Are you watching the Olympics?

I remember years ago, how exciting it was to watch the Olympics.  It was the ONLY topic of conversation.  These days, although I love it, I am not so entranced and I wondered why.

Maybe it's the Internet.  Every morning on Yahoo, there is an overview, including a lot of "spolier alerts" which tell me who won.  So, sometimes I click and as I alkready know, I don't watch the event in Prime Time.

Maybe it's the announcing.  I swear the guy who called the cross-country race was going to blow a vocal chord screaming.  He kept saying "He's going to have to do this or that if he wants to win the race" then YELLING at the competitor when he didn't do what the announcer thought he should do.   Where do they FIND these people?  I think a lot of them are former Olympians, hired on the idea that they know the sport.  Maybe they do, but can they TALK about it in a way to draw the listener in? ( Two words here VIN SCULLY)  Apparently, this is a universal problem, the British Broadcasting team was taken to task for their reporting on snowboarding.

Maybe it's the coverage.  IS America the only nation competing?  It would seem so.  I would really like to see other competitors profiled.  I would like to see competitions where  NO American has a chance at a medal.  I would like to enjoy the sport.  Someone told me they are going to watch the international coverage, but my cable provider only sends me what it wants me to watch.  I suppose I could hunt it down on the Internet, but I don't care enough to really spend THAT much time trying to figure it out ( Can you say "spoonfed" ? I knew you could")

The coverage is so jingoistic, I find myself rooting against someone who turns in a masterful performance, because they are not American.  I realize I am being led and try to appreciate the athleticism  for what it is.  In the end, the athletes who embrace their competitors from other nations, who cheer each other for the love of the sport, are the ones who inspire me.  We need to remember, it's not about how many medals are brought back, it's that we competed at all.