Olympics? Come on, man. Get serious

 From  Borepatch

Dan Wetzel at Yahoo Sports writes about the "cataclysmic" drop in viewership for the Olympic opening ceremonies - down over 40% from four years ago.  And the events viewership is worse - down two thirds from Sochi.  Wetzel points out that NBC paid almost $8B (yes, that's billion) for the broadcast rights through 2032.

Wetzel proposes many reasons for the apathy:

· Dissatisfaction with China for various geopolitical reasons,

· Anti-Covid measures are making things difficult for athletes,

· Difficulty in visiting results in very small crowds of spectators,

· "Olympic fatigue" - the delayed summer Olympics were held only 6 months ago.

None of this explain why the American public no longer cares about the Olympic games.  There's quite a simple explanation, one that Wetzel interestingly does not explore.  American Olympians have for a couple decades now acted as spoiled, unpatriotic brats.  They've taken a knee during the national anthem at awards ceremonies.  They've given interviews generously larded with examples of how the Republic has oppressed everyone under the sun.  Displays of patriotism and gratitude to their country - and to their fellow countrymen - have been notable by their absence.

And we're supposed to watch these impolite, unpatriotic brats "represent" us?  No thanks.

The American Olympic Committee has brought this on themselves, by allowing this behavior for far too long.  Me, I don't care if I never watch another Olympics.

https://borepatch.blogspot.com/2022/02/oh-dear-whatever-is-causing-americans.html