage of the Olympics SUCKS!

During gymnastics coverage, they don't show scores especially as it get's to deciding the medal. What's up with that? The announcers will comment on the scores but do they even mention the score. Um, oh no. Why bother?

Men's gynmastics - where to even begin? The chicks are pretty and fun to watch but men's gymnastics is relegated to what late night airing? What's up with that?

- No Rings. Not once, not once did they show men on the rings during the team final or qualifications. No one. Zipola. What, is it no longer an event?

- they break away to show coverage of something else then pan back to gymnastic coverage where every medal contender is shown on the rotation but magically they are all on the high bar rotation or floor rotation. Whatever, you guys suck as far as coverage goes.

- what's the point in watching when they don't even show the event, not in it's entirety but can we at least watch the Americans on each event?

This whole tape delay business is just stupid and outdated. Seriously, they show them in the evenings and then completely miss covering events or giving a recap. It's tape delayed, you can't update the story before airing it? Really?

I'm done. Not interested in watching anymore. I'll catch the scores in real time as I'm apparently not going to watch them anyway.

Let the games begin!

Jordan Jovtchev former Olympic medalist and current Olympian will be competing for the individual medal for still rings, undoubtedly the most grueling of men's gymnastics events. He's 39 years old and competing because he's trying to revive gymnastics in his home country of Bulgaria. This is what the Olympics is about and why I love watching.

He's trained in his off-hours, 1/2 hr here and 1/2 hr there because he's President of Bulgaria's gymnastic federation as his day job. Obviously he loves the sport.

It's inpiring to see such dedication, such passion, and such single minded devotion. It reminds me that I'm capable of the same thing, but just maybe not on the rings.