This is the most wonderful time of the year – or rather, of the past four years. For two weeks, we are blessed with countless hours of television showing – quite possibly the only athletic event better than Alabama football season. The Olympics are athleticism, strength and speed at their finest, exemplified by the worldly array of participants.
My family, like many others, is drawn to the Olympics because of this display of talent and the two-week sense of universal camaraderie. Since 1896, the Olympic games have provided an arena for athletes across the world to test themselves against one another and their own goals.
And with the exception of the opening ceremonies, the Olympics have been void of theatrics and the tricks of reality television. There has been little to no need to flourish the athletic talents on display; the raw skills displayed at the global games are enough to keep us consistently intrigued.
But this year, the opening ceremony was only the start of attention-grabbing ploys used by NBC. The at-home MTV-“Cribs”-like interviews of Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps are followed by childhood photos and monologues. The replays for gymnastics have morphed into dramatic montages, complete with music. And the true attention-getter? Parents. The screen flicks evenly between the actual athletes and their squirming parents. And yet, as “entertaining” as the background stories and music are, I really just want to watch some sports.
The live footage has allowed for equestrian and fencing to have their chance of airtime, and for that I’m thankful. But during the primetime viewing, when my family members and I take our place in the living room, we have becoming increasingly disinterested by the special interest pieces attempting to do just the opposite.
Commercials can provide the music, the baby photos and the monologues. NBC and its sister channels should be focused on one thing only: the athletic competition. When an hour is spent preceding the event giving me a breakdown on how Missy Franklin still made it to her prom, an hour is lost watching the greatest example of athletic competition in the world. They talk about the same athletes, the same stories and the same sports. Who knew there were events besides swimming, gymnastics and volleyball and athletes other than the already-famous former winners? There is nothing wrong with the previous Olympic coverage formula: games and their competitors. Simple? Yes. But beautifully simple. For two weeks, we have a chance to drop the complexities of political boundaries and partake in something so simple that it doesn’t even require a translator.
SoRelle Wyckoff is The Crimson White opinions editor.
