what we've learned from the 2012 Olympic Games

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  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
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    9. NBC doesn’t know a thing about covering sports.

    i think their ratings are through the roof...so while the real sports fans (us) may not like the way its covered they are doing what will get the masses to watch the most.

    There is literally nothing else to watch. Plus, it's the end of the summer so even if people had stuff saved on their DVR from when shows are in season, they've probably watched it. I only watch about 20 minutes a night (a 2 and 4 year old so not much tv watching for me) but even when I had it up to here with swimming (my hand is REALLY high right now), I still watched it.

    from what ive read the ratings are higher than anticipated. if they had shown track and swimming live it is believed the ratings would have been lower for prime time where it counts. so they did whats best for their ratings. and if you wanted to watch live you could have watched online.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    9. NBC doesn’t know a thing about covering sports.

    i think their ratings are through the roof...so while the real sports fans (us) may not like the way its covered they are doing what will get the masses to watch the most.

    When you're thursty enough you'll drink the water given to you, even if it's a little brown.
  • sillygoose1977
    sillygoose1977 Posts: 2,151 Member
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    I learned that it doesn't matter how amazing any female athlete is because the focus will still be on her appearance. :grumble:
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
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    You can smoke weed and still become the most decorated Olympian of all time!!! Phelps!!! :smokin:
  • teeley
    teeley Posts: 477 Member
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    I learned that money buys medals...oh wait I already knew that
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
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    I learned that money buys medals...oh wait I already knew that


    through bribes or sports programs?
  • teeley
    teeley Posts: 477 Member
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    a bit of both...countries that have the money to support their athletes win....clearly

    and officials who make clearly obvious bad calls....cough cough womens soccer...canada!!
  • LilRedRooster
    LilRedRooster Posts: 1,421 Member
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    1) NBC has blown their coverage completely since the 2000 Sydney games. They used to broadcast the Olympics full-time, live and available on several channels (I remember setting my alarm to wake up at 3am to catch Taekwondo finals), and as the years have gone by, restricting it to prime-time and an incredibly small portion of the actual competition from other countries has really pissed me off. I streamed the Olympics this year on a BBC stream so I could actually watch other countries (along with the opening ceremony when it was happening, and not 9 hours later), and didn't even tune in to NBC after watching one night.

    2) NBC's commentators are also *kitten*, every last one. I've realized that over the past few years, but the coverage of this year's games, especially compared to the BBC commentators, has really driven that fact home. They all suck fat, sweaty unmentionable body parts.

    3) People focus on really stupid things, like leotards and whether the athletes are "patriotic" enough. The spirit of the games is about pride in where you come from, certainly, but overlapping that is a desire to erase borders, politics, races, religions, and genders, and have everyone come together to play games. Because that's what unites everyone: The spirit of being human, playing games together, and showing the world how hard you've worked for your dreams. Not some stupid leotard color that's supposed to symbolize how "patriotic" people are. Fox News anchors once again proved their douchebaggery with that commentary.
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
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    a bit of both...countries that have the money to support their athletes win....clearly

    and officials who make clearly obvious bad calls....cough cough womens soccer...canada!!


    lol i hope you dont think that soccer ref was paid.

    and of course the wealthier nations do better. but then you have success from places like Cuba and North Korea and thats inspiring.
  • tnichol4
    tnichol4 Posts: 58 Member
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    Women's soccer rocks! Loved watching every game, love live streaming :)
  • shelleycolton
    shelleycolton Posts: 400 Member
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    Us Brits are better at sports when it involves sitting on your bum like cycling, riding horses and sailing.:drinker:
  • Savemyshannon
    Savemyshannon Posts: 334 Member
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    Also:

    1. The US has terrible sportsmanship (by having fits when they get silver instead of gold)
    2. China still wins everything (diving)

    I don't see anything wrong with being disappointed with second place. That young lady's face happened to express her disappointment more than others, but I doubt she's the only one to have been unhappy with second place.

    Seriously.

    The amount of Mckayla Maroney hate that has been going on turns my stomach. She was a 16 year old girl who fell on her *kitten* in front of millions of people. Lips pursed, eyes to the side, avoiding eye contact, "please dont look at me" face? Yeah, that doesn't just sound like a scowl to me, it sounds like the face I make when I'm trying to not break down into tears.

    And as said, yes, some people go to compete and know they probably won't medal so if they get bronze, they're ecstatic. But athletes like Maroney (who was the best vaulter in the world and a shoo in for the gold), or Jordyn Weiber (world champion who scored higher than most of the other countries but was left out because of the "2 person per country" rule) and Phelps (needs no explanation...) when they get silver or when they don't qualify, I think that yes, they are disappointed to be second place. And that's human.
  • juicemoogan
    juicemoogan Posts: 999 Member
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    Also:

    1. The US has terrible sportsmanship (by having fits when they get silver instead of gold)
    2. China still wins everything (diving)

    Does anyone get scared for the people from China when they don't win? In the back of my mind, I think they've got a family member getting jailed at the very least. They do NOT MESS AROUND.

    Chinese... No.. but if you are North Korean and you lose......

    Prison camp for your whole family for 3 generations!!!
  • JPod279
    JPod279 Posts: 722 Member
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    I learned that having artificial limbs DOES give you an unfair advantage. Not on the track, but when it comes to people rooting for you because you are so inspirational!!!!

    Seriously, if anyone on here ever mitches and boans about not feeling like working out, you have no clue.
  • jnh17
    jnh17 Posts: 838 Member
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    Also:

    1. The US has terrible sportsmanship (by having fits when they get silver instead of gold)
    2. China still wins everything (diving)

    I don't see anything wrong with being disappointed with second place. That young lady's face happened to express her disappointment more than others, but I doubt she's the only one to have been unhappy with second place.

    Seriously.

    The amount of Mckayla Maroney hate that has been going on turns my stomach. She was a 16 year old girl who fell on her *kitten* in front of millions of people. Lips pursed, eyes to the side, avoiding eye contact, "please dont look at me" face? Yeah, that doesn't just sound like a scowl to me, it sounds like the face I make when I'm trying to not break down into tears.

    And as said, yes, some people go to compete and know they probably won't medal so if they get bronze, they're ecstatic. But athletes like Maroney (who was the best vaulter in the world and a shoo in for the gold), or Jordyn Weiber (world champion who scored higher than most of the other countries but was left out because of the "2 person per country" rule) and Phelps (needs no explanation...) when they get silver or when they don't qualify, I think that yes, they are disappointed to be second place. And that's human.

    Plus, they are on TV the ENTIRE time -- no time to compose themselves. Just like with Mckayla, she effed up. I would be so mad/disappointed in myself -- and people expect SMILES? It's not about the other person/team winning as much as effing up. It's one thing when you try your hardest and do your best and medal. It's another when you screw up in front of millions for something you've worked (and worked is an understatement) for...
  • ncahill77
    ncahill77 Posts: 501 Member
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    That the "Blade Runner" is the baddest @ssed man alive, followed by the American guy who broke his leg and finished his leg of the 4X400 relay.
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
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    That the "Blade Runner" is the baddest @ssed man alive, followed by the American guy who broke his leg and finished his leg of the 4X400 relay.

    so badass you don't even know his name?
  • DMZ_1
    DMZ_1 Posts: 2,889 Member
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    1. NBC should be BANNED from ever covering any sort of live sports. NBC are NOT, I repeat, NOT bigger than the Olympics
    9. NBC doesn’t know a thing about covering sports.
    1) NBC has blown their coverage completely since the 2000 Sydney games. They used to broadcast the Olympics full-time, live and available on several channels (I remember setting my alarm to wake up at 3am to catch Taekwondo finals), and as the years have gone by, restricting it to prime-time and an incredibly small portion of the actual competition from other countries has really pissed me off. I streamed the Olympics this year on a BBC stream so I could actually watch other countries (along with the opening ceremony when it was happening, and not 9 hours later), and didn't even tune in to NBC after watching one night.

    It is a common thing to criticize NBC’s coverage.

    NBC does know a thing or two about covering sports. They did an amazing job with the NBA from 1990-2002 and they seem to do pretty well with the current NFL coverage.

    The Olympics are a unique event. It is not like covering a Super Bowl, World Series or NBA Finals game. The Olympics audience, particularly in primetime, is a different type of audience than a regular season NFL Sunday Night Football audience or the Stanley Cup Finals, which are NBC Sports’ other big properties at the moment. The showcase sport on TV is gymnastics. Gymnastics is not a sport that your typical heterosexual, beer drinking male who watches the NBA or NFL regularly cares much about.

    The NBC family of networks, including the NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus), MSNBC, CNBC, etc has had extensive coverage. The number of hours of total coverage on a television network is up compared to Sydney, Athens or Beijing. Plus, you have the option to stream online, provided that you have a cable TV subscription. Households with just Internet and no TV (total cord cutters) can’t stream the Olympics. However, NBC itself may have fewer hours of coverage. Sports in general are moving more to cable because the rights fees are so high that advertising alone can’t cover them. The dual model of subscriber fees from cable and advertising makes more sense from a business standpoint.

    NBC’s primetime coverage of the Olympics should not be thought of in the same vein as live football broadcasts. It should be thought of more as a SportsCenter type program with look ins, some live, some taped.

    Keep in mind that most Olympic sports are niche sports. Some of these events alone would draw a very small TV audience. Ever seen the ratings for the championship level swim meets in non Olympic years? They are miniscule.

    NBC’s ratings for this Olympics have been pretty solid. They are getting better ratings than any other sports programming besides the Super Bowl, which is impressive considering that these are all small niche sports on their own that wouldn’t draw an impressive audience. The time zone issues are difficult to handle. If everything was always live and only shown live, most people would miss the events that they cared about. The Olympics, and most particular the primetime NBC coverage, should be thought of as a way to pass time. People want to come from work in the US and veg out and watch the biggest events of the day.
  • Savemyshannon
    Savemyshannon Posts: 334 Member
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    That the "Blade Runner" is the baddest @ssed man alive, followed by the American guy who broke his leg and finished his leg of the 4X400 relay.

    vc0Dg.jpg

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1184359/Amputee-5-world-beater-bionic-blades.html
  • Savemyshannon
    Savemyshannon Posts: 334 Member
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    That the "Blade Runner" is the baddest @ssed man alive, followed by the American guy who broke his leg and finished his leg of the 4X400 relay.

    I love Pistorius! And this picture of him and another amputee melted my heart

    vc0Dg.jpg

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1184359/Amputee-5-world-beater-bionic-blades.html


    oops! I hit quote instead of edit!!! Sorry for double post. :)

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