I'm not sure why so many people think that the US didn't do particularly well in the Olympics that just ended. Maybe it's because Bode Miller never bothered to show up. Michelle Kwan probably shouldn't have shown up. Johnny Weir failed to show up for the free skate (figuratively and nearly literally). The US mens hockey team's offense failed to show up. Yet for all those failures, the US Olympic Team had their most successful showing at a Winter Games staged outside the US. Ever.
Think of it this way. If Bode Miller had managed to live up to half the expectations and garnered a couple of medals (and they didn't even have to be gold), the US could have overtaken the Germans for the most medals at the Turin games.
Far from being a failure, the Games showed that sports are unpredictable, and that the media-annointed favorites often can't live up to the hype either because their bodies let them down (Kwan) or because they think that the Games are a party scene first and a high level competition second (Miller).
To me, the competitions are compelling enough if the live networks bother to show the competitions. People are amazed at the incredible skill needed to ski down a mountain at 80mph or skate 30mph for 1,000 meters. Sure, people like to gravitate towards their countrymen, but the good stories of the games will come out.
And that's what it really is about.
The networks and advertisers have a different frame of reference. They're looking for the next star and next media attraction. And a return on investment. So, expect someone from these games to end up on a Wheaties box. And some commercials.
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