>overshadowed in the press by the election year in the US and EU
Even here in France all anyone is talking about is the snap parliamentary elections. I was hoping to have a nice calm June and early July before all the Olympic tourists started showing up (I live a couple of hours away from Paris by train but all our hotels are booked up for the Olympics) but now we've got this circus and the even worse circus that's going to come after the elections are over.
I picked a hell of a year to move to France but at least I'll skip the US election season.
The videos might be impressive but proper riots are very rare, most protests are completely peaceful and honestly if you don't know there's a protest you might not even realize it here. In live in the center of a big city and don't see any protests (or riots for that matter).
I'm 6 time zones ahead of the East Coast of the USA. I don't get the results until next morning, because when they call it in the US it's like 4 a.m. over here.
Trump winning was like Christmas morning in the Shittiverse.
I'm 6 time zones ahead of the East Coast of the USA. I don't get the results until next morning, because when they call it in the US it's like 4 a.m. over here.
Trump winning was like Christmas morning in the Shittiverse.
I say this with all sincerity.
Just one? I'm gonna go for like 10-20 assuming I can take my wife with me. See how things shake out. Depending on who wins, might go the Philip J Fry route.
Yeah, these days there is less of that collective mass of people who have to rely on watching the Olympics at specific times on cable, so there is less collective anticipation.
Canadian here.
The way I remember it is:
Summer Olympics are held the same year as a U.S. presidential election
Winter Olympics are held the same year as the FIFA World Cup
They've done a terrible job promoting it.
It was to a point where I heard some people trying to take guesses if they were thinking of canceling or something a few months back
NBC (pretty sure it's them) have exclusive rights to cover the olypmics on tv here, and they are TERRIBLE. So much so that I will go out of my way to view coverage from another country rather than watch it through NBC.
Or more likely not watch it at all and maybe see highlights later, which is what most American will probably do I suspect.
In my experience they still focus on the American athletes to a fault, like cutting away from a gold-contender to interview an American Olympian instead. And their athlete bios are absolutely awful and follow the reality TV model. They'll talk about their experience in the event and then focus on something horrible that happened to that person in their life and how much hardship they endured to qualify. I saw an athlete being interviewed and the interviewer kept asking about her miscarriage. I want to see a competition among the best athletes in the world, I really don't care who has the best ninja warrior sob story.
Watch the live streaming of the individual events, not the tv broadcast. They don’t do athlete bios or interviews, just broadcast the event. Heck, some of the less popular sports didn’t even have someone talking over it, like archery or target shooting.
This. Exactly this.
The misty eyed Lifetime TV movie puff pieces are just painful.
Happening live there’s the climax to some fantastic sporting drama, yet NBC are telling me about how poor Steve’s bunny chased a butterfly, fell into a pool and drowned when he was 3 years old so now Steve has spent 20 years mastering the butterfly swim stroke in his honor so no bunny ever drowns again.
NBC's coverage of the Olympics has been absolute garbage, and so cringeworthy. Here are some especially egregious moments I remember:
* For the opening ceremony in London in 2012, their excessive commercials omitted a tribute to the victims of the 2005 London bombings.
* In Rio in 2016, they had a "well, duh" moment where the commenter said something like, when Qatar entered during the parade of nations, "Qatar is entering with the C nations because it begins with C in Portuguese, I guess."
* Also in 2016, Micronesia entered right before the US did, but there was absolutely no comment about the country in its own right, instead only about how it was a small group that was making way for the massive US delegation.
* Yet another one from 2016: an obsession with Michael Phelps, to the point where they asked athletes from other countries what they thought of him, as if Phelps was the only athlete who mattered.
* In 2018 in South Korea, when Japan entered during the parade, the commenter said, "Every Korean knows how important Japan was to Korea's economic and political development", or along those lines. It was so insensitive when you consider the history between the two countries (especially the Japanese occupation).
* Also in 2018, when the Netherlands entered, they theorized why NL was so good at speed skating: "Their canals are frozen in winter, so they practice on those."
They also make it almost impossible to pull up an event on their website with a giant headline spoiling the event - even when they haven’t aired it on tv yet!!! It’s maddening
Roone Arledge of ABC Sports pioneered this style of coverage back when ABC had a lock on all the Olympics. And I agree, I always hated it. I loved Jim McKay (ABC's main Olympics host), but I wanted the actual sporting activity more. Show me the events!
Better yet, show me MORE events, especially the ones that never get coverage in the US. The time they spent showing the biography of an athlete would have been better used by showing another event, especially the ones I and most Americans were unfamiliar with. They had even less excuse back in the Sixties through the early Nineties; as the Olympics was broadcast on only one channel, time was at a premium. At least now with multiple tv channels plus online access, viewers can swap around for events they're interested in.
Despite being only a few hours ahead, I'm sure NBC will find a way to broadcast everything on a 15 hour delay on the USA network or Telemundo and post shitty clips that give the results of races in the title and thumbnail.
The only good thing about NBC having the sole right to coverage of the Olympics? Bum BA ba dum da de dum bum buh dum bum bum bum bi da bum ba da de dah da!
They really fucked up their coverage last time, I bought Peacock so I could watch it, then it turns out they only had shitty events on peacock. All the good stuff was on NBC broadcast and some cable channels?? Who the fuck has cable TV anymore? I gave up and just didn't watch it except a few events that I streamed illegally.
2016 was great though because you could literally stream every event for free on the app and cast it to the TV. I was off for the summer and watched like 10 hours a day.
They still managed to fuck up 2016. If you made the mistake of allowing alerts, they would send you live updates of who won events - so, go fuck yourself if you were planning to watch a replay later.
Yeah I just check out the highlights on youtube later and periodically will just check medal count. I don't feel any desire to just sit in front of a TV and watch it .
I lived close to the Canadian border for some years, close enough that we got the CBC on our local TV system, and, holy moly, the Olympics coverage was 10x better than NBC. Less packaging, less artifice, less blabby announcing, just let me watch them run the damn race.
I haven't heard a single person talk about them. I'd forgotten they were coming up until I just read your post. Not sure I'll bother watching, but if I do I'll need to get a VPN or something. NBC's coverage is always the worst.
I'm gonna be honest with you, a lot of people here in the US do not even notice until they're at a bar or restaurant and they're like, "Oh hey the Olympics are on". Otherwise we only care when someone breaks a record or something unusual happens and then it lasts for like a month and we're on to the next thing.
I can't extrapolate this to the rest of the nation, of course, but I watch the Olympics every year, even the niche sports like curling or synchronized diving as long as we've got a contender. That said, I am so burnt out on international politics that the inevitable controversies and scandals and anti-American bullshit that'll be thrown at us all Olympic cycle already feels exhausting. I will also say that friends and family of literally all political stripes have all expressed an increasing sense of isolationism, so maybe others are feeling the same way.
I really want Team USA to do well, and I will cheer for them, but I kind of just want it to be football season already.
Yeah to me the Olympics help fill a void on the sports calendar after the NBA and NHL end but before baseball gets into the heat of the pennant race.
I’ll enjoy watching them when they happen, but there isn’t usually a ton of buildup in the weeks before. I’m sure it’ll start soon but what is there really to talk about? It's still like 6 weeks away
If you turn on NBC you'll see tons of hype. What marketing were you hoping to see 6 weeks before it begins? I've seen merchandise at stores. It's a huge TV event. I can't wait to watch.
2016 was the last time I really watched. We still had Cable TV then but more importantly, since it was in Brazil we could watch many events live.
Now we've cut the cord. We rarely watch Network TV and so we don't have to see all of NBCs commercials.
I love watching the olympics and completly forgot they were happening this summer till this post lol.
I think the Tokyo delay threw everybody off, in my head we should still have a while
This is the first I've heard about this year's Olympics. I didn't even realize they were about to happen before this post. So no, at least no one in my circle of people are openly excited about them.
Personally, I care less than I’ve ever had.
A big part of it is the realization that a VERY large chunk of athletes are doping or using other sorts of PED’s. Like, it’s far more widespread than you think. That extends to professional league athletes and fitness influencers as well. Pretty much, for anyone who relies on how their body performs or looks, it’s a very safe bet they’re using PEDs.
I am ***really*** looking forward to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
So tantalizingly nearby. Only a ten hour drive. I plan on taking two weeks off work to attend.
Americans aren't usually too excited when the Olympics are way out of our time zone. Watching the Olympics in the middle of the night is a hassle, and news sites and social media can't help but spoil the results which makes watching it with time delay less exciting.
I live in the city where the track and field trials always happen. They are scheduled for this coming weekend. The city is hopping when the trials are going on. Full hotels, crowded restaurants, etc. Some people are salty about it, but most people like having the trials here. So, in that respect, people around here are looking forward to the Olympics. Folks like watching to see how runners they saw here end up doing at the actual games.
I have little interest in the Olympics, even less in the summer games. I do know they are in Paris and they are coming up, but I am unlikely to watch anything other than what is broadcasted on the regular news.
Let LA have them. They seem like too big of a hassle to me. Years ago when I lived in BK, I was worried about NYC getting them. It would have been weeks of hell.
I can't judge at all because I stopped watching the Olympics 20 years ago. This is Olympics are being affected by the Ukraine war as well so that might be part of it. There are heavier things going on.
I don’t think I’ve actually cared to watch them since I was a kid. Given the blatant corruption in the organization, the terrible coverage in recent years, and a general disinterest in sports, I don’t really find them worth watching these days.
I don't have a cable TV subscription and NBC coverage is always terrible anyway, so why bother trying to watch? I've tried with Peacock and with VPN for other coverage before and it was still hard to find a way to see the events I was looking for. If anything dramatic happens maybe I'll hear about it and it will be on YouTube or something.
It would probably be more popular if it weren't so difficult to watch the events you're most interested in.
No I'm still burned out as we had so many Olympics in succession due to covid delays.
I'll probably make an attempt to follow a few sports but assume I'll lose interest.
Probably more so if nbc didn’t fuck up their coverage. The peacock bullshit is awful. Although tbf based on their new Gladiator show I might have to get it cause it looks hype af
Without watching regular TV I don’t hear about it much but I’m always looking forward to the Summer Games. I’ll for sure catch the opening ceremonies and a ton of events.
Not really. Some people are. NBC sucks so I just watch highlights, as I noticed a lot of other people do. Also personally I’m more of a Winter Olympics guys
Not really. Some people are. NBC sucks so I just watch highlights, as I noticed a lot of other people do. Also personally I’m more of a Winter Olympics guy
I keep forgetting the Olympics _except_ when I see headlines about "Paris doing X 'cos Olympics."
It's only really occurred to me now that the Paris Olympics are _this_ year, and it's not a matter of reading about Qatar for what seems like six years before their hosting of the World Cup.
I haven't really heard much about it, but I'm looking forward to it. It's basically the only sports I bother paying attention too. I'll be in Europe at the time so hopefully the time zone will make it easier to watch than if I were home.
I like the Olympics, I just hate our coverage. I actually feel like there's a lot of hype, however I follow a lot of news outlets and politicians in France, and Macron won't shut the fuck up about it (which I get, it's his country and it is beautiful). I'm more concerned about if it's going to be ready and safe by the opening ceremony.
I think is always like this in my area not much emotion until the events actually start, weird thing is that Copa America and Eurocopa are happening and it seems nobody cares
I love both the summer and winter Olympics. I'm not on the hype train for it yet. It's still a few weeks away. The week before, I'll start paying more attention to what's going on.
I’ve heard some grumblings on social that Caitlyn Clark wasn’t chosen for the WBB team.
And I’ve also heard about a planned event for Parisians to shit in the river the day before Macron and the mayor are going to swim in the river to prove it’s clean enough for the athletes to swim in it for the triathlon event.
I watch it. I enjoy watching the stuff I choose to watch, but I wouldn’t say I am looking forward to it. For comparison, I look forward to watching World Cup much more.
There's usually not much hype. Once they're here, I'll watch what I can, root for America, and root for us to beat China and whatever Russians are allowed to have less gold and overall medals than us.
I don't think people have thought about it much, because there is so much other stuff we are all worried about. But once they start, as always, the nation will watch every day. A whole lot of people love the Olympics, and the summer games are the best. Gymnastics, swimming, diving, track and field....all good stuff. Americans LOVE being competitive with other nations, and we will always support our Olympians.
Every once in a while, I see a news story about the Olympics and think, "Oh yeah, it's an Olympic year." Then, I forget about it.
I used to be a fairly avid Olympics watcher, but I don't really care this year. I think it's probably because I haven't watched TV (from any source) in a couple years. Once they start, I might occasionally look up results, but that's about it.
Firstly, I do not think you're going to find many of your typical Olympics enjoyer on Reddit. Period.
But to answer the question? NBC will bring in older people with nothing better to do, fans of the individual sports and a big number for gymnastics and maybe a few other select sports. If you are not one of those people that is in those categories? You will not watch. Period.
IDK how old most people are on here, but I feel like people as they hit their 40s are less and less interested in really being an insane fan, and more interested in having something on the TV while they scroll social media, fold laundry or clean the kitchen. The Olympics are that. That is the Olympic audience IMO.
I don’t have cable so I can’t watch it but I do like to watch when I’m at a bar. I like the running, gymnastics and curling events.
Running and gymnastics because I think the athletes are so powerful to be able to do that. Curling just because I don’t understand how it’s a sport let alone one at an Olympic level and it fascinates me.
Most other people I know don’t really watch or care unless they only have the basic channels and just turn it to NBC during the coverage.
The Olympics has kinda sucked since the death of the USSR and even a variety of state-sponsored cheating scandals haven't created any us-versus-them rivalries to replace it.
Overall I'm not very interested in the Olympics like I used to.
My only interest in Olympics would be soccer and the combat sports(boxing,wrestling,taekwondo, and karate).
Soccer to see who's going to be the stars of the sport.
Combat sports is to see which ones might have some potential in MMA and Boxing.
I honestly forgot all about it until I saw this. There are only a few events I want to see but with the internet/Youtube, I don't have to worry about missing them. I'll just watch the replays online and fast forward through parts I don't care about.
No, but I will probably think to watch the opening ceremony and some events
The only Olympics I care about are those coming up here in LA, and it’s more because I’m concerned my life will be a shit show while they’re happening
But yay purple line extension!
Wait.. the Olympics are going on now?
That pretty sums it up. I’m also not looking forward to the 2034 Olympics but I will have to say at least most of the places that were made for it is still in operations so we don’t have to build more shit.
Personally, I’ve never cared about the Olympics in my life. It’s 90% sports I don’t care about or find interesting to watch, plus football, basketball, and ice hockey. I’m usually only aware of it if I walk in somewhere and see it on, or if there’s news of someone accomplishing something big, like Phelps and his records or Biles and hers.
Honestly, I’m more invested in Euro 2024 than the Olympics
People care less and less, the reality of the olympics is that the athletes are getting fucked. They spend their entire youth training for a contest that pays exactly zero $. If they win a medal it may lead to some oportunities and open a few doors, but if they don't, they essentially just wasted their youth staring at the bottom of a swimming pool or running around a track only to have nobody give a fuck, instead of putting that same effort into a skill that provides financial rewards. It's why a lot of the athletes suffer depression once it's over.
Back in the day there was a sense of national and local pride and these people came back to their community as heros, companies would employ them for the name recognition. now all they get out of it is a story that might get them laid once in a while.
The Olympics are dying.
And any city that signs up to host is foolish.
People are bored, they have a million other things to watch online in 2024.
Plus, they really diluted the fuck out of it.
The gold medal tally is meaningless.
Way, way too many sports that don't belong.
I can't really explain why but I've always looked forward to it. Maybe it's because I have memories of watching it growing up with my family since we had nothing better to do, but at least it's cool to see some niche sports you otherwise don't get to. I feel like I'm in the minority on this one though.
They are better off not spending on marketing because everyone knows the Olympics exist. There isn't a great central place to advertise as people are scattered across mediums. The best moments will become viral clips that they can then use to market future Olympics.
And no...I don't think as many people care. The Olympics are heavily corporatized and ultimately boring content. Except for the few moments that aren't...
I could care less, but I’m also not a summer Olympics person. Regardless, only reason I know it’s the season is a girl i found on instagram is trying to get to 100k followers so she can win a bet against her bf. The bet is that if she reaches 100k before the olympics, she’ll go to the opening ceremony, so…
I used to enjoy the Olympics but now watching it is terrible. NBC for example will only show a handful of events and a handful of moments from those events and the majority of the show is the presenters bullshitting in some studio, between 5 minute long commercial breaks. I don’t care about you ma’am with the make up, I want to see the event. I don’t want to see the story about how the pole vaulter was raised by a single handicapped one eyed mother who worked 96 hours a week cleaning gutters. I just want to see the event and how everyone did.
With the fracturing of the media market into various streaming services, sports are no longer as accessible to the casual viewer as they once were. Long ago everyone watched broadcast tv or cable (often in a place where the cable company had a monopoly) so major sporting events would be on a channel everyone could watch.
These days many people don’t have access to broadcast tv or to cable. And their streaming service doesn’t carry major sporting events. People who really love sports pay for ESPN. For other people who want to watch an event they may have to pay extra for the event or even sign up for a whole new service just to watch the event. If they don’t love sports enough get ESPN they are unlikely to want to go through the hassle and expense of getting a one-off event.
Not really. I don't even know when it starts.
We don't watch network or cable tv anymore either, so we very likely won't watch any of it unless it's streamed on Prime or something.
Wow, that’s crazy, I didn’t even realize they were happening! Thanks for the heads up! I guess since I don’t watch regular tv anymore, I never got any ads for it
We haven't had the olympics since 1996 (or 2002 for winter), so that's another factor
Idk why the USA presidential election would overshadow it though. They're on the same 4 year cycle, so they have occurred in the same year since the Olympics started.
What Olympics?
Oh YOU MEAN the 6 hours of long form interviews with brave Johnny's 3rd grade teacher and his crying Mom who had to work 10 hours a week to be able to afford his badminton lessons and pay for her Pilates and lulu lemons at the same time. That combined with brain dead commercials replayed ad nauseam...
Then the coverage starts and we see 3 minutes of the American and ZERO other countries...
I have to say I'm all in to watch Jake Paul compete in the women's boxing events though... a solid step up in his competition.
The only news I’ve heard about it is the river somehow being swimable after being unsanitary for 100+ years. Other than that, you know Americans will tune in no matter what’s going on in the country.
I feel like we are purposely not advertising promoting it since LA will have their games in 2028. So maybe we are more excited for it to return to the USA in 4 years.
My boomer aged mom is really interested in the summer olympics, I haven't heard anyone else mention them either in real life nor on facebook or other social sites.
I feel like it’s been overshadowed in the press by the election year in the US and EU and the fact that nobody watches cable anymore.
>overshadowed in the press by the election year in the US and EU Even here in France all anyone is talking about is the snap parliamentary elections. I was hoping to have a nice calm June and early July before all the Olympic tourists started showing up (I live a couple of hours away from Paris by train but all our hotels are booked up for the Olympics) but now we've got this circus and the even worse circus that's going to come after the elections are over. I picked a hell of a year to move to France but at least I'll skip the US election season.
I cannot stress how little I am looking forward to this election season. I honestly think if I could be cryogenically frozen for a year I'd take it.
At least the campaign for these snap elections is only 2 weeks until the 1st round and I can just time my errands and such around the protests.
Over these protests maybe, but you're French now. Rioting over there is basically as common as getting rained out.
The videos might be impressive but proper riots are very rare, most protests are completely peaceful and honestly if you don't know there's a protest you might not even realize it here. In live in the center of a big city and don't see any protests (or riots for that matter).
I'm 6 time zones ahead of the East Coast of the USA. I don't get the results until next morning, because when they call it in the US it's like 4 a.m. over here. Trump winning was like Christmas morning in the Shittiverse.
I'm 6 time zones ahead of the East Coast of the USA. I don't get the results until next morning, because when they call it in the US it's like 4 a.m. over here. Trump winning was like Christmas morning in the Shittiverse.
I say this with all sincerity. Just one? I'm gonna go for like 10-20 assuming I can take my wife with me. See how things shake out. Depending on who wins, might go the Philip J Fry route.
Yeah, these days there is less of that collective mass of people who have to rely on watching the Olympics at specific times on cable, so there is less collective anticipation.
Am I the only person who likes flipping through the movies on cable to find some old movie to enjoy that I haven't seen in a long time?
What an Ohio thing to say lol
It's boring down here. I can't wait to leave it. I'll always hate your state the most consistently, though.
Ohio is very important to us in Michigan, we tell our kids it's where they'll end up if they don't learn their numbers and letters
And you give us the city that makes our say "At least we're not Detroit."
I didn’t even know it was an Olympic year
Every even tear is a olympic year
Every presidential election year has the Summer Olympics (Besides Tokyo 2021) Every midterm election year has the Winter Olympics.
Canadian here. The way I remember it is: Summer Olympics are held the same year as a U.S. presidential election Winter Olympics are held the same year as the FIFA World Cup
TIL world cup is on midterm elections
Okay… but most people don’t think about it on a regular basis. At least most people I know.
They've done a terrible job promoting it. It was to a point where I heard some people trying to take guesses if they were thinking of canceling or something a few months back
NBC (pretty sure it's them) have exclusive rights to cover the olypmics on tv here, and they are TERRIBLE. So much so that I will go out of my way to view coverage from another country rather than watch it through NBC. Or more likely not watch it at all and maybe see highlights later, which is what most American will probably do I suspect.
At least in the last few Olympics they’ve put every event online live. Much better than their evening “condensed and talked over” version of stuff
In my experience they still focus on the American athletes to a fault, like cutting away from a gold-contender to interview an American Olympian instead. And their athlete bios are absolutely awful and follow the reality TV model. They'll talk about their experience in the event and then focus on something horrible that happened to that person in their life and how much hardship they endured to qualify. I saw an athlete being interviewed and the interviewer kept asking about her miscarriage. I want to see a competition among the best athletes in the world, I really don't care who has the best ninja warrior sob story.
Watch the live streaming of the individual events, not the tv broadcast. They don’t do athlete bios or interviews, just broadcast the event. Heck, some of the less popular sports didn’t even have someone talking over it, like archery or target shooting.
I'll never understand how neither of these are more popular.
This. Exactly this. The misty eyed Lifetime TV movie puff pieces are just painful. Happening live there’s the climax to some fantastic sporting drama, yet NBC are telling me about how poor Steve’s bunny chased a butterfly, fell into a pool and drowned when he was 3 years old so now Steve has spent 20 years mastering the butterfly swim stroke in his honor so no bunny ever drowns again.
They put all the cool events on peacock. I just wanted to watch stuff like skateboarding, nope
NBC's coverage of the Olympics has been absolute garbage, and so cringeworthy. Here are some especially egregious moments I remember: * For the opening ceremony in London in 2012, their excessive commercials omitted a tribute to the victims of the 2005 London bombings. * In Rio in 2016, they had a "well, duh" moment where the commenter said something like, when Qatar entered during the parade of nations, "Qatar is entering with the C nations because it begins with C in Portuguese, I guess." * Also in 2016, Micronesia entered right before the US did, but there was absolutely no comment about the country in its own right, instead only about how it was a small group that was making way for the massive US delegation. * Yet another one from 2016: an obsession with Michael Phelps, to the point where they asked athletes from other countries what they thought of him, as if Phelps was the only athlete who mattered. * In 2018 in South Korea, when Japan entered during the parade, the commenter said, "Every Korean knows how important Japan was to Korea's economic and political development", or along those lines. It was so insensitive when you consider the history between the two countries (especially the Japanese occupation). * Also in 2018, when the Netherlands entered, they theorized why NL was so good at speed skating: "Their canals are frozen in winter, so they practice on those."
They also make it almost impossible to pull up an event on their website with a giant headline spoiling the event - even when they haven’t aired it on tv yet!!! It’s maddening
I want sports, not the 'up close and personal" fillers that they pump into their broadcasts. So I don't spend much time watching it.
Roone Arledge of ABC Sports pioneered this style of coverage back when ABC had a lock on all the Olympics. And I agree, I always hated it. I loved Jim McKay (ABC's main Olympics host), but I wanted the actual sporting activity more. Show me the events! Better yet, show me MORE events, especially the ones that never get coverage in the US. The time they spent showing the biography of an athlete would have been better used by showing another event, especially the ones I and most Americans were unfamiliar with. They had even less excuse back in the Sixties through the early Nineties; as the Olympics was broadcast on only one channel, time was at a premium. At least now with multiple tv channels plus online access, viewers can swap around for events they're interested in.
Despite being only a few hours ahead, I'm sure NBC will find a way to broadcast everything on a 15 hour delay on the USA network or Telemundo and post shitty clips that give the results of races in the title and thumbnail.
The only good thing about NBC having the sole right to coverage of the Olympics? Bum BA ba dum da de dum bum buh dum bum bum bum bi da bum ba da de dah da!
If you mean the Olympic Theme Song - that’s just a John Williams piece baby
You say that as if John Williams didn't compose gold.
I say that to indicate NBC ain’t shit, and any based John Williams enjoyer can just listen to his heat any time
They really fucked up their coverage last time, I bought Peacock so I could watch it, then it turns out they only had shitty events on peacock. All the good stuff was on NBC broadcast and some cable channels?? Who the fuck has cable TV anymore? I gave up and just didn't watch it except a few events that I streamed illegally. 2016 was great though because you could literally stream every event for free on the app and cast it to the TV. I was off for the summer and watched like 10 hours a day.
> Who the fuck has cable TV anymore? People who like watching live sports.
People that don't pirate
Arr matey! I cut cable 12 years ago and never miss a game. Not even uber expensive boxing!
[удалено]
They still managed to fuck up 2016. If you made the mistake of allowing alerts, they would send you live updates of who won events - so, go fuck yourself if you were planning to watch a replay later.
Yeah I just check out the highlights on youtube later and periodically will just check medal count. I don't feel any desire to just sit in front of a TV and watch it .
That year bob costas had pink eye was pretty entertaining
You know you can just use illegal streams right, it’s much easier and pretty safe. Even lebron uses illegal streams
I figured coverage from elsewhere kinda implied it, but yeah
Growing up in the Detroit area, I always used to watch the Olympics from the CBC because our coverage is such trash in the US
CBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics especially has always been so much better than US coverage.
I lived close to the Canadian border for some years, close enough that we got the CBC on our local TV system, and, holy moly, the Olympics coverage was 10x better than NBC. Less packaging, less artifice, less blabby announcing, just let me watch them run the damn race.
Usually the time zone is so far off anyway
I haven't heard a single person talk about them. I'd forgotten they were coming up until I just read your post. Not sure I'll bother watching, but if I do I'll need to get a VPN or something. NBC's coverage is always the worst.
What country do I set my VPN to in order to get better coverage? Britain, BBC?
Think down under mate
Thanks
Yeah us down under have fabulous coverage. But it would be more Aussie focused ….. coz we are winners 🤣🤣🤣
I'm gonna be honest with you, a lot of people here in the US do not even notice until they're at a bar or restaurant and they're like, "Oh hey the Olympics are on". Otherwise we only care when someone breaks a record or something unusual happens and then it lasts for like a month and we're on to the next thing.
no not really, and there seems to be very little buzz about it this year. I am however excited for everyone to shit in the Seine
I can't extrapolate this to the rest of the nation, of course, but I watch the Olympics every year, even the niche sports like curling or synchronized diving as long as we've got a contender. That said, I am so burnt out on international politics that the inevitable controversies and scandals and anti-American bullshit that'll be thrown at us all Olympic cycle already feels exhausting. I will also say that friends and family of literally all political stripes have all expressed an increasing sense of isolationism, so maybe others are feeling the same way. I really want Team USA to do well, and I will cheer for them, but I kind of just want it to be football season already.
Yeah to me the Olympics help fill a void on the sports calendar after the NBA and NHL end but before baseball gets into the heat of the pennant race. I’ll enjoy watching them when they happen, but there isn’t usually a ton of buildup in the weeks before. I’m sure it’ll start soon but what is there really to talk about? It's still like 6 weeks away
I love curling. I was pumped when Team USA took the men's gold in 2018!
If you turn on NBC you'll see tons of hype. What marketing were you hoping to see 6 weeks before it begins? I've seen merchandise at stores. It's a huge TV event. I can't wait to watch.
> If you turn on NBC Well that might be part of the problem
I haven't "turned on NBC" in about 2 decades.
Does anyone actually look forward to the Olympics these days? I rarely hear about it
Not really.
2016 was the last time I really watched. We still had Cable TV then but more importantly, since it was in Brazil we could watch many events live. Now we've cut the cord. We rarely watch Network TV and so we don't have to see all of NBCs commercials.
I love watching the olympics and completly forgot they were happening this summer till this post lol. I think the Tokyo delay threw everybody off, in my head we should still have a while
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Good to know that the little people care about the Olympics.
… I didn’t realize they were happening.
I forgot they were even happening this year lol
The Olympics are happening?
Most of us don’t care. Never watched any of it. Not going to start now.
This is the first I've heard about this year's Olympics. I didn't even realize they were about to happen before this post. So no, at least no one in my circle of people are openly excited about them.
This is genuinely the first time this year the idea of an Olympics being held even crossed my mind. When and where?
Personally, I care less than I’ve ever had. A big part of it is the realization that a VERY large chunk of athletes are doping or using other sorts of PED’s. Like, it’s far more widespread than you think. That extends to professional league athletes and fitness influencers as well. Pretty much, for anyone who relies on how their body performs or looks, it’s a very safe bet they’re using PEDs.
No. Not really. I, for one, had forgotten the Olympics were even going to happen this year.
I haven't heard 1 person mention it but I'm sure some people are excited.
I am ***really*** looking forward to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. So tantalizingly nearby. Only a ten hour drive. I plan on taking two weeks off work to attend.
I’m more concerned about the fall out after our election. The Olympics never ever cross my mind.
Americans aren't usually too excited when the Olympics are way out of our time zone. Watching the Olympics in the middle of the night is a hassle, and news sites and social media can't help but spoil the results which makes watching it with time delay less exciting.
No. I don't think people care much anymore. I don't.
I'm not kidding, the last time I gave a shit about the Olympics was 2004 when it was in Athens because it "felt right"
I live in the city where the track and field trials always happen. They are scheduled for this coming weekend. The city is hopping when the trials are going on. Full hotels, crowded restaurants, etc. Some people are salty about it, but most people like having the trials here. So, in that respect, people around here are looking forward to the Olympics. Folks like watching to see how runners they saw here end up doing at the actual games.
I have little interest in the Olympics, even less in the summer games. I do know they are in Paris and they are coming up, but I am unlikely to watch anything other than what is broadcasted on the regular news.
2028 games will be in Los Angeles. We're probably going to get carpet bombed with ads for that one.
Let LA have them. They seem like too big of a hassle to me. Years ago when I lived in BK, I was worried about NYC getting them. It would have been weeks of hell.
I generally catch some swimming events but I haven't paid close attention the last few summers.
I can't judge at all because I stopped watching the Olympics 20 years ago. This is Olympics are being affected by the Ukraine war as well so that might be part of it. There are heavier things going on.
I don’t think I’ve actually cared to watch them since I was a kid. Given the blatant corruption in the organization, the terrible coverage in recent years, and a general disinterest in sports, I don’t really find them worth watching these days.
I don't have a cable TV subscription and NBC coverage is always terrible anyway, so why bother trying to watch? I've tried with Peacock and with VPN for other coverage before and it was still hard to find a way to see the events I was looking for. If anything dramatic happens maybe I'll hear about it and it will be on YouTube or something. It would probably be more popular if it weren't so difficult to watch the events you're most interested in.
People who like the olympics are. I don't really care so personally I am not looking forward to it.
No I'm still burned out as we had so many Olympics in succession due to covid delays. I'll probably make an attempt to follow a few sports but assume I'll lose interest.
There isn't a lot of lead up to it, but people get decently hyped once it starts.
Probably more so if nbc didn’t fuck up their coverage. The peacock bullshit is awful. Although tbf based on their new Gladiator show I might have to get it cause it looks hype af
the olympic swim trials being held in a football stadium is pretty neat and makes watching them interesting.
I have never cared about the Olympics and neither have my peers. I'm sure they matter to someone though because it's still a big media thing.
I’n pretty much the only person I know who is looking forward to it.
I’m excited to see how flag football goes
I honestly haven't paid attention to the Olympics since the Atlanta Games.
Uh, where are the Olympics being held, this year?
Without watching regular TV I don’t hear about it much but I’m always looking forward to the Summer Games. I’ll for sure catch the opening ceremonies and a ton of events.
Im just in it for the breakdancing
Ima be watching Copa America instead. Media has done an atrocious job advertising the Olympics this year
Not at all. Nobody i know is talking about it and i don’t really see anything about it on Social Media
Not really. Some people are. NBC sucks so I just watch highlights, as I noticed a lot of other people do. Also personally I’m more of a Winter Olympics guys
Not really. Some people are. NBC sucks so I just watch highlights, as I noticed a lot of other people do. Also personally I’m more of a Winter Olympics guy
I keep forgetting the Olympics _except_ when I see headlines about "Paris doing X 'cos Olympics." It's only really occurred to me now that the Paris Olympics are _this_ year, and it's not a matter of reading about Qatar for what seems like six years before their hosting of the World Cup.
I haven't really heard much about it, but I'm looking forward to it. It's basically the only sports I bother paying attention too. I'll be in Europe at the time so hopefully the time zone will make it easier to watch than if I were home.
It's not as big as it used to be
I have not really been interested in watching the Olympics for most of my adult life- over 20 years. I haven’t heard anyone mentioning it recently.
The NBC Primetime broadcasts are dumbed down in order to patronize the casual viewers whom aren’t exactly informed about the world outside of the U.S.
For the most part, we don't start getting enthusiastic until the Games are underway and the foreign tears are flowing.
I didn't even know they were going to be held in the US. I have no intention of watching them and haven't heard anyone talk about them IRL.
I barely realize its happening.
I'm going to say no since this is the first time I've heard about the Olympics this year lol.
Eh
Eh
i feel like they’re looking forwards more to Ozempic
Meh
My family loves the Olympics. I am patriotic for very few things and random sporting events are part of those things.
I'd love to see some break dancing. No idea if there will be a free way to watch it.
The Olympics are sports for non sports fans.
Kinda, but my circle only cares about the sports we also compete or used to compete in.
I like the Olympics, I just hate our coverage. I actually feel like there's a lot of hype, however I follow a lot of news outlets and politicians in France, and Macron won't shut the fuck up about it (which I get, it's his country and it is beautiful). I'm more concerned about if it's going to be ready and safe by the opening ceremony.
I think is always like this in my area not much emotion until the events actually start, weird thing is that Copa America and Eurocopa are happening and it seems nobody cares
I love both the summer and winter Olympics. I'm not on the hype train for it yet. It's still a few weeks away. The week before, I'll start paying more attention to what's going on.
I’m hype but trying to watch the Olympics is hard.
Feels like Berlin 1936 to me
I couldn't care any less about the Olympics.
I’ve heard some grumblings on social that Caitlyn Clark wasn’t chosen for the WBB team. And I’ve also heard about a planned event for Parisians to shit in the river the day before Macron and the mayor are going to swim in the river to prove it’s clean enough for the athletes to swim in it for the triathlon event. I watch it. I enjoy watching the stuff I choose to watch, but I wouldn’t say I am looking forward to it. For comparison, I look forward to watching World Cup much more.
I forgot it was even happening.
There's usually not much hype. Once they're here, I'll watch what I can, root for America, and root for us to beat China and whatever Russians are allowed to have less gold and overall medals than us.
Personally, I couldn't care less about the Olympics.
I was just at the Olympic trials with my daughter in Indianapolis, so yeah pretty hyped. Excited to watch America stomp everyone
I don't think people have thought about it much, because there is so much other stuff we are all worried about. But once they start, as always, the nation will watch every day. A whole lot of people love the Olympics, and the summer games are the best. Gymnastics, swimming, diving, track and field....all good stuff. Americans LOVE being competitive with other nations, and we will always support our Olympians.
I literally couldn't care less. If it wasn't for this post I wouldn't even know they were happening.
Every once in a while, I see a news story about the Olympics and think, "Oh yeah, it's an Olympic year." Then, I forget about it. I used to be a fairly avid Olympics watcher, but I don't really care this year. I think it's probably because I haven't watched TV (from any source) in a couple years. Once they start, I might occasionally look up results, but that's about it.
Firstly, I do not think you're going to find many of your typical Olympics enjoyer on Reddit. Period. But to answer the question? NBC will bring in older people with nothing better to do, fans of the individual sports and a big number for gymnastics and maybe a few other select sports. If you are not one of those people that is in those categories? You will not watch. Period. IDK how old most people are on here, but I feel like people as they hit their 40s are less and less interested in really being an insane fan, and more interested in having something on the TV while they scroll social media, fold laundry or clean the kitchen. The Olympics are that. That is the Olympic audience IMO.
I don’t have cable so I can’t watch it but I do like to watch when I’m at a bar. I like the running, gymnastics and curling events. Running and gymnastics because I think the athletes are so powerful to be able to do that. Curling just because I don’t understand how it’s a sport let alone one at an Olympic level and it fascinates me. Most other people I know don’t really watch or care unless they only have the basic channels and just turn it to NBC during the coverage.
Is there Olympics this year? I didn't even know
The Olympics has kinda sucked since the death of the USSR and even a variety of state-sponsored cheating scandals haven't created any us-versus-them rivalries to replace it.
Overall I'm not very interested in the Olympics like I used to. My only interest in Olympics would be soccer and the combat sports(boxing,wrestling,taekwondo, and karate). Soccer to see who's going to be the stars of the sport. Combat sports is to see which ones might have some potential in MMA and Boxing.
I hadn't heard about it at all, but I've largely tuned out of the news since it's all about Trump and Biden.
I’m very excited for them, but every time I bring it up to friends or family they’re wholly indifferent
I honestly forgot all about it until I saw this. There are only a few events I want to see but with the internet/Youtube, I don't have to worry about missing them. I'll just watch the replays online and fast forward through parts I don't care about.
Oh, yeah. It's Olympics year. Huh.
The last time I was interested in the Olympics was when Shaun White was doing his thing.
I have never watched the Olympics, and I don't intend to start now.
No, but I will probably think to watch the opening ceremony and some events The only Olympics I care about are those coming up here in LA, and it’s more because I’m concerned my life will be a shit show while they’re happening But yay purple line extension!
I forgot it was the Olympics this year to be honest
Not really. It comes up every once in awhile and someone says "yea, when is that" To clarify, I am and know when it is 🤣
Wait.. the Olympics are going on now? That pretty sums it up. I’m also not looking forward to the 2034 Olympics but I will have to say at least most of the places that were made for it is still in operations so we don’t have to build more shit.
Personally, I’ve never cared about the Olympics in my life. It’s 90% sports I don’t care about or find interesting to watch, plus football, basketball, and ice hockey. I’m usually only aware of it if I walk in somewhere and see it on, or if there’s news of someone accomplishing something big, like Phelps and his records or Biles and hers. Honestly, I’m more invested in Euro 2024 than the Olympics
People care less and less, the reality of the olympics is that the athletes are getting fucked. They spend their entire youth training for a contest that pays exactly zero $. If they win a medal it may lead to some oportunities and open a few doors, but if they don't, they essentially just wasted their youth staring at the bottom of a swimming pool or running around a track only to have nobody give a fuck, instead of putting that same effort into a skill that provides financial rewards. It's why a lot of the athletes suffer depression once it's over. Back in the day there was a sense of national and local pride and these people came back to their community as heros, companies would employ them for the name recognition. now all they get out of it is a story that might get them laid once in a while.
Nope. The olympics has become a contest of who can cheat the most without getting caught.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the French plan to protest the Olympics
I only know it’s the Olympics this year bc of Top Chef lol
I love the Olympics and I’m excited.
The Olympics are dying. And any city that signs up to host is foolish. People are bored, they have a million other things to watch online in 2024. Plus, they really diluted the fuck out of it. The gold medal tally is meaningless. Way, way too many sports that don't belong.
Not really. I'm not interested because I don't care about sports but those who do are usually more invested in their local teams
Olympic where?
I know here in Indy, it’s all I’m hearing about lately
Yeah. I’m pumped for it.
I can't really explain why but I've always looked forward to it. Maybe it's because I have memories of watching it growing up with my family since we had nothing better to do, but at least it's cool to see some niche sports you otherwise don't get to. I feel like I'm in the minority on this one though.
Couldn't care less
I’ve been talking about it regularly because I’m excited as always but maybe I’m just the one always bringing it up? 😅
The only thing I’ve heard about it has something to do with French people literally pissing on Macron. I couldn’t care less.
Summer Olympics aren’t very exciting, in my opinion. I prefer the Winter Olympics.
Hell yeah. It's almost Simone Byles season
No
No
No. The Olympics have been turned into a city killer. The coverage has gone to shit. The Olympics pretty much suck today.
No. I didn’t even realize it was this year. I guess as it comes closer then we will have more excitement.
I don’t know a single person who’s excited
When is it?
Yes really especially basketball fans
They are better off not spending on marketing because everyone knows the Olympics exist. There isn't a great central place to advertise as people are scattered across mediums. The best moments will become viral clips that they can then use to market future Olympics. And no...I don't think as many people care. The Olympics are heavily corporatized and ultimately boring content. Except for the few moments that aren't...
I could care less, but I’m also not a summer Olympics person. Regardless, only reason I know it’s the season is a girl i found on instagram is trying to get to 100k followers so she can win a bet against her bf. The bet is that if she reaches 100k before the olympics, she’ll go to the opening ceremony, so…
I am. I don’t know an anyone else though. It’s always been a favorite of mine. I love watching anything Olympics related.
No, it's way less accessible to watch now compared to 10+ years ago
I used to enjoy the Olympics but now watching it is terrible. NBC for example will only show a handful of events and a handful of moments from those events and the majority of the show is the presenters bullshitting in some studio, between 5 minute long commercial breaks. I don’t care about you ma’am with the make up, I want to see the event. I don’t want to see the story about how the pole vaulter was raised by a single handicapped one eyed mother who worked 96 hours a week cleaning gutters. I just want to see the event and how everyone did.
With the fracturing of the media market into various streaming services, sports are no longer as accessible to the casual viewer as they once were. Long ago everyone watched broadcast tv or cable (often in a place where the cable company had a monopoly) so major sporting events would be on a channel everyone could watch. These days many people don’t have access to broadcast tv or to cable. And their streaming service doesn’t carry major sporting events. People who really love sports pay for ESPN. For other people who want to watch an event they may have to pay extra for the event or even sign up for a whole new service just to watch the event. If they don’t love sports enough get ESPN they are unlikely to want to go through the hassle and expense of getting a one-off event.
Not really. I don't even know when it starts. We don't watch network or cable tv anymore either, so we very likely won't watch any of it unless it's streamed on Prime or something.
Wow, that’s crazy, I didn’t even realize they were happening! Thanks for the heads up! I guess since I don’t watch regular tv anymore, I never got any ads for it
I’m excited, cuz I’ll be going to Paris for them :)
We haven't had the olympics since 1996 (or 2002 for winter), so that's another factor Idk why the USA presidential election would overshadow it though. They're on the same 4 year cycle, so they have occurred in the same year since the Olympics started.
What Olympics? Oh YOU MEAN the 6 hours of long form interviews with brave Johnny's 3rd grade teacher and his crying Mom who had to work 10 hours a week to be able to afford his badminton lessons and pay for her Pilates and lulu lemons at the same time. That combined with brain dead commercials replayed ad nauseam... Then the coverage starts and we see 3 minutes of the American and ZERO other countries... I have to say I'm all in to watch Jake Paul compete in the women's boxing events though... a solid step up in his competition.
The only news I’ve heard about it is the river somehow being swimable after being unsanitary for 100+ years. Other than that, you know Americans will tune in no matter what’s going on in the country.
Nope. I doubt many people really care.
I feel like we are purposely not advertising promoting it since LA will have their games in 2028. So maybe we are more excited for it to return to the USA in 4 years.
My boomer aged mom is really interested in the summer olympics, I haven't heard anyone else mention them either in real life nor on facebook or other social sites.
No I didn’t realize it was happening until about a month ago